What To Do With Wet Electronics

Alan growled as he started down the basement stairs and found the light switch didn't work. There was no way to replace it without fishing through the semi-darkness below and finding a new bulb. As he stepped off the bottom step onto the floor, an icy cold sensation entrapped his foot sending chills up his spine. Then the other foot landed with a splash and the shock of the cold water grabbing him above the ankles made him shiver. "Courtney," he screamed to his wife, "bring me a flashlight! And hurry."

In the eerie glow of the flashlight, standing safely on the bottom step, Alan and Courtney surveyed the damage to the family room. A large piece of drywall had fallen from the ceiling above the computer desk. Water sprayed from a broken pipe and cascaded down the monitor, printer, and computer into 6 inches of water on the floor. What a mess.

After the water was turn off and drained from the floor, Alan approached the computer. All of his records from his home-based business, decades of family photos, and years of genealogical research were stored in that plastic case. Without that information, continuing his work and family would be a nightmare. He had to know if it still worked.

He turned on the monitor and pushed the button on the computer. Nothing happened. No lights, no sound, . . . no hope.

So, what do you do when your electronics get wet?

First, we must define electronics as any item that has an electrical cord or a battery. The list is daunting, but it includes:

Stereos, cell phones, and sensors;
Tablets, TV's, and toasters;
Coffee makers, clocks, and computers.

First step:  Do not turn it on or plug it in.
Unfortunately, our immediate response is to see if our phone still works. We plug it in or turn it on and thereby cause most of the damage. Older electrical appliances like a toaster, lamp or vacuum can have power applied to them with minimal damage, although they often will not work while wet. But items with circuit boards, which includes any "smart" appliance, most adjustable gadgets and all equipment with a display screen, can be permanently damaged if they are turned on while still wet.

Here is the reason why.

Electricity is used to power electronics. Electricity travels very quickly through conductive materials like copper, aluminum or water. When there is enough water in a device to span one or more wires or conductors carrying power, the electricity jumps between them, causing a short and often burning up a component. In older items that have larger insulated wires, the terminals are far enough apart that they need to be submerged in water to cause a short. Since they have no small transistors, resistors or capacitors to burn out, they often just blow the breaker in the electrical panel of the home.

Circuit boards, on the other hand, are specifically designed to have many conductors in a very small space. They are packed with transistors, resistors and capacitors that control and define the flow of electricity. Chips and processors for computers, phones and watches can have hundreds of feet of uninsulated wire in an area smaller than your fingernail. A single drop of water can span dozens of wires and cause enough electrical shorts to completely destroy the unit.

Second step: Dry it out completely.
Professional electronics recovery laboratories have dedicated drying rooms that heat the temperature up as high as 140 degrees F. Dehumidifiers and exhaust fans pull any moisture from the air creating an environment dryer than the Mojave Desert. Electronic devices are dis-assembled, batteries removed and left in the drying chamber until completely dry, usually as little as 24 - 48 hours. Most computers, laptops, and printers, etc., have small batteries on the mother board in addition to the operating battery and/or power supply. These need to come out too as they can cause corrosion to their contacts through electrolysis.

Sometimes in the case of fires or mud, parts are first washed and rinsed with de-ionized water, then dried thoroughly in the chamber.

Some sources on the internet suggest placing wet electronics in a bowl of uncooked rice. This works because the desiccant properties of dry rice suck the moisture out of the phone. It works better if you remove the cover and battery, then bury all the parts in the rice.

Hair dryers could work if you didn't get the item too hot thereby damaging additional components and you could hold it there for 24-48 hours. Most hair dryers will over-heat and turn off in about 15 minutes, but if they didn't, the rest of us have other things to do today and tomorrow.

I have cell phones, digital thermometers, and watches that I have dried completely at home. Open them up, remove the battery and set them over a heat register in the winter or on a window sill on the south side of your house where the sun shines in most of the day. The display screen on my digital cooking thermometer was half full of water after it fell into the sink, but 24 hours on the window sill, it was dry and worked perfectly.

Third step: Re-assemble and see if it works.
Most of the time, electronic gadgets, dried properly, will work just fine, especially if they were turned off when they became wet. If not, then you will feel justified to pay for a replacement.

