this post was submitted on 20 Feb 2024
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Ok, what should I do instead?
...so what's the harm in using rice?
Silica gel desiccant bags. That's the same thing used in a lot of packaging material, like the little thing that says "do not eat" in a pill bottle or electronics bag.
I save every one of these packs. Keep them in a gallon storage bag. Use in case of emergency.
you need to boil the water out of them before use btw
Like in the oven?
Yeah, if you want to keep them ready then bake them off above 100 C for 2 hours or so then whack em in something airtight so they don't hydrate again.
You can actually buy silica gel beads with an indicator dye that goes from blue to purple when wet so you can tell at a glance if they're ready.
Pretty cool, thanks
Oven at 150c for 2-3 hours according to google
If put 30 in a bowl if milk you have to go to the hospital
Epic tale
This is actually a thing. Worked in Apple Stores for years and saw laptops and phones full of rice. Whole grains and bits n bobs.
So before the rice you could actually do a modular repair sometimes. Swap out the battery or SSD.
Whole thing full of rice bits attached to every component? Forget it.
Also, once a device is liquid damaged, often rice will resurrect it but only until the logic board rusts through / goes dry. Copper oxidises over time.
On the other hand, if you can’t afford a repair or swap out, (contrary to popular opinion, Apple sell replacement devices through their service channel way cheaper than new units) rice might give your device a new lease of life. So sometimes worth the gamble.
Edit: missed the D off SSD which kind of changed the context!
You can also hang on to silica gel packs that come in various packaging, they do the same thing as the rice but are more effective and wont clog up your device
That’s a great point!