How To Care For Water Damaged Electronics

Most of the time when electronic items become water damaged, they are on and running and this is what causes the majority of the damage.

The electricity and water flowing through the object at the same time is what fries the electronic components inside, not just the water itself.

What almost became a horror story for me was when I left my $40 CD player in the floorboard of the car along with a bag of ice that my brother was supposed to have retrieved after I got home. He did not and when I got in the car the next morning, it was completely submersed in water.

The worst mistake I could have made at that point was to try and turn it on. Whatever you do, if you have a piece of water damaged equipment like this and it is not dry yet, do NOT try to turn it on!

I let my CD player dry for about two weeks (after taking the batteries out) before I even considered trying to power it up.

An article in the Washington Post claims that a Blackberry that had fallen into the toilet survived because it was put in a bowl of uncooked rice for a few days because rice absorbed all the moisture.

If you are going to go this route, make sure the rice is of a larger grain so it does not work its way inside the device.

If you are faced with a problem where a liquid spills into a device that is powered on and connected to the current in your wall or the current in your car, disconnect the device from its power source immediately.

If it has batteries, remove them to make sure it has no power source at all, in case you accidentally press the power button. You do not want to get shocked by touching it while it is still plugged in, if it plugs into the wall in your house.

Other devices larger than cell phones and CD players get water damaged and those are computers, televisions, stereo equipment, video cameras, and etcetera.

These items are best cared for by a professional and in fact, if you have any doubts as to your own ability to work on your smaller water damaged items, it is really best to do this, anyway.

If you are going to call a professional, though, you should do it quickly: the liquid gradually corrodes some of the internal metal components.

Article Source: http://www.majorarticle.com

Jim Corkern is a writer and respected contributor to the Water damage restoration and mold remediation Industry. Visit his sites for more information. www.floodingchicago.info and www.floodingnj.info

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