Uh-Oh, I Dropped My Smartphone Down a Sewer Grate. What Now?

If not rice, what will dry out a phone?

First, turn off a waterlogged phone immediately and refrain from plugging in a charger, lest you corrode or permanently damage pins, cables, connectors and device innards.

If you have an older phone or one of the few Androids where the battery can be removed, take it out. iPhones never had removable batteries.

Strip it bare. Remove a wet case, SIM card, memory card and any attached accessories. Use a dry cloth or towel to eliminate as much moisture as you can, and pay attention to obvious places where water can enter, including the charging port and, for models that still have it, the headphone jack.

Be extra careful when removing debris.

Don’t poke. Apple instructs people not to insert a cotton swab, paper towel or other foreign object into the Lightning or USB-C connector, depending on which iPhone you have. Samsung contradicts Apple by saying you can use a cotton bud to reduce moisture.

Both companies recommend air-drying a drenched device rather than using compressed air or an external heat source such as a hair dryer, which can cause further damage. Running a regular fan might help under certain circumstances.

Be patient. You’re advised to gently tap or shake the phone with the connector or port facing down to remove excess liquid. Then just wait — for at least 30 minutes if not several hours.

High humidity can trigger moisture alerts

Sometimes excess moisture is detected in a device you haven’t fumbled into a puddle, exposed to a torrential downpour or spilled drinks on. The phone may be sensitive to high humidity.

On some Galaxy devices, a water droplet indicator appears. iPhones serve up a liquid detection alert when you plug in a Lightning or USB-C cable or accessory.

If you see such warnings, disconnect the cables and accessories immediately. Charging is automatically disabled until the phone dries out.

In an emergency when you feel compelled to charge an iPhone despite warnings, pull the cable out and reinsert it. You may have an option to override the warning.

If the droplet indicator doesn’t go away on a Galaxy, insert a different cable to see if the old one triggered the warning. That can happen on an iPhone, too. If a new cord doesn’t work, try disabling the cache inside the Galaxy’s settings.

If none of these options pan out, bring the phone in for service.

A workaround: Wireless charging avoids ports and cables

If your phone is capable of wireless charging, dry it off and place it on a certified wireless charging pad. Wireless charging came to iPhones in 2017, a few years after the feature appeared on certain Androids.

During my Dublin fiasco, I knew better than to immediately charge my iPhone by inserting a USB-C cable when I got back to my hotel. I did plunk it onto a wireless Apple MagSafe charger and was relieved it started charging. Be aware that your device may heat up slightly during wireless charging, more than it would when it’s plugged in, because of the way charging takes place.

Then come morning, when I finally inserted a USB-C cable into the phone, I knew that I had dodged a bullet.

Bonus tip: Dry a wet device with silica packets

Many of us toss the silica gel packets that are frequently packaged with backpacks, medications, shoes and other stuff you buy. You may want to collect them instead or even buy them in bulk.

Think of it as recycling. These desiccant sugar-sized packs can suck the moisture out of a phone that fell into a toilet, tub or puddle.

Seal the packets in an airtight jar or container until you need them. Then, when your phone gets wet, dump it into the container with the undamaged packets, seal the container again, and wait a couple of days.

Remember to heed the do-not-eat warnings on the packets, and keep them away from kids and pets.