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Washed my Apple iPod, how can I fix it?

My sister put her Apple ipod nano in the washer, and now it only works when it is plugged into a computer. any advice?

Dave's Answer:

When I stopped laughing at this question, i thought about it and realized that this is actually probably a fairly common problem, especially as Apple's iPod devices get smaller and smaller. Heck, an iPod shuffle isn't much bigger than a few quarters...

When it's insulated in a pocket and surrounded with other fabric, the tumbling probably isn't going to adversely impact the device, which is the good news.

The bad news? Well, it's that pesky water that ya need to do to actually get the clothes clean. Water + any sort of electronics = trouble.

I asked on Twitter (I'm @DaveTaylor if you want to follow me there, btw) and two people offered up a surprising but actually quite logical suggestion: drop the wet iPod into a bowl or bag of rice.

Not cooked, not sticky, not wrapped in seaweed and not pilaf. No, seriously, uncooked rice can actually leech out the moisture that might be in the device. Drop your iPod into it and give it 2-3 days, then see if it's any better.

If that doesn't work, though, well, dare I say that it might well be time to visit the local Apple Store and talk to an iPod "genius" to see what they might suggest and/or what remedies they might have. There is, of course, a non-zero chance that you're hosed and it's time to replace the damaged iPod. Here's an additional article on steps you can try, too: how to fix a busted iPod.

If you do end up replacing your iPod, I strongly recommend you check out a refurbished iPod: there are some surprisingly good deals you can find at the refurbished iPod shop.

Good luck to you and next time, do what I do: check pockets before you throw the clothes into the washing machine. :-)

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Comments

It's the wrong time of year to try this, but I read online somewhere the advice of putting the washed iPod on/near an A/C vent. The moisture is suppose to dissipate into the dry air as it passes. Obviously a heat vent would be a very bad option.

Posted by: Dempsey at February 20, 2009 8:28 PM

My son spilled a glass of water the other day on my Macbook Pro. Needless to say, I was a little unnerved. Not against him, accidents do happen, but at the fact that my 3 year apple care plan does not cover water spilled. I do know that I can purchase insurance to cover things of this nature, but never really though about it until now.

Anyway, it wasn't plugged into an outlet and the power immediately shut down. This was pretty good. The first thing people need to know when water spills on electronics, do not power back on after immersion. Water flowed all the way through the back side of the computer. I turned it sideways and the same thing. Wasn't pretty. I though about going the rice method, but I figured something like this with lots of small open areas internally wouldn't do well with rice.

So I removed the top with the keyboard and I was really surprised to see the design was made to hold spilled liquids within a certain area below the keyboard. Protecting as much as possible the hard drive and the dvd drive. By this time there was no actual water pools so I turned it on its side in front of a fan. I left it there all day and later that evening put everything back together and powered on.

It worked! Smaller devices, like it's already been suggested, rice works wonders.

Posted by: Jerid Hill at February 21, 2009 10:22 AM

Hey Dave,

I have an answer to this question someone asked you....

"Washed my Apple iPod, how can I fix it?"

Actually it happened with me, but the liquid in my case was PEPSI. The solution which I adopted was
1) Try to remove all the water from the ipod, by drying it using techniques you have already said.

2) Then we need to charge it using an electrical APPLE charger for IPOD. The ipod gets discharge completely when it gets wet and USB charging or connecting it to the computer doesn't help either. We need to charge it through an APPLE charger, it will be fine after that.

It worked in my case to say the least. :-)

Thanks...
Mukul

Posted by: Mukul at February 25, 2009 5:33 AM

Last summer I left my iPod Nano in my jeans and it got washed in the washer. I was freaking out, but then I just left it their and a week later. And it works just as good as it did before :)

Posted by: Jenny at February 25, 2009 7:47 PM

Try that with a dell laptop, No didnt wash it, but it did get wet and it was toast, I mean toast, throw in nearest trash can, same thing happened with my apple, but surprise, it is still working fine...

Just proof that you get what you pay for...

Posted by: Tim at November 3, 2009 3:48 PM

I have a lot to say, but ...

I have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but most of all I'd like to say thank you for all your efforts on this Web site by buying you a chai!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!