April 6, 2011

It happens more often than people would like. A cell phone gets dropped into the sink, or a glass of water is spilled on a computer. This week's segment of Sargent Solutions examines how to salvage expensive electronics and how to prevent accidents from costing you big time in the future.

The bad news is that many expensive devices may have to be thrown out or replaced when they are damaged by water. However, there are a few things consumers can try first. The best advice is to not turn on your device after it gets wet.

"I can tell you the biggest mistake people make, is when it first happens they're so disgruntled that they keep trying to turn it on to see if it's going to boot up or if it's going to start, well that really just makes it worse," said Christian Argie, owner of Top Notch Computers.

If you turn on your device, water will act as a conductor and do more damage.

"It's not the water itself, it's what happens when you try to turn it on, when the water is short-circuiting two things that shouldn't be touching each other," said Argie.

Another trick is to put your cell phone in a big bag of rice when it gets wet, then to seal the bag up and leave it there for a couple of days. The rice will draw moisture out of your phone, however there is no guarantee that it will work. A heat gun or a hair dryer can also help, but Argie warns that too much heat, too close can also be damaging. Argie adds that prevention can go a long way.

"They are starting to come out with some laptop keyboard skins that you can buy for $20 or $30, that you can put over the top of a regular laptop to seal," said Argie.

Verizon also offers more durable cell phone options.

"We have a line of phones that are actually rugged that are water-resistant, they're shock resistant and extreme temperature resistant," said Cliff Patterson, of Verizon Wireless. Nothing is 100 percent guaranteed, however experts say the more protection you can get against damage, the better.