[LiveBrianD]

A family member dropped their phone in red wine vinegar and now it won't turn on. When I opened the phone, there was some liquid. I wiped a damp towel along the circuit boards to try to get rid of the vinegar, wiped it with a dry towel, and stuck it in a bunch of rice. Does anyone have any ideas on how to fix this? Is it worth heating the phone a little with an incandescent DC light bulb? (I have one) Or a CFL bulb hovering on top of the rice and phone? (I don't have any incandescents) Should I soak it in water to try to get rid of the vinegar to avoid corrosion? If the phone is damaged, I'm not screwed - it was a several year old dumbphone that's long out of contract.

[mjd420nova]

LBD: Dis-assembly and flushing with non-residue electronic cleaner would be the preferred method to clean the unit. Using the long thin nozzle on the can of cleaner, wash the unit, flooding under any surface mounted chips and then allowing to dry. I would avoid any heat or water as this would accelerate any corrosion.

[LiveBrianD]

Electronic cleaner? I don't think I have that. Are there any household materials that I can use? btw as I said if needed I can heat it a little (with a small light bulb) or use a small fan.

[coastie65]

Hey Brian, Try adding a little salad oil and salt and pepper, Great Dressing. OK. Vinegar is very corrosive ( acidic ), so make a mix of Baking soda and water to neutralize the acid from the vinegar, than follow what mjd has suggested.

[mjd420nova]

Electronic cleaner.... Let's see, the two I use most are Blue Shower or CRC's ElectraClean. They will flush or wash away any liquid or debris and leave nothing behind. The only thing you have to be careful with is to keep the can upright, and angle could allow the propelant to be sprayed out and this would cause a frost on things and induce moisture. When water is used, I like to use Simple Green as a degreaser and a small acid brush to lossen and remove any foreign matter.

[LiveBrianD]

I also read that using rubbing alcohol can help. What do you think? http://www.pcworld.c...rged_phone.html

[mjd420nova]

Alcohol is good for exposed surfaces but in some cases, I've seen it cause moisture to collect under chips and surface mounted devices. I like the cans of cleaner as they provide some spray pressure to help dislodge and dust and dirt that has collected.

[LiveBrianD]

Well I think by now it's dead. The phone'll be getting replaced soon. After all, it was a few hours before I got to disassemble it, plus a day or two before you guys mentioned suggestions, so it might be too late.

[renaldjohne]

LiveBrianD, on 23 April 2011 - 10:57 AM, said:

Well I think by now it's dead. The phone'll be getting replaced soon. After all, it was a few hours before I got to disassemble it, plus a day or two before you guys mentioned suggestions, so it might be too late.

Replace that older mobile with new one or make some money out of it or else its better to recycle those parts as it harms our environment. If you plan to do this I can suggest you ways regarding this.

This post has been edited by renaldjohne: 11 September 2011 - 11:16 PM

[LiveBrianD]

renaldjohne, on 11 September 2011 - 11:11 PM, said:

LiveBrianD, on 23 April 2011 - 10:57 AM, said:

Well I think by now it's dead. The phone'll be getting replaced soon. After all, it was a few hours before I got to disassemble it, plus a day or two before you guys mentioned suggestions, so it might be too late.

Replace that older mobile with new one or make some money out of it or else its better to recycle those parts as it harms our environment. If you plan to do this I can suggest you ways regarding this.

I completely forgot about this - I recycled the phone several months ago and got a new one.

[Tunz]

I do this a lot, usually with laptop keyboards but sometimes with phones and iPods, etc. To remove vinegar, tepid water would probably work best. You could add baking soda, but then you would be looking at removing the salts that are precipitated by the reaction, so straight water would probably be best. The water can be quickly removed with compressed air, after which I will spray methyl hydrate on it from a spritzer. The alcohol will take up any remaining water that it finds and then can itself be blown out. At this point I will set a household fan blowing directly upon the phone and leave it like that overnight. Large volumes of air are far more effective at drying that heat, though humidity can be a factor. Air conditioners are good dehumidifiers, so I usually redirect its cool air with the household fan to the phone or whatever.
Heat is not good for electronics.
My success rate is quite high though sometimes it means leaving the fan blowing for a few days.
Electrical contact cleaners are meant for cleaning oil based contaminants and oxidation from elctro-mechanical contacts and its solvents are too "hot" for cleaning electronics.

This post has been edited by Tunz: 12 September 2011 - 04:51 PM

[renaldjohne]

LiveBrianD, on 12 September 2011 - 04:06 PM, said:

renaldjohne, on 11 September 2011 - 11:11 PM, said:

LiveBrianD, on 23 April 2011 - 10:57 AM, said:

Well I think by now it's dead. The phone'll be getting replaced soon. After all, it was a few hours before I got to disassemble it, plus a day or two before you guys mentioned suggestions, so it might be too late.

Replace that older mobile with new one or make some money out of it or else its better to recycle those parts as it harms our environment. If you plan to do this I can suggest you ways regarding this.

I completely forgot about this - I recycled the phone several months ago and got a new one.

its good. May I know how the recycling process done to your phone.

[Tunz]

Today I fixed a 1958 Sony Gendis (TR-75) 7 transistor radio by shooting methyl hydrate into the off/on/volume switch and blowing it out with compressed air. Normally I'd have used contact cleaner for this, but couldn't find it.

[starvinsteve]

You never want to heat electronics. Especially if they get liquid in them. Non residue electronics cleaner and then rice will be your best bet. If that doesn't work, you may be toast.

[recklessbear]

This was the most common issue back in the days when I was working in Nokia support! Just the substance was beer in most of the cases!