Big Mistake - Laundry and iPod Touch don't mix
 

Made a bad mistake and when I started laundry of my work uniforms I failed to clear out all the pockets.* Inside my lower leg pant pockets was my iPod Touch that went through the entire wash cycle.In an effort to possibly save it, I placed it in a bin with rice to soak up the moisture...it will sit in there until next week.* I will let you know how this turns out.

EDIT: The iPod was on in sleep mode...so the odds are against me that it can be saved.

Check back on 28 May as that is when I will give it a try and see if it works.

I've heard of that, it's uncooked rice BTW, let us know how that works out for you.

I've heard of that, it's uncooked rice BTW, let us know how that works out for you.

yep uncooked.

iRice?

write off

It will be after it's soaked up all the moisture from the iPod. :D

iLump

FWIW, you can get desiccant crystals that suck moisture like Paris Hilton on a.....

Well they do a much better job than rice anyway:)

BTW, after the wash cycle I might have been tempted to dip/soak or thoroughly run rubbing alcohol through the iPod, then do the dry rice.

edit: Use the 99% alcohol solution. You want that sucker to dry with as few contaminants as possible.

Since it has a solid state drive, I think there is a very good chance it will work after it dries thoroughly - the alcohol dip will displace water and the iPod should dry much faster. Of course, you don't want to start it up with any moisture inside.

FWIW.

distilled water first and maybe no straight alcohol.

:D

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z...crack_pipe.jpg

You should pop it open and remove the battery too.

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/09/15/ipod_touch_tear_down_with_high_quality_internal_ph otos.html

Many many stories of cell phones working after drops in toilets and wash cycles. I dropped my iPod in the surf, went home and rinsed it in alcohol and it still works. The surf swim was about three years ago.

No crack pipe needed. :D

"maybe no" ???

BTW, if the Pod was powered on during its bath, it's probably dead. If not, I give it an excellent chance at recovery.

Don't give up hope.

Wife was at our house construction site and dropped her month old Blackberry 8130. It was a couple of hours before she realized it was missing and found it. It was typical TX biblical rain and the BB had been lying in a puddle of mud for at least an hour.

It was still on when she found it. Told her to turn it off and leave it. It was so mud encrusted she could not get the battery cover off.

So later that night I took the entire thing apart, water and mud all the way to the core.

Left everything to dry then took a soft bristle toothbrush and meticulously cleaned it.

Works just fine.

Is it at least clean and fluffy now?

I'd try the freezer - it dehydrates.

Yes, but water expands when it freezes so any trapped water will break stuff.

well I am expecting the worst and will be happy if it works...if not I will then just replace it with a better (memory wise) one. Sucks that I may have done this and yeah they aren't cheap but it is just a material thing that can be replaced.

Hairdrier --pretty simple way to drive the evaporation.

Removing the battery is also a very good idea.

To support Kurt, I had a Moto V60 go thru the wash, and drier, turned on. I dried it out, cleaned it up, and it survived for years after that.

ok I just moved the bin of rice and iPod to another room in the house where its warmer when all of a sudden the display on the iPod started glowing through the rice. I pulled it out of the bin and powered it off which performed correctly to include the slide bar on the touch screen. So I may be lucky...it will remain in the bin for a week just in case moisture is still in there.

Why not just stick it in the oven (on the lowest setting)? I had a professor who tried that with his daughter's cellphone, once, and it worked for him.

I just want to make sure it dries out ok, I could see moisture behind the screen when it was on for that short time...so I will check and see if it is getting smaller or going away.

You really should pull the battery, and if possible open it up to let it dry out completely as any trapped moisture will cause corrosion and short out the tiny board traces in the coming months.....

issue is opening it up without causing damage...can't seem to find instructions on where to pry it open and the one site says the battery is soldered connections.

You need a splaying tool, as seen in this video. The music is a problem, but the video may help.

<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7wcn4GV-F0E&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7wcn4GV-F0E&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>

A disassembly to this degree would be effective, IMO, and just assemble in reverse when the Pod dries out. :D

EDIT: Sorry, this is for the Mini - but good suggestions re tools.

C/Net says it easy, but I've never done it, so I can't make such a claim.

http://reviews.cnet.com/Replace_your_iPod_Mini_battery_Disassemble_the_iPo d_Mini/4660-6490_7-6423630.html

Tested the ipod functions and everything is working normal, only change is the discolored or wet area beneath the front screen that is about half the size it was last night. At this rate I expect that area to be clear tomorrow and well tearing the thing open to take a look just does not seem a risk I want to take.

So I will just keep it the way it is.

Great!

I stand corrected, I never would have imagined. Good deal!

No need for a mea culpa yet! Sometimes the dihydrogen monoxide wins. But hopefully for H.D. the Pod will dry out and work as intended.

I freaked out yesterday because I thought I had left my iPhone in my pants pocket - the machine was already full of hot water and a couple of minutes into the cycle. I pulled out the soaked pants and went through the pockets, then felt around in bottom of the drum - no phone. I then found it sitting on the edge of a box! Relief.

Whats an Ipod? It is possible to live without something like this... ya know, walking around listening to the world around you and not music all the time.

That's true and probably good advice for some folks. Luckily we live in a free country, so folks can do things we may not personally endorse. :)

Pods are great for jogging, flights and such. You can also listen to college courses from MIT and Stanford, among others, via PodCasts. I've been "taking" Prof. Susskind's quantum mechanics class at Stantford the past few months. :)

YMMV.

Best,

What, you haven't been around a teenager? We NEED a constant flow of entertainment/data/communication pumping into our brain!

I don't want this to degenerate into another anti-technology thread, I am guilty of just buying a hands free bluetooth thing for the visor of my car (to go with my cell phone) and 5.1 home theater and satellite and a long list of other techno gadgets...

But yeah it seems like a kid can't survive without something stuck in their ear.

Not that I'm accusing K9 of being a kid.SmileWavy

I wonder when I see people riding their bikes with ear buds... seems unsafe to me to not be able to hear traffic around you.

this post is from the iPod and all is normal. No signs of damage at all. I got lucky.

Just wanted to add that the iPod Touch is more than your basic MP3 player...it replaced my PDA with all the functions it can handle. I have mine pwned and jailbroke to allow me to run applications beyond what Apple has to offer.

The only better option for me is the iPhone then I could have it all in one device. :D

And finally...I am a big 39 year old kid! SmileWavy

I probably only use mine while I am walking around about 20% of the time. The other 80% is either while I am studying or while I am driving. Once you have 4000 instantly at your finger tips while you are driving you absolutely hate the next time you have to reach over and change a cd after 12 songs.

Also, K9 I feel your pain. Earlier today I jumped on the waverunner with my cell phone still in my pocket...it is currently drying out. I was going to buy a new phone very soon anways, but this has probably forced my hand.