I love my iPhone. No, seriously, it’s like my other husband, except this one I take to conferences. I carry it everywhere, usually tucked into my bra on the left hand side where it makes me feel all warm and tingly (what? so I have smooshy boobs, whatever).
One day, however, I didn’t have it there. I had it my jeans pocket. And then I had a, oh, reaction to the Mexican food I’d eaten the night before requiring those pants to go directly into the washing machine.
With my iPhone.
It wasn’t until the spin cycle that I realized what I’d done. I panicked. I dug through the laundry, found the damned phone, and saw immediately that it was dead. Kaput. Gone for good.
Or was it?
I hopped on the google and did some research. I quickly learned that I couldn’t take the phone apart or the Apple police would know, plus there is a moisture sensor in the phone that was no longer white but a nice healthy pink that would also alert the Apple police, so going to the Apple store for help wasn’t an option.
Here’s what I did.
1. Put the phone in a bowl of rice, with rice over/under/around the phone. Left it there for 24 hours.
2. Removed the SIM card.
3. Using a hair dryer on the “cool” setting, blasted the little tiny space the SIM card worked.
Still nothing.
So I called the Apple people. Because I knew if they SAW the iPhone, it was over. But calling them! Genius.
Then I lied.
I told the sweet young man that answered the phone that I had “No idea!” why my phone wouldn’t turn on. He suggested several different things, none of which worked until:
He had me hold down the “start” button WHILE I pulled OUT the charger.
I know.
BUT IT WORKED.
Nearly a year and a half later, that phone is beginning to show signs of its age. It no longer locks. I can’t turn it on or off. It shuts down randomly when I’m trying to use Tweetdeck.
I’m going to have to upgrade.
But dudes: I got another YEAR AND A HALF out of a fucking iPhone that had been through the wash.
Rock.
About Cecily Kellogg
I will have to make sure that I keep plenty of rice on hand, because while my iPhone hasn’t hit water yet, it’s probably due.
Twitter Name: DExtraordinaire
YOU WASHED IT? OMG. I have to try that trick for the ding dang DS stuff.
Twitter Name: thedgoddess
Yes. Even better? Right after I posted this? I dropped the damned thing in a bowl of soup. Potato soup. It completely plugged up the mic.
HA! I remember that. I have no advice for rescuing electronics, but if Tori ever flushes something down the toilet and you need suggestions for getting it out, I am your woman. I have MUCHO experience in that field.
Twitter Name: Amy Moss
I made the switch to the HTC Eris about a year ago… worst.phone.EVER. Before that, I had an iPhone that lasted four years and was still in excellend working condition when I traded it in. It had been dropped, smushed, washed, it even drank my coffee once… it still worked great. This Eris hasn’t been through one quarter of that and is already on its last leg. Thanks for rubbing that shit in my face. I’m SO happy for you. ;/
I kid.
Twitter Name: Faiqa
that is the last ending I thought I would read on this story
LOL. What, the soup?
Okay, I don’t get it. I’ve tried, but the phone in the bra thing does. not. work. Even with a padded bra. I feel so inadequate.
Twitter Name: therealneeroc
Well, it is true, my boobs are on the, er, massively huge side. :D And they are very squishy, so that even when my bra is full, the phone slides right on in there, mushing my boob down as it goes.
yessssss. exactly. no perky girls here, just smooshy phone embracers.
Well, this is a very helpful post. I’m super impressed with myself for not needing this post yet, but since my 1 year warranty is now officially up on my Iphone, I suspect I will need it very soon.
Hmmm . . . my boobs are not squishy enough, unfortunately, but my ass probably is. Would I look weird if I pulled an Iphone out of my ass, I mean, jeans?
Twitter Name: DTKMMeLookCrazy
My iPhone 4 spent about thirty minutes in my front loading washing machine. It was in my pants pocket, and I was distracted. (I’ll try to shorten the pity party and briefly mention how we have very little expendable money and I got it on the day AT&T opened up phone upgrades to employees – my husband works for them.)
I called my husband at work (hysterical, I’m sure he thought someone had died) and found out how to pry open the release and get the stupid thing to open the door before it was done. He drove home from work during his lunch break (which coincidentally ten minutes after I’d called) and opened it up. We left it in a box of brown rice and desiccant packets (from a replacement Rock Band guitar box that we’d picked up at Toys-R-Us for five bucks a few days before) for two weeks. Took it out every two days to get it warmed up – figuring the heat from the battery would help the moisture exit.
There’s now two little spots in the LCD film that we could probably get rid of if we’d pry the motherboard off the backing and expose it. It works perfectly.
(And we’re not going to discuss how much I cried the night I washed it, and emo’ed around the house for three days afterward while I waited to find out if it was going to live or not.)
Twitter Name: quiddityingot