6/13/2023 0 Comments Silica packetsI tend to think of the actions that are taken following a device suffering water damage as little more than buying time. Also, you might have been lucky and avoided a short-circuit, but still have problems from corrosion down the line. The fact is that a short circuit can kill your device before it gets anywhere near a packet of silica gel. Sometimes drying out a device fixes this (such as in the case of switches), but it can cause permanent damage to components such as displays.Ī water damaged circuit board showing a bad case of "the green crusties." Water can get into displays and speakers, or into buttons and switches, rendering them inoperative. This corrosion looks like a fine greenish gray powder which we in the business call "the green crusties." Physical damage I've lost count of the number of devices I've come across that "just died" for no apparent reason, but when you open them up you see that the reason was that at some point a liquid was spilled into it and that in turn caused corrosion to form (this is very common with games consoles and handheld devices). It can cause tremendous amounts of damage, eating away circuit boards and components.Ĭorrosion can be cleaned off with something like contact cleaner or isopropyl alcohol, but that won't fix the damage, and I find that once corrosion has begun, all you can do is slow it down. If your device didn't die immediately when exposed to liquids, then the next thing to worry about is corrosion.Ĭorrosion is a long-term thing and builds up over time. This is why it's a good idea to remove the battery from a wet device whenever possible, and not power it on until dry. If a device is dropped into a liquid and immediately stops working, most likely this damage has been caused by a short circuit. Pure distilled water is not conductive, but the more "contaminants" that are in the water add - tap water, seawater, cola, coffee, mud - the more conductive the water is and the higher the likelihood of a powered device being damaged. CloseĪ short circuit is where electricity inside a device takes a path that it shouldn't, which in turn causes damage. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping.
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