Rice Won’t Save Your Phone! The Best Method to Dry a Wet Device

When a device is dripping wet, most people without thinkung resort to a well-known trick—plugging it into a bowl of raw rice. The idea is that rice will absorb moisture and keep the device safe. Is this method effective or just a myth, though? Let’s find out whether this popular practice is actually useful or a misconception.

Drying wet devices, especially mobile phones, with rice is most likely the most popular DIY repair found on the internet. Everyone applies this trick in times of need, believing that it will push out the water. Does it work or can it even harm the device instead? Let’s learn about this process more as many use this trick, especially before Holi, when their phones are prone to getting wet.

Why Do People Use Rice to Dry Their Devices?

The reasoning for applying rice is that rice has the ability to absorb humidity in the surroundings, and as such, could be capable of drawing water from a water-soaked gadget. Due to rice’s presence in any home, people regard it as the most convenient means to handle water-soaked electronics. It is such an enduring theory which has existed since decades that rice became a habitual solution to utilize each time one has an inundated telephone.

Does Rice Work?

While rice does absorb some of the moisture, it is not the best method of drying a wet device. Several studies have concluded that leaving a device in open air is just as good, sometimes better, than using rice. The problem with rice is that it doesn’t really pull water out from inside the device. Water in tiny internal components can stay longer than necessary, with the potential to rust and cause permanent damage.

The Right Way to Dry a Damp Phone

Instead of using rice, the best way to dry a wet phone is to turn it off immediately and remove any attached accessories, like the SIM card or memory card. Then, gently dry the phone with a soft cloth and place it in a dry, ventilated area. Silica gel packets, commonly found in new shoe boxes or electronics packaging, are a much better alternative to rice for absorbing moisture.