What should you do if you accidentally drop your cell phone in water?

May be you jumped into the swimming pool with the phone still in your pockets or dropped your morning coffee over it. But if you act quick, you could still save your precious phone.

Disconnect power.

The most important thing to do after pulling the mobile phone out of water is to remove it's battery. Most circuits inside your phone can survive a bath if they are not connected to a power source.

Remove SIM card and Peripherals.

If your cell phone has a SIM card, remove it and dry it by wiping with a dry cloth or towel. One big mistake most people do is to heat the card to make it dry. SIM cards can survive water easily but not heat. The same goes for other peripherals in your phone like memory cards.

Dry your phone.

The final step is to dry your cell phone. First use a dry cotton cloth or towel to dry off the external portions of your phone a much as you can. Don't try shaking it to expel water. It only increases the possibility of water getting inside the circuits.

Even a tiny spec of water stuck in the circuits is sufficient to damage your phone. So you need to ensure that its completely dry before hitting the power button. Here are some simple tricks -

• The most common technique is to place the phone in a closed plastic container along with some silica packs that usually come along with  purchases such as shoes and electronics. Silica absorbs moisture and fastens the drying process. Using a smaller container and putting as many silica packets possible will make the drying faster. If you can't find an airtight container, a plastic bag with out any holes will also do; just make sure you tie the open end air tight.

• Instead of silica, you can also use some uncooked rice from your mother's kitchen as a cheap alternative. Immerse your phone in a bowl of uncooked rice and seal it with a plastic sheet. Rice, like silica is very good at sucking away moisture.
  

• Another simple method is to place the phone in front of an air conditioner. The cold air won't damage the phone and the dry air from the air conditioner makes the water to evaporate quickly.

Which ever method you choose, let the phone dry for 2-3 days. If curiosity wins over and you switch it on before all the water is gone, chances are your phone will never ring again.

How not to dry your phone.

A common mistake most people do is shaking the phone to squeeze out water. Never do it as you are risking the chances of forcing water into the tiny spaces of your phones circuits.

Another big mistake is to use a hair drier. The hot air blown over the phone not only takes away water, but the force of air also helps water seep into the interiors as well. By the time you'd find water gone from the visible areas of your phone, enough would have gotten inside to damaged your mobile phone permanently.

There’s obviously no guarantee that your phone will work again after drying. But most phones are built to survive rains and there is a good change of your phone opening its eyes again if you dry it properly. No harm in trying right?