Tracfone Gets Laundered

[TromboneAl]

My new tracfone LG220 went through the washing machine today because I was tenderizing some steak without an apron.

I hammered a piece of steak and it squirted off the cutting board and hit me in the crotch at high velocity. I took the pants off, sprayed the crotch area with Shout, left them on the washing machine, and then continued cooking.

DW came home, I told her the story, and she put the pants in the washing machine. The phone was on at the time. She checked pockets, but the cell phone is small...

Anyway, it's now thoroughly laundered. I've seen plenty of reports of phones surviving this, following days of drying out. Mine (with battery removed) is on the output vent of the dehumidifier now, and I'll wait a few days before I try it.

If you've had a phone go through the wash, and didn't immediately toss it, please vote in the poll.

[I know, I know, don't say it: alternative title: Beating my meat with my cellphone in my pocket.]

 

[brewer12345]

I dropped one in the Long Island Sound. After drying out is sort of worked and I limped on for a month before replacing it. I suspect that fresh water will be less destructive.

 

[RonBoyd]

Buying ground beef would be [-]more efficient[/-] easier... and less dangerous. (Not as humorous, however.)

 

[Meadbh]

I hammered a piece of steak and it squirted off the cutting board and hit me in the crotch at high velocity. I took the pants off, sprayed the crotch area with Shout, left them on the washing machine, and then continued cooking.

I have this vision of Al naked from the waist down, with a barbecue tongs in one hand.....

My secretary dropped her cell phone in the toilet once. It was never the same again.

 

[Dimsumkid]

they claim the best way to dry out a wet cell phone is to bury it in a bowl of uncooked rice (or silica gel packets) until thoroughly dry...a couple of days. The sooner the better

 

[RonBoyd]

My secretary dropped her cell phone in the toilet once. It was never the same again.

The toilet?

 

[bbbamI]

[I know, I know, don't say it: alternative title: Beating my meat with my cellphone in my pocket.]

Why...I never would have thought of that for the thread title....

I've never washed a cell phone, but I did wash the garage door opener this weekend. After drying it and replacing the battery, it works fine.

(and I know, the title of my thread could be; I washed the garage door opener and he didn't complain once)

 

[Avalon]

My new tracfone LG220 went through the washing machine today because I was tenderizing some steak without an apron.

I hammered a piece of steak and it squirted off the cutting board and hit me in the crotch at high velocity. I took the pants off, sprayed the crotch area with Shout, left them on the washing machine, and then continued cooking.

That's so funny. I don't have an answer, but thanks for the laugh.

Maybe run it through the dryer?

 

[Janet H]

I washed and dried a metronome once... it was still annoying (and functional) after being laundered but the battery had to be replaced almost immediately.

Was the washer harmed?
How was the steak?
How about the target?
Your dignity?

 

[Moemg]

I left my cellphone in my car and the sunroof opened . It rained and you could see the water level in the phone . It never worked again .

 

[Cruisinthru]

My 38 year old son spent six weeks at my house last year when he was recovering from Bacterial Meningitus. He was pretty much bed ridden for the first couple of weeks since he could not control his left side. He would talk to friends and his girlfriend several times a day on his cell phone while confined to bed.

Well, I changed his sheets on afternoon and washed his cell phone. It was never the same. I have a front loading washer that uses less water so I thought just maybe it would dry out and be OK. We trashed it and $300+ later he was talking again. The phone didn't recover, but I am glad to say that son did.

 

[Carnage]

I also dropped a cell phone in the toilet. I regret to tell everyone I immediately reached in and grabbed it (and yes, I did spend the next 8 days washing my hand/arm area). Just from that short amount of time it never worked correctly again.

 

[Walt34]

I also washed a garage door opener (in the pocket of a motorcycle riding suit). Took the battery out and left it in front of the dehumidifier for a day and it was fine.

I guess garage door openers are less delicate than cell phones.

 

[Bestwifeever]

DH dropped a phone in the toilet--put it in a plastic bag and brought it home eight hours later, still wet. Idiot. We did save the SIM card (which of course is the phone, the rest is just the bells and whistles that support the industry) to reuse in an old phone.

