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If you’ve ever accidentally dropped your phone in water you’ll be familiar with that gut churning feeling of causing almost certain irreparable damage to your expensive smartphone.
Maybe you accidentally dropped it down the toilet or left it in your pocket as you jumped in the pool (hey, we’re not judging).
Maybe you got caught in a severe downpour during the rainy season and your phone got so wet it stopped working.
People probably told told you that the only way to rescue your drowned phone is to place it overnight in a container of dry rice so that the grains will soak up all the moisture from your phone.
However, researchers have busted the dry rice theroy wide open.
According to research site Gazelle, there is an even more effective hack for drying out a wet smartphone.
The secret?
Use cat litter – the crystal kind – to dry out your smartphone.
Is this the secret to saving you water damaged smartphone?
The experts say that if your phone is submerged in water, you should first shake off the excess as soon as you have recovered it.
You should then leave it to air dry before placing it in bag of cat litter for as long as possible, with three days the ideal amount of time.
If three days sounds like a long time to go without using your phone, it’s surely a better option than having to buy a new one.
The researchers said that if you can’t get hold of the crystal kind of cat litter, then rice is still a good alternative.
Silica gel packs, that often come in boxes of new shoes or luggage can be used, just make sure you leave your phone in an airtight container overnight to maximise the change of all the moisture being absorbed.
However, contrary to popular belief, researchers said you should never use a hair dryer to dry your phone as it can actually do more harm than good. The air from the dryer can force moisture inwards, creating more damage and the likely death of your smartphone.
