wet iphone adaptor

July 9, 2009 9:25 AM

I accidentally dipped the end of my iphone adaptor cable into a cup of tea. Is this going to cause trouble?

Possible factors:
It was the end that goes into the phone, not the USB.
It wasn't in there very long.
The tea was African Red Bush, no milk.

posted by Morpeth to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

Any sugar?

The most important thing is not to use it wet. As long as it wasn't connected to anything at the time, I think it's safe to say that it didn't cause a short.

If it looks like there is residue from the tea, I would flush it with deionized water and let it dry, then you should be okay.

I'm not basing this on any experience, just advice I've read (I think from AskMe) on what to do when you spill coffee on your laptop. That is, remove all power sources immediately, flush with deionized water and make sure it's dry before returning power.
posted by consummate dilettante at 9:31 AM on July 9, 2009

Rinse it with rubbing alcohol, let it dry, and it will be fine.
posted by helios at 9:40 AM on July 9, 2009

Rinse it well with water (I don't think deionized water is necessary!) and let it dry thoroughly. You should be fine.
posted by brianogilvie at 6:30 PM on July 9, 2009

Repeating the sugar thing, and adding milk...I work around shitloads of audio/video equipment, and the only coffee/tea i ever see near any of it is black/no sugar.

Other than that, seconding the rubbing alcohol and letting it dry completely. Like, a week in the sun completely. Take no chances, and you'll be ok. Happily replacement cables can also be had for cheap.
posted by nevercalm at 8:48 AM on July 10, 2009

Response by poster: Thanks, everyone. I used the rubbing alcohol and it worked great.
posted by Morpeth at 3:37 PM on July 10, 2009