If you're one of the millions of Americans that have dropped your phone in the toilet while trying to take one of those timelessly sexy bathroom selfies, then this message is for you.
There was a study conducted September 2014, showing that putting your wet phone in a bowl of rice DOES NOT work.
In fact, just leaving out to dry and doing nothing is more effective than the rice method, although still not a very effective method overall.
Your reality as you know it has been shattered, I know.
I've dropped many a phone into a variety of pools, bowls, sinks, basins, puddles and even rivers.
I've used a bowl of rice to try and remedy the situation nearly every time. Thinking back on it, I now realize that none of those phones survived, even after placing them in their round little rice coffins, except for one that only went halfway into the toilet before I saved it. But that doesn't count, it barely got wet.
TekDry, the company that released the study, conveniently has a phone rescue program that assures customers that if they can get their hands on your wet phone within 48 hours, they can fix it.
But not everyone can get to their fancy service within that 48-hour window, so here are some more practical tips for the next time you fall asleep in the jacuzzi with your phone in your hand, or that clumsy friend we all have spills their Barefoot Moscato all over it:
- Don't put your phone in a bowl of rice. It has a better chance of survival if you leave it outside to dry naturally.
- If it falls in saltwater, rinse it immediately. The saltwater will do much more damage to the phone than regular water.
- Don't blow dry it, microwave it or put it in the oven. Yes, some people have to be told not to put their phones in the oven. The intense heat could warp some of the more fragile parts of your phone.
- Turn your phone off immediately and don't charge your phone. Unlike Sonny and Julian from Big Daddy, water and electricity do not go together like lamb and tuna fish.
- Remove as much water as possible from the outer surface of the phone with a towel or napkin.
- Don't be a dumbass. Hold onto your phone, butterfingers. Grow up, Peter Pan! Count Chocula!
You may now go back to using your excess rice for pelting newlyweds and blowing up pigeons.
