Chosen Solution
Whilst on holiday last week I had my personal mobile in a waterproof ( or so i thought) bag and this was dropped in the sea. Straight away, after realising that the bag was not as waterproof as I hoped, I pulled the phone apart dried it with paper towels and left it to dry. I have thoroughly dried it out, hot hotel balcony and at home a radiator, then a bag of uncooked rice (5 days now). However I have since got home and read online that I should have rinsed the phone in tap / de ionised water or alcohol first, prior to drying it and that the residual salt is likely to foul it up if I turn it on… (Makes a lot of sense if you stop to think about it - rather than panicking about getting it dry.) Not wishing to completely wreck it. I have not yet turned the phone on or rewet the phone.. What would you recommend to hopefully bring the phone back to working order without further knackereing the phone. I am a little cautious as I do not have to pay my £200 excess for water damage on my insurance. Would rinsing the phone now, do anything to remove the now dried up salt? what would be the best rinse - de ionised water or isopropyl alcohol? Any other advice?
Gareth, I am certain that you are running into corrosion damage from the salt water. I would recommend that you disassemble your phone totally. You can find a disassembly guide on here. Clean all the parts with high grade isopropyl alcohol (try 90% and great) and a soft tooth brush or a similar device. You can let all the pieces soak in the alcohol. After that, replace the battery and re-evaluate for any damage. Do not forget to clean the connectors and cable ends, hope this helps. Good Luck.
