Great Escape Publishing

Posted December 30th, 2008 by Lori Allen & filed under Travel Photography.

Dear Right Way to Travel Reader,

One common travel mishap is dropping your camera or phone in water. Here are some quick fixes in case your camera, cell phone, or other electronic devices accidentally get wet and stop working when you’re traveling, or at home:

** 1. Open it up. If your camera gets wet, first remove the battery and memory card. Do NOT turn it on if it’s wet.

The more you open up the device, the faster it’ll dry out. Same goes for cell phones. Take out the battery and the sim card, if it can be removed. Then, leave all the doors and covers on the device open.

** 2. Vacuum it out. If you try drying the device with a fan or a blow dryer, you risk pushing moisture deeper onto the circuitry, which could cause a short. Instead, pull moisture away from the device with a vacuum.

** 3. Bury it in rice. Rice absorbs moisture from nearby objects. If your camera gets wet, drop it into a container of rice and let it sit for a day. The rice will help pull the moisture out.

** 4. Power it back up. After your camera or phone spends a full day submerged in rice, reinsert the battery and cards, and turn it on. If it doesn’t work, call the manufacturer, but don’t try to hide the fact that it got wet, as there are internal indicators that show water damage.

** 5. Check inside. On some cell phones, you’ll find a white square or circle below the battery. If you see red lines through the square or circle, your phone probably has water damage.

[Editor’s Note: Learn more about opportunities to profit from your travels (and even from your own home) in our free online newsletter The Right Way to Travel.]