I once did a fire where the family had boat-loads of special collectables worth tens of thousands of dollars. With three-quarters of the house completely destroyed, it was impossible to reconstruct even part of the list of damaged items. Then the mother remembered that she had gone through the house with her son's digital camera a week before the fire and photographed all her collections.

We found the camera in the basement bedroom submerged in 6 inches of dirty, sooty water. We took the SD card out, cleaned in off, dried it and recovered all the photos. We could have saved the camera too, but the expense would have been greater than cost of a new camera.

So, to review.

What do you do when your electronics get wet?

First step:  Do not turn it on or plug it in, make sure it is off.
Second step: Open it up, remove any batteries, and dry it out completely.
Third step: Re-assemble the appliance and see if it works. 

Mold - Where and How Does It Grow?

Aaron signed as he sat his soda can on the table.  True to form, he couldn't finish a drink before it hit his bladder.  Excusing himself from the room, he quietly went to the bathroom.  The door was locked.  "Must be one of their kids," he thought.  Maybe John and Sarah wouldn't mind if he used their master bath, since he had about 30 seconds before the filtered soda would leave his bladder, whether he was in an appropriate spot or not.

As he closed the door and lifted the lid, Aaron noticed the dark staining on the wall and on the baseboard behind the toilet.  "What in the world?" he muttered, and then he recognized that it was mold.  Growing along the wall, it was all the way from the vanity to the tub.  It gave him the chills to know that his best friend lived in such filth.  He quickly finished and gratefully closed the door behind him as he eagerly returned to the party, thinking of any excuse to leave as soon as possible.


Mold requires 3 ingredients to grow; mold spores, moisture and a food source.  Once all three components are in place, mold can begin to grow most any place.  All homes and businesses, regardless of how clean, have mold spores and food sources readily available.  All that is missing is the moisture for growth to start.

While mold can grow in nearly any location in your home, there are a few places where it is much more likely to start.  Regular inspection of these places will help to prevent or reduce mold growth.  Regular means daily if you are paranoid, or once a week to once a month if you are conscientious.

1. Under sink cabinets - Sink cabinets always have water lines.  It is possible for a small or large leak to begin most anytime in either the supply or drain lines.  The older the plumbing, the greater the chance of a leak forming.  They can occur from old gaskets, rusty pipes, or worn-out fixtures, etc.  Once a pin-hole leak starts, the water will erode the hole larger and larger until a drip every day becomes a steady stream.  Because we seldom inspect under the sink, mold can grow undetected for quite some time.
2. Behind and under your fridge - Water and ice lines to the fridge are fragile.  They are usually 1/4" lines of either plastic or copper tubing.  As the fridge is moved in and out for cleaning and inspection, it is easy for the tubing to be crimped or run-over by the wheels, causing a small hole to develop.  Movement and vibration also loosen the fittings, allowing water to leak out.  A slow, steady drip can become an adequate source of moisture for mold growth and remain unnoticed for weeks.
3. Around tubs or showers - In these locations, there is soap scum and bodily oils that collect in corners.  These are food for mold to grow.  If the shower is wiped down or cleaned regularly and the room is properly exhausted, you can minimize mold growth.  Also, over time, the joints and corners of tile and cultured marble surrounds, develop cracks.  These will allow water to seep into the framing under the shower and start mold growth under and between floors, as well as onto ceilings below.
4. Exterior windows and doors - Windows, especially in the colder climates, are frequent haunts for mold.  Dust and water condensing on the glass collect on the sills and provide a perfect environment. This is particularly true when heavy drapes and curtains are over the windows and seldom if ever opened allowing the moisture to build up and condense.
5. Around any other water fixture, i.e.; toilets, water heaters, boilers, swamp coolers, etc. - The older the home, the more likely a leak can begin.  Water heaters have warranties that range from 5-12 years.  They are usually pretty good at not lasting much longer than the warranty.

Here are a few of the less likely places I have seen mold grow.

