How To Dry Out Wet Electronics

Trying to save your phone or laptop from an unfortunate spill? Here's what to do.






Intro Theme: Showdown by F.O.O.L from Monstercat - Best of 2016

[alexadelaide]

1 disconnect all power
2 bath in demineralised water
3 let dry fully
4 pray

[clickclick]

How to dry out wet electronics?

Step 1. Drop to your knees and scream and curse at the top of your lungs
Step 2. Repeat step 1.

[av]

This isn’t helpful because almost everyone watching this is watching it after something like that happened..

[superoxidedismutor]

Put it in a bowl of rice at night, go to bed, and during the night, Asians will be drawn by the rice and will repair you device...

[damascenoalisson]

I've had a laptop that ended up submerged in water. Removed the battery and left it drying outside for a week and it came back to life! Not only that, but I'm using it right now, 4 years later :-)

[umbra]

Got a waterproof s8 so ha! *sips coffee and spills it on laptop*

[rachelyoung]

i couldn't hear a thing from this video bc my laptop's volume isn't working bc of water damage... smh

[superman]

This guy looks a lot like the guy from Linus Tech Tips🤔

[AceNallawar]

Watching this on the water socked electronic 👌

[timharig]

Wash with steam distilled water before alcohol. Water is a much better solvant of polarized molocules than alcohol. Then displace with alcohol. Its not the water that does the damage, it is the minerals in the water that does the damage. Shorting is not the only concern. Minerals in tap water, as well as other beverages, can also be caustic to the traces on the PCB if they are allowed to remain on the board.

[shizeeque]

6:24 that ad transition was hilarious! =D

[KobyTheHedgehog]

missed opportunity for an iFixIt sponsor

[Spladoinkal]

I do electronic repair for a living and what he says in this video is sooo good. Let me add that you should ALWAYS back up any important information because none of this is a guarantee to fix. Also, the salt in salt water can completely corrode the internals of a phone in just a matter of hours unless it is completely cleaned out with alcohol.

[loriboyters]

I spilled a cup of coffee with cream/sugar on my laptop and power went out and wouldn't start back up. I did what our IT folks did when I did this at work. I disconnecte power, wiped it dry on outside as much as possible, then placed it under a fan overnight - and prayed. Worked the next day. I learned that you must ensure that it is completely dry before trying to restart or components could be damaged.

[vincenthernandez]

i work with electronics since the last 8 years, and moisture damage is the most common problem, i use alcohol and brush it with a thootbrush and then i dry it with a heat goun at low heat. works like a charm 90% of the time

[danielsjohnson]

I noticed this video a few days ago. I didn't click on it because I thought I didn't need to spend the time watching it. It's now a few days later and I just spilled some water on my gaming mouse. I think I got all the water out but I'll take the advice of waiting at least 24 hours before I plug it in again.

This video is the best you've done in recent memory. Thanks for making it, Linus.

[Eassa]

Dropped a cup of water on my laptop a year ago and left it on like an idiot which lead it to shorting out. I then took out the motherboard and all the other pcb's, left it in rice for a week then I submerged the laptop in a basin of Isopropyl Alchohol for an hour, let it evaporate (3 hours) and my laptop was as good as new, although good do with an upgrade now :)
So top notch advice Linus.

[KmeierGaming]

linus my laundry now smells like underage drinking and that feeling you get when you forget the person youre talking tos name

[SeralyneYT]

I have an analogy for exactly this.

Roughly one and a half years ago, I spilled water on my laptop. I was stupid and decided to try turning it on after wiping the outside. It worked... For a bit. Then I saw it BSOD. I thought it was done for and let it stay for nearly a year. Then a year later, I decided to try it again. It works without complaints nowadays. Patience is key.

[Tchy]

I spilled maruchan soup (instant noodles) on my keyboard once. I immediately plugged it off, took all the keys out and submerged them on an isopropyl alcohol bath. Would've done the same with the keyboard itself but I didn't have the appropriate screwdriver to open it, so I just poured the same alcohol on every tiny hole it had. After drying the keys and the outside of the keyboard, I poured a whole 1Kg of rice on my keyboard and left it there for almost 2 days. After that, I put the keys in place, plugged it in and it worked, I'm still using it.