[haroon.choudery]

Two days ago I got water and soap into my Storm. Ever since then I have had a soapy screen. Last night, I went to the store and bought some rubbing alcohol (70%). I then took the Storm, removed the SIM, microSD, and battery, and soaked it in rubbing alcohol. I then dried it up and put it in a bag of rice. Its been 12 hours and I checked the Storm. The rubber on the right side is peeling off, and the mute key seems like it is peeling. The screen seems has something in it although I can't really see. Do I have any hope? I am in some deep s***

[peterr22]

Two days ago I got water and soap into my Storm. Ever since then I have had a soapy screen. Last night, I went to the store and bought some rubbing alcohol (70%). I then took the Storm, removed the SIM, microSD, and battery, and soaked it in rubbing alcohol. I then dried it up and put it in a bag of rice. Its been 12 hours and I checked the Storm. The rubber on the right side is peeling off, and the mute key seems like it is peeling. The screen seems has something in it although I can't really see. Do I have any hope? I am in some deep s***

pretty sure rubbing alcohol dissolves most glue

[haroon.choudery]

do you think that the phone itself would work fine in about 24 hours?

[cmhager2006]

sorry guy, sounds like you're up a creek without a paddle...

[aval89]

Wait let me get this straight.. Did u say u soaked your phone in alcohol? If so..why??

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[TheOtherGuy]

Like most cats, most phones are not fond of anything watery and soapy ... and like (most?) cats, they also don't like rubbing alcohol. Start deciding what your next phone will be ...

[blue_and_bold]

Like most cats, most phones are not fond of anything watery and soapy ... and like (most?) cats, they also don't like rubbing alcohol. Start deciding what your next phone will be ...

Pretty much! Whats with the soaking? I would say wipe down or something like that I can understand but soaking sounds like it would be a bad idea in any type of liquid.

[greydarrah]

I think your phone will be fine (after it dries in the rice). Alcohol is used to clean electronics because it evaporates quickly and it displaces (gets rid of) water. You may have some aesthetic issues with the rubber parts and maybe some issues with glue. I would fix those with rubber cement (some times called contact cement).

[haroon.choudery]

Thanks, I just put the battery in and it doesn't work. Does that mean it wont work or it might work later on?

[greydarrah]

Thanks, I just put the battery in and it doesn't work. Does that mean it wont work or it might work later on?

Definitely...maybe. I still think it will be fine. Give it 24 more hours in the rice.

[haroon.choudery]

Thanks a lot grey. I'll keep you guys updated on the dilemma.

[tom108]

.................................................. ..

[haroon.choudery]

It works!!! The phone is working now although there is still some liquid under the screen! I can live with it though.

[wayfr]

liquid under the screen = liquid still in the phone. remove the battery and cards and put the phone in a new ziploc bagful of rice. leave it there for at least 24 hours. you may be able to live with it for now but your storm wont be able to for much longer. do it now while its still an option.

[BlackObsidian]

Instead of rice, try and find some desiccant (the little "Do Not Eat" packets that come with all electronics) and put it in that it's a much better moisture absorber. A lot of stores carry Damp-Rid which is pretty good.

[haroon.choudery]

Do I open the little packages or use the whole package?

[VerizonTechie]

OK I have seen this SOOO many times in SOOO many threads...
can someone PLEASE explain to me the physics of how rice will magically pull the liquid out of a non-permeable surface?
I would think I studied enough in school to know confidently that the only 2 ways rice could absorb liquid AT ALL is if it were
1. in direct contact with the liquid
OR
2. the ambient temperature was hot enough to turn the liquid into steam, which would just melt critical components anyhow...

Can anyone actually show a side by side test done of an electronic device that was dried out naturally and one that was "dried" in a bag of rice?

Sorry to thread jack here, but someone needs to submit the rice idea to MythBusters (maybe its been done already, haven't seen the show in a while) and see once and for all. I honestly think that the rice ends up being purely cosmetic, and if you successfully dry a component out with it, that it is nothing more than coincidence.

PS: I would be more than happy to rebut this and bow down if proven wrong... I just see the whole rice idea as more work and a false hope.

[Jmosack606]

thats why i have extra water damage stickers

sry for the situations.

[BlackObsidian]

Do I open the little packages or use the whole package?

I'd use the whole pack.

[imme40]

OK I have seen this SOOO many times in SOOO many threads...
can someone PLEASE explain to me the physics of how rice will magically pull the liquid out of a non-permeable surface?
I would think I studied enough in school to know confidently that the only 2 ways rice could absorb liquid AT ALL is if it were
1. in direct contact with the liquid
OR
2. the ambient temperature was hot enough to turn the liquid into steam, which would just melt critical components anyhow...

