When an electronic device such as a baby monitor fell in the water, you must act quickly. Follow these steps to save it from permanent water damage.
To save the baby monitor from water damage, you must move swiftly. First turn the power off and take the battery out. Then, strip the monitor as much as you can and let the excess water out. When the water stop dripping out, put the monitor in a bag of rice for 48 hours. Finally, if you are sure there’s no more humidity, you can give it a shot and see if it’s working again.
Did you drop your monitor in the water?
You are not the first parent who found the monitor in a water bowl or the toilet. Sometimes it only takes a few minutes, and the monitor you left on the corner of the table could end up in the dishwasher. Your little explorer has probably used it as a toy and turned it into a submarine.
Perhaps, you knocked the expensive video monitor in the sink or the tub.
If it’s your fault, don’t worry, I did it too. I toss my baby monitor in the pool. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only parents who drop his monitor in water. Imagine, how many parents went for a relaxing spa after the kids were in bed and spill water on the baby monitor.
Don’t panic, I manage to save my monitor, and I will show you how you can do it too.
How to save your baby monitor?
You must carefully follow each of the following steps.
1. Turn it off immediately
The first thing you need to do it to cut the power. When you spill water on an electronic device, the damage will occur when the water meets the electricity. To prevent a shortage, I would recommend you cut the power off completely. Therefore, unplug from the electrical outlets and pull out the batteries.
The faster you turn it off, the more chance it will work again.
Maybe it shut down by itself, and you don’t know for how long it was submerged into the water. Don’t worry your monitor still have a chance to survive the flood.
It’s imperative that you don’t try to turn it on. Resist the urge, because your baby monitor needs to be completely dry before you start to think to test it.
2. Take it apart
Remove as many parts as you can. The batteries, the cables, the antenna and everything you can strip down, without breaking it. If you can open the case, get your screwdriver and do it. Because you want as much air to flow in and as much water to come out.
3. Get the water out
Don’t shake the water out! If you shake the monitor, the water will spread. Instead, use a vacuum cleaner to suck the water. Or use a paper towel to absorb as much water as you can. You might want to use a Q-Tip to dry each port.
4. Let it dry
This step is the most important, and it will take time. The goal is to catch the humidity before it turns into moisture.
Let it dry for 24-48 hours.
Put it in a un-cook rice bag
The most common way to save electronic device from water spill is to put them in rice. For this operation, you need to use un-cook rice. There’s no better rice type; any kind will do the job.
The rice will absorb the water. Also, it essential to submerge the monitor into a bag. Don’t shake the bag because the dust from the rice could penetrate the circuit and damage the monitor.
You can use couscous instead of rice
If you don’t have rice, you can always use couscous as an alternative. The result will be the same.
Yes you can use Rice Krispies
From what I heard, Rice Krispies absorb the water faster than regular rice.
You can also use a desiccant (Do not eat bag)
If you do have a large amount of little white bag, commonly used in packaging to absorb humidity, you can surely use them instead of rice. But you must be aware that the silica’s powers of water absorption will reach a limit and there a good chance that it will not be enough.
Use a rescue kit
You might have a rescue kit for your cell phone, and you can use it for a baby monitor too. Those products were meant to save expensive smartphone from water damage, but they also work with any other electronic device.
If you have one, I would suggest you use it instead of the rice technique. It will be faster and more effective.
You need to place the baby monitor inside the rescue pocket and wait until the moisture indicator tell you that it’s dry.
Wrap it a towel
If you don’t have any moisture absorbent products (ex. rice), you can at least wrap the monitor in a towel.
5. Accelerate the process by using a fan
Don’t make a mistake to burn your monitor with a hot blow-dryer or by putting it in the oven, especially not the microwave.
It’s better to use a fan or the hair-blower on cooling mode. The air flow will accelerate the drying process.
6. The ultimate test: Turn it on!
Do not overlook the previous steps or try to go too fast. If you doubt there’s still humidity in the monitor, don’t turn it on. If you see a sign of moisture, like fog on the screen, go back to step 4 and 5.
Let’s say you wait 2 days and you are almost sure there’s no more humidity inside the monitor, put it back together and fire it up.
Hopefully, it will work again.
What to do if the monitor is still wet?
The challenge you are facing is to let your monitor dry before mold starts to grow in hidden corners. Also, depending on the type of liquid you drop on your monitor, they might be still residue, like sugar, laying on the circuit.
It’s possible that your baby monitor is half working and it needs to dry more. It might take a while for the image to reappear or the sound to be precise.
An excellent solution to accelerate the process is to blow air inside the monitor. You could use an air compressor or use an Air Duster can for keyboards and computer.
What to do is the monitor is damage?
If your monitor is permanently damaged, it’s not entirely hopeless, and you still have options.
Guarantee and loyalty program
Did you take a guarantee when you bought the monitor? Some monitor even comes with a loyalty program, where they send you a replacement for free or for very cheap.
Check your receipt or the owner manual. It also worth to call the manufacturer and explain the situation. In some case, they might send you a new one.
Replace the monitor
If it’s the camera of your monitor who got damaged by water, you could replace the camera. There’s no need to replace the whole baby monitor. It will be cheaper only to replace one end of the monitor.
Consider a waterproof baby monitor
If you want to avoid the same situation in the future, you might want to consider a waterproof monitor. There are baby monitors who are especially resistant to this kind of accident.
Hopefully, those tips saved your monitor
I’ve been in this situation before, and I manage to repair my monitor who fell in the water.
I wish it works for you too.
P.S. If you’re seeking for the best baby monitor and hoping to find real reviews from real parents. You should check out this list I created of the top baby monitors.
To get the best insights and tips to find the best baby monitor, I read more than 300 reviews online and ask my friends or others parents. From all their insights and my own experience, I’ve built this list of the best baby monitors.