1. Attics - If you have a leak in the roof, the water will provide the environment for mold to grow.
2. Crawl spaces - Some locations have extremely high ground water.  This water can condense on the framing members and start mold growth.  Venting crawl spaces as per code, as well as installing moisture barriers on the dirt, will greatly reduce the chance of this happening.
3. Between the layers of vinyl flooring - Often the wax ring that seals the toilet to the drain will develop a hole allowing water to seep out along the sub-floor, under the vinyl.  When this water penetrates the layers of paper in the vinyl, mold can grow.  This generally creates a grey to purple stain in the flooring.  It looks much like someone spilled grape juice and it stained.  No matter how hard you scrub or what cleaner you use, the stains will not come off.  The only solution is the vinyl has to be replaced.
4. Sub-flooring under wood or laminate flooring - In the event of a water leak or flood in a room with laminate flooring, the foam or plastic barrier under the laminate will trap moisture next to the sub-flooring material, allowing mold to grow.  Often it takes months to years for this water to dissipate.
5. Exterior walls behind furniture - Mold in these areas usually grow from one of two sources.  First, water intrusions from the outside such as sprinklers or rain water.  Second, high humidity in a room that condenses on the cooler locations behind the furniture near the floor.  Either of these reasons need to be corrected before effective remediation can occur.

Regardless of where or how mold begins to grow, the guiding principles of remediation are:

• Correct the source of water.  If the source is not stopped, mold will begin to grow again within a few weeks of the repairs.
• Remove and dispose of all damaged material.
• Wipe and HEPA vacuum the area until clean.

Mold Myths

Paul hung his head in despair.  They almost had the sale of their home finalized, but now the home inspector's report said that he had found mold around the water heater in the basement.  He was sure the sale would fall through now and they would never be able to sell or rent the house, ever!

This would be disastrous.  They had to move to another state for his new job and they couldn't survive with this albatross around their necks.  What could they do?  Was there any hope?

There are many myths regarding mold that need to be dispelled.  Once mold has started in a home, it is very possible, in all but the most extreme cases, for the mold to be properly remediated, repairs made and for the home to be as good or better than it was before.  The presence of mold will have to be declared in future sales of the property, but proper documentation of the cleaning process will satisfy most buyers.

Below is a list of other myths regarding mold where I have explained the truth.

Myth - Once I have mold in my house, it will continue to infect the entire building.
Mold requires available mold spores, moisture and a food source.  If you have mold start to grow in your home, the source of water is fixed and professional repairs are made to remove the damaged materials, mold will not continue to grow.  Mold is not like a hive of bees that can migrate to other locations at will.  It is a very small organism that can only move on air currents and requires a specific environment to grow.

Myth - Mold will kill my family.
Mold does not kill people or other living entities.  Because it is an irritant, repeated exposure can weaken our immune systems making us more susceptible to other bacteria or virus that may be floating around.  Once we are removed from the contaminated environment, any negative symptoms disappear in a few hours or at most, a few days.

Myth - People catch mold.
People do not catch mold.  Inhalation causes irritation that motivates the body to expel the invaders, creating symptoms such as; watering eyes, stuffy sinuses, runny noses, sore throats, dry hacking coughs or a general, all over feeling, that we might be getting sick.

This is the same reaction produced by those with Hay Fever or Allergies.  The symptoms are merely the body's attempt to remove the invaders.

There is one extreme case where mold spores will grow in your body.  This is with Aspergillius mold spores.  They can grow in our lungs if we are exposed to a large enough quantity and our immune system is sufficiently weaken.  It creates a condition known as Aspergillosis in which the patient is very sick and usually requires large doses of intravenous anti-biotics for weeks to recover.

While this situation is possible to develop, most people are physically unable to remain in a contaminated environment long enough to inhale sufficient quantities of Aspergillus for this condition to start.

Myth - Mold will make you sick. 
People with repeated exposure to mold can become sick, but it is not the mold that makes them sick.  It is the weakening or exhausting of their immune system that leaves them susceptible to other illnesses that are available.

Myth - Mold is Toxic
As explained above, mold is an irritant.  Some species of mold excrete waste known as mico-toxins.  These are also irritating to our bodies, but they are not toxic in the conventional sense of anthrax or carbon-monoxide.  Like mold spores, they do nothing more than stimulate the symptoms in our bodies so they can be expelled.  These symptoms can include; watering eyes, stuffy sinuses, runny noses, sore throats, dry hacking coughs or a general, all over feeling, that we might be getting sick.

Again, once we are removed from the source of irritation, the symptoms usually disappear in a few hours.

What Will My Insurance Company Cover In a Fire?

--Each insurance policy is different.--
You will need to speak with your insurance adjuster to determine 
exactly what your insurance company covers in a fire.

