I’m looking for advice on cleaning out my mobile phone after jumping into the salt and chlorine swimming pool with it. Here is my question in the context of a thread I found somewhere - http://www.meetmyattorney.com/slink/mt-archives/000526.html . They recommend baking it for 5 hours in the oven! I’m wondering if I should get it wet again to thoroughly clean it. Here is the situation…
Last week I went for a swim with my phone in my pocket. I realised after about 30 seconds. The phone had been on when I jumped in. When I got out the phone was off. I removed the battery, sim card, and case and let it dry in the sun. I checked later that day - it turned on then off. I checked the next day - it turned on but some keys didn’t work. I checked the next day - everything worked except it would not charge. Now, a week later, it charges most of the time but it occasionally turns off and four of the keys only sometimes work.
The pool I jumped into is salt and chlorine and I haven’t yet rinsed it out (too scared to re-wet it). Are these small problems I’m experiencing with the phone signs that the salt and chlorine are eating away at the phone?
Should I rinse it out thoroughly now? What if I only rinsed the lower half and not the screen? It’s a cheap phone (Nokia 2100) but I really don’t want to have to buy a new one.
My wife has managed to submerge 2 cell phones in water, both times the water was clear (no salt or chlorine). You might want to go ahead and rinse the phone.
I disassembled mine and used a hair dryer to dry it . It worked fine after that. Good luck;)
If you can totally open it up and get behind the keys that dont work you can see if there is and gunk or nasty stuff making the connections bad. It not charging well might be because there is gunk where you plug it in. If you can get something in there to gently clean you can do that.
Andrew, I just remembered something that may be verrrrrrry useful. If you have an electronics store nearby, purchase a spray can of “contact cleaner”. It is used to clean electrical components and connections. The really cool part is that it dissipates water and then evaporates (like alcohol)
Cell phones are the DEVIL! That’s why I dont have one. All my friends do they say “Michael why dont you have a cell phone?” I say “Why do I need one when I can just use yours?”
eadit: Looks like I beat some one to the punch there / .
I’ll second that. PUT IT IN THE BIN YOU DON’T NEED IT!!!
People need mobiles even less now than they ever did coz every bugger else has got them, so you just use someone elses, or presume that one of your mates’ll make an educated guess as to where you are and who you’re with and they can phone the phone of a friend. mobile’s are BAD they give you arthritis in your hands and cancer in your head.
Cell phones are dangerous, brain rotting trash. So are television and internet user groups.
To answer your question, this is what I recommend. Considering what yours has been through (salt and chlorine solution) first, remove the battery. Second, soak it thoroughly in purified water (distilled, deionized, whatever is ion-free). third, bake it in the oven for several hours at the limit of the storage temperature for the phone according to the manufacturer. This will be some temperature below the melting point of the softest plastic in the phone.
Heed jagur’s advice!!! Cell phones were put on earth by Satan himself.
I used to have an “unbreakable” 5100, it survived being in my pocket underwater for 4 hours during a flood, but I finished it off by sitting on it…
My dad had a motorola t720 which was underwater at the same time as mine, that one didn’t survive…
I left my old motorola outside overnight once, that was fine after a little while in the oven- don’t leave the battery in there though!
if I were you i’d take it apart and see if there’s anything obvious amiss. If it’s a fairly modern nokia you’ll need a special screwdriver (Torx-5 i think). But if you cant’ find one (I couldn’t when i needed it!) then you might be able to get by with a selection of small allen keys and a pair of very fine pliers.
