The other day a friend of mine was on the ferry crossing the sound on his way to Seattle and he decided to take some photos of the waves that were crashing over the bow of the ferry. Well he worked his way forward and picked the perfect spot to capture the crashing waves with scenic Seattle in the background. He had positioned himself to make sure he was out of reach of the salt water spray when all of sudden a HUGE wave slammed into the ferry and washed the entire bow with water, including my friend, his digital camera and all the other brave digital photographers taking pictures.
Needless to say by the time he reach the Seattle ferry dock his digital camera was not working, seems as though it was not designed for that level of moisture. He figures counting his there were probably at least 15 digital cameras that took a bath and unless they were of the waterproof variety were now like his, non functional. Too bad!
So I get this panic phone call around 11:00 pm and he’s asking if there is anything he could do to salvage the situation and breathe life back into his camera.
I remembered a tip I had read on Arthur Frommer’s Online Budget Travel magazine about how others had used rice to help salvage wet electronic gear. So why not give it a try?
So I told y friend if he had not already done it, remove the battery and put his digital camera in a small box filled rice overnight. As expected there was a pause on the other end and finally a subdued voice he asked, “Rice, are you kidding?”
Nope, I read the other day about a guy who fell into a stream in Cambodia, and he and his digital camera both took a bath. Yes, you guessed it, his digital camera stopped working also. Someone suggested leaving the camera in a bag of rice overnight to draw out any condensation. Sure enough, the next morning it was dry and working perfectly.
So, reluctantly my friend hung up and buried his precious digital camera in a box filled to the brim with rice.
Next day around 3:00 he called, “Guess what, he asked?”
It worked!! My camera works!
So the next time your camera or for that matter ANY electronic gadget gets dowsed you’ll know what to do. Head straight home and bury it in box of rice and let it sit for at least 12 hours.
Very cool tip!
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Of course the rice doesn’t draw out salt, just humidity, so after a sea water splash s camera’s life expectancy is lowered because of possible corrosion.
If rice is not available, you could try putting a fistful of salt inside a paper bag or folded tissue and place the bundle in a small, closed space along with the wet camera. Salt should suck moisture pretty well too.
…..a little trick I’ve found useful along with the rice/salt treatment when Salt Water is involved is to give the device a quick rinse-off with fresh water before you place it with the Rice or Salt…..if the device is revived, spray a little WD40 on a toothbrush & give any ports ( power in, data out, etc. ) a gentle brushing, and you can expect a longer life than an untreated device….
What about in the case of a Digital SLR getting water in it? How does one go about putting it in with rice?
Thanks!
Steve
does this work if the accident happened a year ago?
I left my digital camera out in the rain last weekend. I gently dried it off, immersed it in uncooked rice for 24 hours, hung it on the rearview mirror of my car for several hours while driving, immersed it in rice for another 24 hours, then put it in a closed up bathroom with a dehumidifier for 24 hours. It is still not working properly. On some of the functions work and they do not work consistently. Sigh.
You can also use Silica Gel Packets to dry the camera. Silica Gel is a moisture absorber and it dries out anything. Often found is shoe boxes, dry food packaging, electronics, etc. You can use them in your Camera Bag or if your Camera became wet just put the camera and Silica Gel Packets in a zip-lock bag together and let it sit for a day or two so the Silica Gel can pull out all the moisture from the sensitive components.
There are several sites that sell this stuff, just Google “Silica Gel Packets” and you will find several vendors selling!
I’d buried my wet digital cam in a bucket of rice….see if it works….then I found out from my housemaid (who\\\’s from interior part of Indonesia) that their people has been using the method long long time ago every time their watches get wet….I hope this work. I\\\’ll come back to share with u if it really works…..
It Works!
Okay, this is starting to work! I dropped my digital in a tea cup–I was bumped. Caught the cup from dumping on my lap, but the strap slipped from my wrist and fell directly into the hot, sugary liquid. I watched as it turned itself on and sizzled its way back off!…Immediately, I removed the battery, slightly rinsed with warm running water to flush out the sticky sugar, and then began lightly shaking out as much liquid as I could. Then using a q-tip to get in battery compartment, I gently dryed and wiped down the walls and components. I opened shutter and cleaned with a cotton ball as well. I figured it for a loss, so had to try… well, then I read this blog, and only after three hours of resting in the rice, sealed in a plastic tub, I have to say it is at least turning on! Will try again tomorrow after the 12 hours of resting still. Thanks for the tip!
Thank you! The rice really worked! I accidentally fell into a swimming pool with my Digital Ixus in my pocket. For the next two days, I kept trying unsuccessfully to dry it and turn it on. Then I read your article and put my camera in a sealed plastic bag with some rice. A week later my camera was working again without a glitch. You have my gratitude!
Did any of you have to replace the battery?
I got terribly soaked in the rain yesterday and my digital camera got some of the wet treatment too. When I got home and turned it on, it started behaving funny (the images were blurred on the LCD). All I had to do was to losse open the camera casing and have the inside mopped with tissue paper (not a good thing to do for a novice like me). The following day, it started working well but the images are still not bright as before. I think I will try this rice stuff!
My kodak ez share was in my purse a small amount of eye glass cleaner leaked on the screen, it has a splash mark on it and no picture….the flash works and it opens and closes just fine ….I have it in rice now……..any other suggestions????thanks…………
well i tried to clean my dsi with a wet clean-ex THAT I WRANG OUT and it still got damaged. so then i told my mom and she said to dry it and put it and rice….. the first thing i said was WHAT THE HECK? and i tried it and i put it in for a half an hour. it didnt work (DONT STOP READING!) so then i told my dad on our way to starved rock (you HAVE to go there) then he said i had to put it in there for a day so when we got home i did and it is still in there (I REALY HOPE IT WORKS)
It really does work!!! I think the key is patience. I tried turning on my camera after an overnight burial in rice with no results. A week later: Presto!! Works fine. And both rechargable batteries too. This was after being submersed in a lake. I was walking out the door to buy a new camera and I thought I would try one last time. So glad I did….saved me some bucks!!
I have wet my camera inside a ziplock bag. Water leaked into the ziplock bag and soaked a side of the my Cybershot.
Can’t get it working, I’m now trying to put it in a bowl of rice for a week… Hope this works!
Any suggestions would be nice.
)
My cyber shot was in my bag when a water bottle leaked. i did remove the batteries and memory card. i even dried it with a hair dryer after opening it. so a question i put it in a zip lock bag of rice with something covering it like a tissue? or without? becuase otherwise it could get dirt in it.
{ 1 trackback }