 

[BigNick]

they claim the best way to dry out a wet cell phone is to bury it in a bowl of uncooked rice (or silica gel packets) until thoroughly dry...a couple of days. The sooner the better

In my previous role, I was the boss of the boss of the people who issued company cell phones (yes, we're still in the 1990s). We used this technique (resulting in the occasional purchase order for rice) with some success. A thorough blasting with WD-40, or failing that, immersion in gasoline (remove the battery first... ) can also help.

 

[ERD50]

To re-enforce the issue - the MOST important thing is to get the battery out of the product immediately (not possible on most of the newer Apple products).

An electrolytic reaction between the battery current, water and metals can end up etching away conductors, permanently damaging them, or causing deposits to be formed which can permanently short out a circuit.

Don't replace the battery and turn on the unit until it is fully dried - we are probably talking several days minimum in a warm, dry environment.

With clean water, you have a decent chance of success; dirty water less so; salt water - you are probably hosed. With salt water, you might even be better off dunking it in pure water, or water & rubbing alcohol to displace the salt water, and then dry that solution out.

-ERD50

 

[Dawg52]

Glad I'm not the only one to do this. I put my phone in one of the extra pockets of my cargo shorts and forgot I put it there. Got home and was soaked from the humidity after hiking with my mutt and decided to wash a quick batch of clothes. When I heard the clanking noise in the dryer, I knew I was in trouble. But bought a $15 replacement and it works better than the old one.

 

[Coderguy]

Just remember that the SIM card will have survived; those little buggers are damn near indestructible; you can just move the SIM to your new phone and you should have your numbers/etc.
The phone is dead....
I've never successfully dried one out.

 

[Rustic23]

Didn't send it through the wash, but it got a good soaking in the toilet! Took the battery out, dried it for two days and it worked. As I was in charge of cell phones for our office, I swapped it out for another one. However, it was still working two years later, just not mine!

 

[saluki9]

I once had a samsung flip phone get washed the dried, it worked fine after that.

My blackberry that I jumped into the swimming pool with in my pocket, not so much

 

[powerplay]

I've never had the misfortune to launder a cellphone, but have washed a few watches which all seemed to recover.

Hopefully the Tracphone can be replaced for a low out of pocket cost if it doesn't work after the dry out process.

 

[TromboneAl]

Yes, I can replace it for $20 and 30 minutes on the phone with a tech support person with a foreign accent reading from a script and feeding me 60 digits to be laboriously entered into the phone. Online activation usually fails here due to poor reception. Actually, their support has been pretty good, but the process of manually entering in these long strings of numbers is ridiculous.

Also, my old candy bar tracfone seemed to get better reception than the new LG220 flipphone, so I may just stick with that.

Two days more of dehumidifying, then I'll see if it survived.

 

[REWahoo]

Two days more of dehumidifying, then I'll see if it survived.

Al, instead of a poll on actual experiences you should have started a pool on "will it or won't it". I say no...

 

[2good]

Yes, I can replace it for $20 and 30 minutes on the phone with a tech support person with a foreign accent reading from a script and feeding me 60 digits to be laboriously entered into the phone. Online activation usually fails here due to poor reception. Actually, their support has been pretty good, but the process of manually entering in these long strings of numbers is ridiculous.

You should get yourself a phone with SIM card, like T-Mobile. Then the next time you need a new phone you just drop the SIM card in it. No need to call customer support.

 

[ERD50]

You should get yourself a phone with SIM card, like T-Mobile. Then the next time you need a new phone you just drop the SIM card in it. No need to call customer support.

Correct - and I was pretty sure Tracfone was GSM based which does us a SIM card. Check that out T-Al - it would be good to take the SIM out anyhow, get everything as open as you can to help with the drying.

And you don't have to wait or be w/o a phone either. Once you put the SIM in that old phone, it should just 'take on' your current account, minutes and all. The system doesn't care, as long as the old phone isn't locked to a carrier (since it was Tracfone also, no issue).

-ERD50