Mud in phone

[Rgarner]

My friend fell in the mud and now his phone has mud in it. Of course it isn't charging. What can be done?

 

[ocnbrze]

My friend fell in the mud and now his phone has mud in it. Of course it isn't charging. What can be done?

rinse it in water to get the mud out and then i would dry it as much as possible and put it in a zip lock with rice. DO NOT TURN ON THE PHONE UNTIL IT IS FULLY DRY. wait for 12-24 hours before trying to charge it.

 

[olbriar]

An alcohol bath would be superior to water if have some.

 

[ocnbrze]

An alcohol bath would be superior to water if have some.

just curious would rubbing alcohol work?

 

[olbriar]

I would think. Purified water would work too. Just eliminating the chemicals that might crystalize and possibly bridge a circuit board would be best. Especially since just plain water has not been in the phone. I even read somewhere... likely here... that a good alcohol bath then rice after a water dunking is good measure. Luckily I'm not speaking from experience.

 

[Rgarner]

I'm glad for once I'm not. Would contact cleaner work? I guess it's available at home depot. It probably shouldn't be too expensive.

 

[ocnbrze]

I'm glad for once I'm not. Would contact cleaner work? I guess it's available at home depot. It probably shouldn't be too expensive.

or cvs should have plenty of rubbing alcohol

 

[dontpanicbobby]

OT: Contact cleaner; What is that @Rgarner? Sounds familiar.

 

[mikedt]

I'm glad for once I'm not. Would contact cleaner work? I guess it's available at home depot. It probably shouldn't be too expensive.

Contact cleaner is meant for treating potentiometers, switches, and relay contacts that have oxidised. As it very likely contains lubricants, I wouldn't completely immerse a phone in the stuff, might end up in a gooey mess. Also contact cleaner usually comes in an aerosol can.

 

[Rgarner]

Ok, the damage is less than I thought. The phone is actually on, just not charging. Is there any way to put just a little bit of contact cleaner in the charger port? I don't know much about the stuff. In fact, I just found out about it last night, courtesy of AF.

 

[mikedt]

I think spraying the contacts in the USB charger port should be no problem. But if it's still not charging, could be something is actually damaged, that needs replacement or repair.

 

[Fox Mulder]

Contact cleaner won't be good for removing mud or dried residue from the charging port. As Mike said it's intended for removing light oxidation from electrical contacts.
I'd try using a small piece of clean cloth in the port and see what comes out with that, then maybe blow it out with air. Chances are some residue in the port is preventing contact with the charging cable and that has to be carefully removed.
Do all this with the phone turned off.

 

[Rgarner]

I got these little bendy brush pick things from the dollar store. He's using one in the port now. I hope it works. I still don't know if I should get the contact cleaner.

 

[Rgarner]

I finally got a chance to check it out myself. There seems to be a physical obstruction preventing the charger tip from going into the port. I don't want to break it by forcing it. I know that radiant's a cheap piece of junk but a new one might be out of the question.

 

[olbriar]

It's likely mud that has dried in the charging port that's restricting the insertion. If it were my phone, I would attempt to rinse that out. Holding the port pointing down so the water has less chance of entering the phone I'd use an eyedropper of water or alcohol and squirt into the port. I'd then slap the phone into the palm of my hand letting the force and gravity aid in freeing the mud. I'd repeat a number of times until I saw that some debris was removed. Use a blow dryer or just sitting the phone in a position so that it could drain out of the port until it's dry. Once dry, I would then try again to plug in the charger. Unless the port was squashed or in some way disfigured in the accident, it has to be dried mud causing the problem.

Be sure to turn off the phone before trying anything similar and do not power back up until you are satisfied it is dry. The charger cable insertion can be tried repeatedly until you know that it will fully seat without it being plugged into the charger.

 

[Rgarner]

What's a good substitute for an eyedropper? It's a drag not having such basic things. Could a bendy thing be used to supply water somehow?

 

[olbriar]

The object is to squirt liquid UP into the port. That will require some sort of squeeze bottle. Any size squeeze container would work but to minimize the liquid needed I suggested a dropper. A kitchen baster or empty and cleaned mustard container are examples of what might be used. However, the smaller the squeeze vessel, the less liquid required to push up hill. Even a plastic straw folded up so only an inch and a half contained liquid might work. Squeeze the straw to push the liquid into the port.

 

[Fox Mulder]

I'd try the canned air if it's a physical obstruction. The pressurized air might be enough to dislodge it without sticking something in there that could damage the port.
Even better would be if you can get access to a source of shop air with a blower nozzle. One quick blast from that would probably clear out what's in there.

 

[Rgarner]

I got the contact cleaner and a set of two glass eyedroppers. We haven't used them yet. Compressed air might not be in the budget. Do you have any final words of advice?

 

[Rgarner]

Well, he's sprayed a lot of contact cleaner in there but it's still not charging. Still, at least the plug is going in there easier. Now he's trying a different charger. I guess we'll see.

 

[puppykickr]

This may sound terrible, but here goes...

An old timer that showed me many things with electronics refuses to use contact cleaner.

This guy buys, sells, trades literally tons of equipment, most of which has been sitting so long as to accumulate dust and debris in every knob, switch, and orifice.

Some are flood damaged, some are from storage with mice infestation, some from homes with cockroaches.

So, what does he do?

He first will disassemble what can be done quickly and easily.

Then he will hose everything down with common starting fluid.
Yes, starting fluid- that stuff that is part either and is used to start stubborn motors.

I balked at this.
It seemed dangerous at best, and detrimental at worst.

But it really works.
And it is less than $3 a can in most cases.

Contact cleaner is very expensive, and most often is a temporary fix at best- meaning that you will need to literally 'rinse and repeat'.

Do not get me wrong, starting fluid is a different animal.
It is highly flammable, and gives off mighty fumes.

But it dries up super quick, and leaves no discernable residue.

I do it outdoors.
This is a must!

I have used it on everything from scratchy volume knobs on radios and amplifiers, to the jacks and knobs on my bass and guitars.
Once, I fixed an old mixing board, whose sliders had filled with crud, just by hosing them out real good with starting fluid.

If you try everything else first, give this a shot and see.

 

[Rgarner]

Where is that available? It might be worth a try. The phone still works but does not charge.

 

[Davdi]

Try Amazon or EBay first. IN the UK some larger supermarkets carry it, or a car service focused store or website.

 

[puppykickr]

Where is that available? It might be worth a try. The phone still works but does not charge.

Yeah, man.
Just go to AutoZone or any cheap auto parts store.

Remember, you are not looking for quality parts, just some cheap spray that is the same no matter what it costs.

 

[Rgarner]