The huge firetruck screeched to a halt. The Fire Chief barked orders and the crew flawlessly connected hoses to the hydrant, snaked them across the yard and water began to pour onto the burning house. Paul marveled at the sight, until the realization that this was his house snapped him back into reality. In less than half an hour it was over. Eighteen years of sweat equity, repairs and pride was reduced to a smoldering, sagging shell. He had insurance, but Paul had no idea who it was with, what was covered or where to start.


The first thing to do to determine what is covered in a fire loss is to speak with your agent.  Your agent will be able to tell you who the insurance company is and how to contact them.  Often, your agent can file your claim for you, sometimes they can't and you will have to do it yourself.


After the fire is over, you may not be able to find your policy or remember who the company was, but you should have your agent's name and phone number recorded in phone, Rolodex or some other place you store your contact's names and phone numbers.  It is always a good practice to have these special numbers in different locations, such as; work, with a friend or another family member's home.  

Fire insurance was actually the first type of insurance available to home owners. You will find that most insurance companies cover all the damages that result from a fire. This includes demolition, cleaning, repairing and rebuilding the structure as well as, replacing damaged furnishings and contents.



Demolition - This is the process of removing the debris from your home.  It can include; framing, drywall, insulation, carpeting as well as damaged furniture and clothing.  Those items that are nailed down are generally referred to as "property" and what is not nailed down, are "contents" or "personal property".  Labor, materials and dumpsters to haul off this debris is usually covered.


Cleaning - Most fires do not completely destroy a home.  Part, if not all of the structure, can be cleaned and repaired.  Cleaning consists of more than just wiping the black off with a wet cloth.  Special grease cutting agents are used and proper protocol, including the direction and way to wipe, are needed to do the job right. 


Cleaning is usually cheaper than replacement, so insurance companies are generally eager to try cleaning first, if it is a viable option, then look at replacement.


Sealing - After the structure is cleaned, there may still be staining and/or odor.  The staining can result from either chemical changes to the exterior finish from the heat or the soot particles can enter the pores of the surface when they open from the intense heat.  Regardless of the reason, the remaining staining or odor will not come out.  Special sealers are applied to these surfaces to trap or encapsulate the staining and odors.  



Repairing/Rebuilding - Once the debris is removed and the remaining structure cleaned and sealed, the repairs can begin.  Your insurance will usually pay to put the structure back exactly as it was before the fire occurred.  This includes the same design and materials that were originally used.  It is possible to change colors, materials or finishes as long as the total cost of repairs is equal to, or less than, what was there before the fire.


That said, an owner has the right to rebuild their home how ever they choose, including a complete remodel or extensive additions.  If this is the case, your insurance company is usually only obligated to pay the cost to put your home back to its pre-loss condition.  Any costs that exceed this would be borne by the owner.

Furnishing and Contents - While most homeowners will look at furniture and clothing as different items, the insurance company considers them all "contents".  Most companies have a "new for old" replacement clause for homeowner policies.  This means that any piece of content that was damaged, as long as it is still serviceable, will be replaced at the current replacement cost with a new item.


Some policies for businesses, rentals, condos, or assigned risks, do not have "new for old" replacement clauses.  It is wise to examine your policy before a loss to determine what your potential risks actually are in this situation.  Many times it is much greater than the policy holder assumed.


You will be required to generate a complete list of all the damaged items, with the replacement cost, and submit it to the adjuster for review and payment.  In the event of a large loss or other extenuating circumstances, the insurance company may pay for the services of a qualified restoration company to help generate this list.


Some policies also have a code upgrade rider available, to pay for additional costs needed to bring the structure up to current building code requirements.


Payment - You will generally be paid in steps during the repair process, upon verification of the loss and costs.  Checks are often issued to you for:

• Emergency Needs - Emergency purchases of new clothing, food or lodging.
• Additional Living Expenses - Payment for all additional expenses incurred as a result of the fire, i.e., lodging, food, etc.
• Contents - Payment for replacement of these damaged items.  
• Construction Draws - For small jobs, this can be the entire amount of repairs, for large jobs, it can be various percentages of the total cost that are paid as benchmarks are reached.
• Final Payment - At the end of the job, items that were not anticipated in the beginning or already paid, are examined and reviewed so that final payment can be given to you. 

Again, every insurance company and policy are different.  

You will need to discuss with your agent or adjuster
to determine exactly what is covered by a fire and
how much money is allowed for the various categories.