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!
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Leroy 03.23.07 at 4:30 am
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.
Bob Steiner 09.21.07 at 9:37 am
…..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….
steve 09.29.07 at 8:27 am
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
Alice 01.02.08 at 9:21 pm
does this work if the accident happened a year ago?
AMO 07.16.08 at 6:23 pm
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.
Joey 09.24.08 at 8:56 am
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!