Can anyone actually show a side by side test done of an electronic device that was dried out naturally and one that was "dried" in a bag of rice?

Sorry to thread jack here, but someone needs to submit the rice idea to MythBusters (maybe its been done already, haven't seen the show in a while) and see once and for all. I honestly think that the rice ends up being purely cosmetic, and if you successfully dry a component out with it, that it is nothing more than coincidence.

PS: I would be more than happy to rebut this and bow down if proven wrong... I just see the whole rice idea as more work and a false hope.

I believe its to pull moisture out of the air. As the water naturally evaporates the rice soak up the moisture that comes from that

Just my .02

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[BlackObsidian]

OK I have seen this SOOO many times in SOOO many threads...
can someone PLEASE explain to me the physics of how rice will magically pull the liquid out of a non-permeable surface?
I would think I studied enough in school to know confidently that the only 2 ways rice could absorb liquid AT ALL is if it were
1. in direct contact with the liquid
OR
2. the ambient temperature was hot enough to turn the liquid into steam, which would just melt critical components anyhow...

Can anyone actually show a side by side test done of an electronic device that was dried out naturally and one that was "dried" in a bag of rice?

Sorry to thread jack here, but someone needs to submit the rice idea to MythBusters (maybe its been done already, haven't seen the show in a while) and see once and for all. I honestly think that the rice ends up being purely cosmetic, and if you successfully dry a component out with it, that it is nothing more than coincidence.

PS: I would be more than happy to rebut this and bow down if proven wrong... I just see the whole rice idea as more work and a false hope.

I think a cooking show talked about this (actually the rice in salt in humid environments). They basically said if rice could absorb moisture just sitting around it would basically cook itself.

[sleepwalker]

This is a case of chemistry class gone wrong. You are suppose to use pure ethanol to absorb water, like those used to clean electronics. Rubbing alcohol sometimes come as isopropyl rubbing alcohol, which is used as an organic solvent or cleaner. I use that to remove sticker leftovers from tapes and glue.

If your storm is falling a part, there's a good chance you got yourself the wrong rubbing alcohol.

[VerizonTechie]

yeah I get the philosophy of pulling the water out of the air, but once it evaporates, wouldn't it have to escape the shell of the phone for the rice to absorb it? Is the rice supposed to lure the moisture out of the phone? Oh well, on to the point at hand...
As sleepwalker mentioned, ethanol is a great way to go, not to absorb water, but to shed it. Ethanol will not allow conduction, so no fear of electrical burnout. Dries pretty quickly too. =)

[sleepwalker]

OK I have seen this SOOO many times in SOOO many threads...
can someone PLEASE explain to me the physics of how rice will magically pull the liquid out of a non-permeable surface?
I would think I studied enough in school to know confidently that the only 2 ways rice could absorb liquid AT ALL is if it were
1. in direct contact with the liquid
OR
2. the ambient temperature was hot enough to turn the liquid into steam, which would just melt critical components anyhow...

Can anyone actually show a side by side test done of an electronic device that was dried out naturally and one that was "dried" in a bag of rice?

Sorry to thread jack here, but someone needs to submit the rice idea to MythBusters (maybe its been done already, haven't seen the show in a while) and see once and for all. I honestly think that the rice ends up being purely cosmetic, and if you successfully dry a component out with it, that it is nothing more than coincidence.

PS: I would be more than happy to rebut this and bow down if proven wrong... I just see the whole rice idea as more work and a false hope.

Here is a few test that you can do. Rice will not absorb water but it will absorb some moisture. This helps to draw away the evaporating water from the device but will not magically suck up all the way. Just gives a helping hand in the drying process.

I live in a very humid country. If you leave salt in salt shakers without a cap/cover over the little holes, the salt would absorb the moisture and clumps together (it'll also get all wet). We put rice into those salt shakers and it does help prevent the clumping as the rice would absorb the moisture before the salt does.

I'm sure you can try this at home to see for yourself. Put salt in a container without rice and one with rice. Leave the containers slightly exposed and see which salt gets 'wet' first.

[VerizonTechie]

yeah unfortunately I live in California (and not on the coast) so it is not very humid here... which is where I was heading with the rice trick. I get that it can absorb moisture, but once it evaporates and leaves the shell of the phone, it would just go into the atmosphere anyhow... negating the need for the rice, and the benefit. Anyhow... good luck on the restoration of the phone. I think if it were me, knowing how little work it takes to tear down the phone... I would strip it apart and leave it in the sun for an hour or two (lcd face down or unplugged and not in the sun at all)....
viola... problem solved... everything is completely dry. No 24 hour wait, no rice residue getting in tiny crevices that you don't want it in... reassemble the phone, takes like 5 minutes... All in all, 2 hour fix.