It is a scenario that happens in a split second: your phone slips into a pool, a sink, or—worst of all—the toilet.
It is a scenario that happens in a split second: your phone slips into a pool, a sink, or—worst of all—the toilet. Panic sets in, and you immediately turn to the internet for a solution. The most common advice you’ll find is to put the phone in a bag of dry rice. While this "home remedy" has been around for decades, at iRepair Mobile Indy, we want to clear the air: Rice is for dinner, not for phone repair. In fact, relying on rice can often be the reason a phone becomes unfixable.
The logic behind the rice myth is that rice is a desiccant that pulls moisture out. While rice might absorb some water on the surface, it cannot reach the internal components where the danger actually lies. Even worse, rice introduces dust, starch, and small particles into the charging port and crevices, which can mix with the water to create a corrosive paste. While your phone sits in a bag of rice for 24 hours, the water inside is already beginning to oxidize the copper connections on the motherboard. This process, called corrosion, acts like "tech rust," eating away at the tiny circuits that power your screen, camera, and data storage.
The real danger of water damage isn't the liquid itself, but the minerals in the water and the electricity in the battery. When water touches a live circuit, it creates a "bridge" where electricity shouldn't go, causing a short circuit. If you try to turn the phone on or plug it in while it’s wet, you are likely sending a surge of power that will fry the CPU or power IC.
If your phone gets wet, the most important steps are:
1. Power it off immediately.
2. Remove any cases or SIM trays to allow airflow.
3. Do NOT plug it in.
4. Bring it to a professional as soon as possible. At iRepair Mobile Indy, we use industrial-grade ultrasonic cleaners. These machines use high-frequency sound waves and specialized chemical solutions to vibrate the water and minerals out from underneath the microscopic chips on the motherboard. This is the only scientifically proven way to stop corrosion and save your data. Don't let a bowl of rice turn a fixable problem into a total loss.
Stop by our Indianapolis location for a same-day check.
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