How to Deal with Water-Damaged Electronics: Tips and Guidelines

As you know, water and electricity don’t mix. Water is corrosive, and diluted minerals, salts, and other impurities conduct electricity, leading to short circuits and electrocution. You’re probably careful to keep your TVs, gaming consoles, computers, and other gadgets dry, but what happens if your electronics are damaged in a flood? Learn how to deal with water-damaged electronics and what it takes to salvage these belongings.

Safety First

Standing water puts you at risk of electrocution. When you reenter your home after a flood, you should first turn off the power at the main breaker box. If water has soaked the floor in front of it, stand at a distance and use a non-conductive wooden stick to flip the breaker switch. Only then is it safe to handle plugged-in electronics?

Consider Professional Content Restoration

Aside from possibly injuring yourself, attempting to repair waterlogged electronics could further damage the device. Avoid this by handing delicate items over to a professional contents restorer. Experts use advanced tools and techniques to increase the chance of saving your belongings.

Be aware that there’s no guarantee of fixing water-damaged electronics. The chances are lowest if the item was powered on when it came in contact with water or submerged long enough to corrode. Cleaning fees and replacement parts often far exceed the cost of buying a new device.

If you still want to attempt to salvage your electronics, read on to learn how.

Rinse With Clean Water

Exposing already-wet electronics to clean water is unlikely to cause further damage, but the effectiveness varies. Handheld consumer devices, for instance, will unlikely benefit from this step. However, flushing large appliances and industrial electronics with pure, distilled water may help dislodge impurities and aid in the restoration process. Either way, it doesn’t hurt to try.

Clean the Corrosion

If your devices sat underwater for days, corrosion might have set in, particularly near battery connectors and charging ports. Clean any green or encrusted areas with cotton swabs dipped in isopropyl alcohol. This cleaning solution also helps speed up the evaporation process.

Dry Thoroughly

The final step is to remove every trace of water before attempting to power the device. While it’s easy to dry the outer casing with a towel, you’ll need to get inside to dry the electrical components themselves. If you can remove panels to access the internal circuitry, do so. Otherwise, submerging the device in a container of uncooked rice for several hours may be effective.

Contact a Professional

To increase the chance of salvaging your water-damaged electronics, turn to Pacific Flood Restoration. We offer affordable content pack-out, relocating your belongings while our team works on drying out your home. Then, we restore your contents to their pre-flood condition whenever possible. If there’s any chance of saving your electronics, our team will make it happen!

To request a water damage consultation at your San Diego-area home, please call us at 832-294-5462 or contact us online today. We serve Carlsbad, San Marcos, Oceanside, and other communities across North County.