Desk phone rings. Wife on the line.
Her: "Don't know how it happened, but the cell phone went through the washing machine."
Me, sounding criminally dumb: "Is it working?"
Her: "Uh, no, it went through the washing machine."
(Only later did I think of the snappy comeback: "And what exactly do you mean by you don't know how it happened? The thing didn't up and leap into the washer, now did it?")
Her next gambit is to rummage around for a way to pin the rap on me. Neither of us has much use for a cell phone, so we share one, a four-year-old, plain-Jane Nokia 3595. I hadn't used it in quite some time. I didn't load the washing machine. Ipso, facto ... It's a half-hearted try on her part, which she quickly abandons in favor of a recovery effort.
Her: "Do you have anyone there who might know whether it will dry out or not?"
Me: "You mean like a Network World Underwater Gadget Guy?" (No, I'm not quick enough to have said that, but it was the gist of this part of the conversation and I wasn't taking notes, so please work with me.)
Her: "Don't be a ..."
Me: "I'll ask around."
Tim's office is next door to mine, so I ask Tim.
Me: "Tim, someone - I don't want to say who - put our cell phone through the washing machine. Any chance it'll dry out?"
Tim: "Tell Julie that, yes, it'll dry out."
Me: "And work again?"
Tim: "I think so. I've heard of it happening. ... Who was it? ... Oh, yeah, Neal; someone in Neal's family did the same thing and I'm pretty sure the phone worked again."
Never having been party to a cell-phone washing previously, at this point I'm somewhat startled to learn that not only has it happened before but it's happened to a colleague right here in the office. Since then I've learned that this kind of goof is actually quite common: A Google search for "phone in the washer" turns up 9,000 pages of such soggy tales.
I call home.
Me: "Hold the phone, Jules, don't toss it; Tim says it'll dry out."
Her: "I wasn't going to throw it out. It's in the junk drawer ... drying, I hope."
Next 10 minutes we talk about how this is probably for the best since it was an old phone and we really should have two anyway and won't this be a good story to tell to the kids when they get older. Our assumption: No matter what Tim says, that dripping phone in the junk drawer is most likely a hunk of junk.
But to satisfy my now raging curiosity, I walk across the newsroom to Neal's office.
Me: "Neal, Tim says you know something about cell phones going through washing machines."
Neal: "Yes, it happened to Alex's phone."
Alex being Neal's son, a college student ... an Ivy Leaguer, no less.
Me: "Did it dry out."
Neal: "Yes, but ..."
Me: "Work again?"
Neal: "Not exactly."
Me: "But Tim said it worked again. What happened?"
Neal: "It also went through the dryer."
Me: "Oh."
Neal, by the way, readily admits to being "the culprit" in his phone wash-and-dry.
So, you're undoubtedly asking, what about my phone? It hadn't been fried in the dryer. Did it live to tell the tale?
Happy ending: A few days later it blinks back to life without so much as a gurgle. Works just fine now, thanks.
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dunked cell phone
Mine fell in the toilet once, so i didn't even bother to see if would work again...
Eeewww ...
Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry was freaking out because his girlfriend of the moment said she had put something of his in the toilet but wouldn't tell him what. You can read about the episode on Wikipedia, of course.
my phone worked after it
my phone worked after it went throuh the washer and dryer!
Key is leaving it off ... I think
My wife dropped her's into a wave, never to be seen again, and my friend gave his snappy new Razor to his son to calm him down while he tried to tie his shoes. Forgot he had it, and when the toddler got up he went over and tossed it into the kiddie pool. The mistake my friend made, apparently, was trying to turn it on immediately after the dunking. Thing started to spark. Worked for about 2 minutes and then died. I've since heard you can let them dry out with some success.
The Blame Game
I'd like to make several points here:
First, clearly I do the vast majority of the laundry in our household. The reason is not only that I'm in our household almost 24/7 because Paul had me carry our children three at a time, but also that Mr. Buzzblog--despite my best efforts to train him--still can't or won't sort laundry. To him, it's all one big happy party in the washing machine. I now hide my nice white and black clothes so Paul won't subject them to a "party wash" and my finery won't go gray or fade, respectively.
Second, I never carry the cell phone in a clothing pocket. I only carry the thing in my purse (which probably weighs less than Paul's wallet, but that's another story). I continue to be convinced that the phone must have been in one of Paul's pockets and that's how it ended up in the washer.
Third, when Paul transfers laundry from the washer to the dryer, he rarely even shakes individual items out. He puts wads of wet laundry in the dryer. I found the phone because I gently shake each item out so that it may dry thoroughly and as wrinkle-free as possible. If he'd moved the laundry, the cell phone would have been fried.
OK. I feel much better now. Thanks for indulging me.
And another thing...
Now that I'm venting, I'd also like to point out that I don't like the implications of the parenthetical comment "non verified" under the subject line and after my identity on the previous post--and probably this one too.
Alcohol works
1st, DO NOT turn the phone on - remove the battery ASAP.
Now for a proven method to save the phone - Alcohol.
Preferably dis-assemble and then soak. (Taking apart the phone lets it get into all of the nooks and crannies and helps it dry out) Half an hour or even less should do it.
It will 'absorb' any remaining water.
And, I don't mean vodka or tequila, etc. Regular old rubbing alcohol (higher % of alcohol the better). I suppose pure grain alcohol would also work just fine.
Then let the alcohol fully evaporate and put phone back together.
I had a couple of beers ...
... after this happened. Do you think it might have helped?
I believe you
(For what its worth, I believe you are really Paul's wife and that you are awesome as well. This of course coming from another 'not verified' character.) What is really interesting to me is that not only has this subject generated so many responses, but that so many people wash their phones! My daughter's story is a little different. She lost her phone last year in a newly seeded soybean field, and we found it several months later when the snow thawed. It was covered with mud and the screen had water under it. We rinsed it throughly with distilled water, let it dry for several days, then charged it up and... it worked! Samsung phones may not be pretty, but evidently they are tough.
Not Verified
Thank you for your openning parenthetical comment. Actually, it's not that I think people will think that I'm not Paul's wife, but that people will think that he doesn't have a wife at all and that I'm his live-in love-thing.