I can’t think of anything worse to do to your iPhone than putting it through a full cycle in the washing machine, except maybe dropping a cinder block directly on it from a sizable distance, or running it over with your car. My wife failed to remove my iPhone from my pant’s pocket before washing them over the weekend and needless to say, I totally freaked out when I found it in the bottom of the washing machine post spin cycle. I suppose I’m really to blame, but regardless of fault, here are the steps I took to get my device working again.
1. DO NOT TURN ON THE DEVICE
2. Dry the device completely with a towel before step 3
3. Purchase some Mimi’s Cat Litter from your local Wal-Mart, as it is composed mostly of Silica Gel. A 4lb bag cost me less than $5.oo
4. Purchase a bag of plain white rice, as it is also effective for wicking out moisture from electronics
5. Line a medium sized tupperware container with about a half inch of white rice and place the phone screen down on the rice(the silica gel is like sand and may damage the screen)
6. Cover the phone with the Mimi’s litter and seal the tupperware tightly
7. Be patient, the phone needs to dry out completely before you try to power it back up. I recommend leaving it in the tupperware for 72 hours before plugging it in
8. After the dry out period plug your phone into the wall charger, not your computer. Allow the phone to fully charge before continuing on to step 9
9. Plug your phone into your computer and do a full backup immediately after you get it charged. Your phone may be working for now, but there’s no telling what the water has done to the innards of the device
10. Hope for the best and learn from your mistake. I can’t guarantee this will work for every case, but with a little luck you will be back in business in a few days