iPod laundered....
Discussion
....what's the likelihood of it surviving the ordeal, and how best to dry it out in the hope of success.
Wife gathered up a load of 'laundry' from son's bedroom floor, but didn't check the pockets. I opened the washing machine this morning and hung the washing out. There, amongst the jeans and t-shirts, nestled in the middle of the basket was an orange iPod. First thought was "feck". Alright, second thought was "feck", as the first thought was "it's not a black one, so it cannot be mine, phew!"
A witch hunt was then carried out to ensure no blame rested with me, before the riot act was read to a) son - for leaving the iPod in his dumped jeans. b) - wife, as she habitually neglects to check the pockets of clothes prior to laundering.
Anyone else had experience of a submerged iPod? Did it survive? What should I do to give it the best chance of rising again from it's watery grave?
Currently it's nestled in some towels in the airing cupboard, as it's the warmest, driest place in the house.
Wife gathered up a load of 'laundry' from son's bedroom floor, but didn't check the pockets. I opened the washing machine this morning and hung the washing out. There, amongst the jeans and t-shirts, nestled in the middle of the basket was an orange iPod. First thought was "feck". Alright, second thought was "feck", as the first thought was "it's not a black one, so it cannot be mine, phew!"
A witch hunt was then carried out to ensure no blame rested with me, before the riot act was read to a) son - for leaving the iPod in his dumped jeans. b) - wife, as she habitually neglects to check the pockets of clothes prior to laundering.
Anyone else had experience of a submerged iPod? Did it survive? What should I do to give it the best chance of rising again from it's watery grave?
Currently it's nestled in some towels in the airing cupboard, as it's the warmest, driest place in the house.
OK. So I went to get it out of the airing cupboard, and tried to turn it on. No joy.
Taking a gamble, I plugged it into the computer, and it came to life, sort of. The menu screen now works, and it plays music. A bit 'tinny' without the headphones in, but mine's older and doesn't have a speaker, so that may be entirely normal. With the headphones in, it's not too bad. Shuffle feature also works.
BUT. The screen is very 'subdued' - dim, and difficult to see. I'm presuming that this is the backlight for the screen not working? I suppose that all I can do is cross fingers and wait now, to see if it 'comes back to life' of it's own accord. I've turned it off to be on the safe side.
Taking a gamble, I plugged it into the computer, and it came to life, sort of. The menu screen now works, and it plays music. A bit 'tinny' without the headphones in, but mine's older and doesn't have a speaker, so that may be entirely normal. With the headphones in, it's not too bad. Shuffle feature also works.
BUT. The screen is very 'subdued' - dim, and difficult to see. I'm presuming that this is the backlight for the screen not working? I suppose that all I can do is cross fingers and wait now, to see if it 'comes back to life' of it's own accord. I've turned it off to be on the safe side.
yellowjack said:
dtmpower said:
Which model iPod ?
Model A1320EMC No 2317
Unfortunately you have basically followed the how to destroy an electronic item after getting it wet list. Chuck it in a bag of rice for a week but your best bet is upgrading him to the new iPod nano http://store.apple.com/uk/buy-ipod/ipod-nano
My 5th gen nano went through the wash and tumble dryer and survived; turned it on almost immediately upon finding it and it worked for about 30 secs then went dead. Plugged it in to charge over night; next day it was working fine again although the screen was a bit dimmed. It lost its ability to hold charge but did live for another year or so plugged into my car. With constant power running to it, it worked (and sounded) absolutely fine.
tl:dr? Don't lose hope it might be ok after a few days.
tl:dr? Don't lose hope it might be ok after a few days.
Always found the most important thing to do when a device like this gets wet is remove the battery asap - which you can't do on Apple devices!
A few years ago I dropped my phone into the pint of water sat on my bedside table (thinking I was putting it on the table itself!). I immediately removed the battery, shook out as much water as possible and left it in the airing cupboard for a few days. Phone was absolutely fine afterwards.
Pretty sure not being able to disconnect the battery in modern phones is a very bad thing.
A few years ago I dropped my phone into the pint of water sat on my bedside table (thinking I was putting it on the table itself!). I immediately removed the battery, shook out as much water as possible and left it in the airing cupboard for a few days. Phone was absolutely fine afterwards.
Pretty sure not being able to disconnect the battery in modern phones is a very bad thing.
Asterix said:
Bizarrely, rinsing the offending item in distilled water then going down the rice/airing cupboard route can help as it gets rid of all the crap the other water would have left when it evaporated.
But... you've tried to power it up and that's not great.
Denatured Alcohol would be better - dissolves any contaminants and evaporates more quickly than waterBut... you've tried to power it up and that's not great.
An update (of sorts)...
No rice in the house. Neighbour had no rice. So I bought a small bag of rice. Presumably the type of rice is largely irrelevant, so long as it's the dry kind. Prior to that, it was simply wrapped in kitchen roll, after I'd got it back off my son, who'd found out that it powered up and stuck it back in his jacket to use the following morning. So it's now in a sealed bag, wrapped in kitchen roll, surrounded by dry rice, and placed out of sight in a cupboard. I'm going to try it again on Monday, when, if it still fires into life, he can have it back to see how the battery life is affected by the submersion.
Advice about distilled water/denatured alcohol is appreciated, but if I'm honest, the likelihood of me having the balls to submerge it again is quite low, so I'll have to hope that the rinse cycle did it's work, and hasn't left too much residue inside. Aside from that, it's fingers crossed time, and I'm avoiding the temptation to further 'fiddle' with it until it's had several days to dry out.
Thanks for all the suggestions, although it was already too late for a number of them, sadly. Perhaps it would have been better to ask for the advice before pushing buttons and putting it into the airing cupboard without the rice, but "hey-ho!" - you live and learn, right?
No rice in the house. Neighbour had no rice. So I bought a small bag of rice. Presumably the type of rice is largely irrelevant, so long as it's the dry kind. Prior to that, it was simply wrapped in kitchen roll, after I'd got it back off my son, who'd found out that it powered up and stuck it back in his jacket to use the following morning. So it's now in a sealed bag, wrapped in kitchen roll, surrounded by dry rice, and placed out of sight in a cupboard. I'm going to try it again on Monday, when, if it still fires into life, he can have it back to see how the battery life is affected by the submersion.
Advice about distilled water/denatured alcohol is appreciated, but if I'm honest, the likelihood of me having the balls to submerge it again is quite low, so I'll have to hope that the rinse cycle did it's work, and hasn't left too much residue inside. Aside from that, it's fingers crossed time, and I'm avoiding the temptation to further 'fiddle' with it until it's had several days to dry out.
Thanks for all the suggestions, although it was already too late for a number of them, sadly. Perhaps it would have been better to ask for the advice before pushing buttons and putting it into the airing cupboard without the rice, but "hey-ho!" - you live and learn, right?
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