Camera and mobile phone in seawater

Maidenstone · Camera and mobile phone in seawater

I went kayaking this afternoon with my small camera and phone in the small hatch that I thought was waterproof ... it's not. The hatch is obviously there to keep things safe and stop them falling out and being lost, I should have put my things in a waterproof bag. The battery terminals of both have gone green and grungey - if I clean them off is there any hope for either of them?

I think they'd have been all right if the kayak hadn't been swamped with a wave as I was getting away from the beach. At least the dog stayed put behind me. We paddled out to beside Aberdeen harbour entrance to see if the bottlenose dolphins were there but they weren't. Couldn't have taken a photo of them anyway if they had been there.

IainC

Were they switched on at the time?

If they were... then chances are they are toast... if they were off then there is a chance if you can get them cleaned off and dried out before you power them back on then you might get away with it.

Generally the first and biggest mistake after people get electrics wet is trying to turn them on too quickly and killing them stone dead.

Had a bathroom (battery operated) radio which fell into a full bath... ripped it to bits, left it on the heater to dry off completely, put the same (dried) batteries back in and switched it on and it was fine

Maidenstone

Thanks Iain. I've got them laid out drying and will see if that works, though the phone was on at the time, so perhaps I can forget about that. I'm more worried about the camera, the phone was quite old although nice and simple for my poor old brain. I hate the thought of trying to learn to use a new one with all the bells and whistles that they have these days.

I could kick myself for being so stupid and not putting them in a waterproof bag.

IainC

You might be okay if it gets a chance to dry out properly... problem is if it (they) was (were) on, then it could have already short circuited and killed the board(s) inside... generally doesn't take much.

Saying that, the radio I drowned, was on when it fell in the bath, so fingers crossed the camera is okay.

You may have an issue with the focusing, etc though if water has got inside the body and it doesn't dry out properly IYKWIM.

niceguyrichy

mate of mine put his shiny new motorola v3i (a few years back mind) through an intensive cycle in his washing machine.
stripped it to bits, and sat it in his oven with the fan running (not entirely sure I'd recommend this tbh) for a couple days.
when he put it back together it worked fine and dandy
you just have to be real patient with it and make doubly sure it's totally dried out before you try it, and you never know

just out of interest, if it's the camera you're most worried about, how were the images stored on it??
cos if it's regular ole SD card you're laughing, they'll generally speaking take a drooching with no problem at all.

baldowrie

I washed my mobile phone, twice! Don't ask, senior moments.

Anyway I let it dry out and and it worked, although I did have to buy a new batery.

Maidenstone

Richy - yes, SD card, and all my images are on computer now thankfully, so at least I've not lost any. You've all given me hope that both camera and phone might work when all dried out, but I worry that seawater with all that salt is a different matter.
My OH did it once when his camera rucksack was swamped by seawater in a Zodiac - a very sad end to a precious Canon F1.

IainC

Yeah, once it's all dried out, it might be worth giving it all a wipe down to clear any salty residue before you let it dry a bit further and then try powering it on.

With all electronics, you may find it works, but not 100%... some "options" might be knackered due to the salt water.

Fingers crossed it all works okay though.

Maidenstone

Thanks everyone - I'll let you know what happens.

MJ

barbie hairdryer!
every time my phone's have had an unexpected dip, sat them open with a barbie hairdryer blowing cold air through them. the lcd screen is the thing that takes longest to dry out (on nokias anyway), but patients is all that's required.