iPod iPod Shuffle (+ GPS watch) got washed!

[dobbin]

Yesterday afternoon I heard Mrs Dobbin shout from the kitchen "Oh Sh.........t". I thought maybe a red sock had gone in the washing machine in the whites wash. But it was worse than that: my silver iPod Shuffle and my Garmin Forerunner 205 GPS watch just spent an hour getting washed in the machine with my running kit

Amazingly the Garmin came out and worked perfectly straight away. It located the satellite signal as soon as I took it outside!

My iPod seems to have suffered though

It would not play any music or show any lights yesterday so I left it in a warm place overnight. When I plugged it into my mac today the light flashed orange 3 times and then went out. It was still not showing up in iTunes. I left it plugged in for 30 minutes but it still wouldn't turn on or mount in iTunes. However when I plug it in now the orange light comes on for 15 seconds before flashing 3 times and going out as before.

Has anyone else washed their iPod? Did it survive?

 

[Big-TDI-Guy]

Yesterday afternoon I heard Mrs Dobbin shout from the kitchen "Oh Sh.........t". I thought maybe a red sock had gone in the washing machine in the whites wash. But it was worse than that: my silver iPod Shuffle and my Garmin Forerunner 205 GPS watch just spent an hour getting washed in the machine with my running kit

Amazingly the Garmin came out and worked perfectly straight away. It located the satellite signal as soon as I took it outside!

My iPod seems to have suffered though

It would not play any music or show any lights yesterday so I left it in a warm place overnight. When I plugged it into my mac today the light flashed orange 3 times and then went out. It was still not showing up in iTunes. I left it plugged in for 30 minutes but it still wouldn't turn on or mount in iTunes. However when I plug it in now the orange light comes on for 15 seconds before flashing 3 times and going out as before. They both certainly never will if you leave them as-is.

Has anyone else washed their iPod? Did it survive?

TAKE THE BATTERIES OUT OF EVERYTHING NOW!!! FIND a way. And DO IT.

The Garmin may be working - but it won't for long. The water turns to acid from electrolysis - and will permanently acid etch / destroy the guts.

Open them up, get the batteries out - and let them dry for a LONG TIME. I'm talking a couple of days easy. Electronics are densely packaged, and moisture can stay in devices for a good period of time.

Get a ziploc bag, dump some dry white rice in it, and place your electronics in there. The rice will act as a desiccator.

I suggest looking under Google for a "how to" replace an ipod battery - and figure out how to crack that thing open to unplug the battery. It *might* come back to life after drying out with no battery in it.

 

[dobbin]

Thanks. Sounds like good advice. I'll see what I can do. They're both sealed units so could be hard to get the batteries out without ruining them. But if they're wrecked anyway I suppose I've nothing to lose...

 

[Big-TDI-Guy]

Thanks. Sounds like good advice. I'll see what I can do. They're both sealed units so could be hard to get the batteries out without ruining them. But if they're wrecked anyway I suppose I've nothing to lose...

Mark my words - it's worth the risk. If they both got wet inside and/or submerged - they will BOTH die for good.

I've seen it a thousand times with phones and everything when I worked for Verizon. Pulling the power and drying is the only way to stop the electrolysis - dry it out - and have any chance of survival.

You might be afraid of damaging them opening them up - but I'd say the odds are 10:1 against you having those survive without drying first.

I'm sure you can find "disassembly pics" on flicker or something out there to help you out.

 

[Big-TDI-Guy]

NOTHING is truly sealed when you have the will to get in there.

I found this out when I was 5 with my moms adding machine - she didn't appreciate it much, especially with me rolling the ink cartridge around the house carpets... but I was told I had a blast.

 

[dobbin]

The iPod disassembly looks fairly easy:

opening a shuffle

Not so sure about the Garmin though,. haven't found anything yet

 

[Cloudane]

Ouch, unlucky!

Worst case, you can pick up another Shuffle pretty cheap off eBay (watch out for fakes). The GPS would probably be my main concern.

 

[dobbin]

Looks like the Garmin is actually be designed to be waterproof to IPX7 standard (waterproof to 1 metre for 30 mins).

waterproof GPS?

So I think it may be OK and doesn't need to be opened?

 

[Big-TDI-Guy]

I dunno - with all the bumpin and bangin and spin-cycling in a washing machine - coupled with a Hot water wash - water might find it's way in a lot easier.

Bear in mind, many "water resistant" and even some "water proof" devices are - for short-term exposure - and ALSO many of these same devices cannot have buttons pushed while under water. (or else water will leak by the switch membranes and into the device) And with all that bumpin and banging around - the buttons may have been diddled a bit.

If you're comfortable with the thought of no H20 getting in there - so be it - but to at least be safe - warm part of it up under sunlight and/or a bright lightbulb - and make sure no fog appears anywhere - if it does, you will know why. But you might lose the "golden hour" window to bring your device back to life.

Best wishes either way.

 

[dobbin]

Thanks for your advice Big-TDI-Guy. I've taken the shuffle apart. There's no sign of any moisture or damage inside it, but I'll dry it out for a day or two and see what happens.

I'm going to leave the GPS - there doesn't seem to be an easy way to get it apart and as its supposed to be waterproof I'm going to risk it. I think it is a sealed plastic unit that I would have to cut/break to get apart. It certainly wouldn't be waterproof by the time I'd pulled it to pieces.

Thanks again.