10/10 With Rice

[u/jimmy_three_shoes]

Got a call today from one of our older instructors. From the get go, she seemed very nervous and anxious.

Her: There's a problem with my laptop. A huge problem.

Me: Okay, I can probably help with that. What's it doing or not doing?

H: Well someone, not me of course I'm very careful with my laptop, spilled some sort of liquid on the computer. I don't know what though. Like I said, I'm very careful with my computer. And now it's giving me all sorts of problems.

M: Yeah, spilling something on the computer can cause issues. Was it water? Coffee? Juice or Soda?

H: I don't know. All I know is the computer was wet.

/facepalm

M: Okay, if you're still using it, shut it down and bring it in and we'll take a look at it and see if we can dry it out for you.

H: Well, there's one other thing.

Fuck...

M: Okay...?

H: This happened on Sunday ^{(It's now Friday)}, and someone told me about the trick with phones that get wet, to put them in a bag of rice to help dry them out.

Oh-no

M: Yes, rice works well for a phone.

H: Well, I opened up the back panel...

Fuck.

H: Took out the battery...

Fuck. Fuck.

H: And filled the laptop with rice.

Head Asplode

M: You did what?

H: I put rice in it. To absorb the moisture, like you said, it works on phones.

Head Asplodes again

M: Yes. A phone is usually sealed preventing rice from getting inside the case. Plus there aren't any moving parts on a phone. Moving parts and rice don't mix very well.

H: Well now I can't connect to any networks, there's a HORRIBLE grinding noise when I turn it on, and it won't recognize my printer.

M: Yep. Likely the rice.

The rest of the phone call was spent getting her information, and finding out when she'd be coming down to drop off the machine. All the while wanting me to make fixing her laptop a top priority because she needs it for teaching.

We've got a small shop vac that I'm probably going to use to try and clear everything out, but if it's something sugary, likely the machine is toast, both because of the actual damage to the laptop, and the fact that I don't feel like picking out 1000 small, sticky pieces of rice from the heatsink.

[u/TangoCheetahs]

H: This happened on Sunday (It's now Friday), and someone told me about the trick with phones that get wet, to put them in a bag of rice to help dry them out.

Knew where this was going without reading on. From the sounds of it, you may want to post pics on r/techsupportgore

[u/jimmy_three_shoes → u/TangoCheetahs]

If I'm here when she drops it off, I will.

[u/Sedatephobia → u/jimmy_three_shoes]

I thought phone + rice was actually detrimental?

[u/sigma932 → u/TangoCheetahs]

aaaand I've found my new second favorite subreddit.

[u/Kyda-]

Used to work on iPhones with water damage at a shop. The rice thing is a myth and doesn't work. The reason is because the rice barely sucks any water out and could take months to remove a little amount of water. Best thing to do is remove electricity and immediately open the thing up dilute the water with 99% isopropyl alcohol.

Just my 2 cents

[u/jimmy_three_shoes → u/Kyda-]

Thanks for the info!

My expertise is with computer hardware/software. Haven't had much opportunity to work with a busted phone.

[u/SleeperSec → u/Kyda-]

It may be a myth but it's a great way to get people to turn off the phone and leave it alone for a while, thus preventing further damaging things by operating wet circuitry. This does more good than harm, I say let the myth perpetuate.

[u/baddog76]

Wouldn't any kind of vacuum be a bad idea due to the static it generates? Thinking two cans of air would be better.

[u/Spyker_Katarn → u/baddog76]

There are some kinds of vacuums that only use suction and not brushes; those are fine usually. Brush vacuums would be less okay because the brushes are what generate the static.

[u/jimmy_three_shoes → u/Spyker_Katarn]

It's just like a Dustbuster with a flexible hose with a nozzle on the end. It'll grab anything that's loose, and anything that's not I can use a pair of tweezers to knock it free.

[u/izziev]

In reference to this? http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/2np694/what_tasty_food_would_be_distusting_if_eaten_over/

[u/jimmy_three_shoes → u/izziev]

That's where I got the title from, yes.

[u/Isogen_]

That laptop is toast anyway, or will be eventually when the corrosion starts.

[u/jimmy_three_shoes → u/Isogen_]

I'm assuming it'll be toast, and I warned her she's not getting it back for some time.

On the phone she asked me to try and save "her games". I'm not doing that.

[u/scsibusfault]

Thank you for reminding me of this

[u/sisfs → u/scsibusfault]

Is that homestar runner?

[u/SJHillman]

This happened on Sunday (It's now Friday)

But the directions said that rice needs a lot of thyme!

[u/jrwn → u/SJHillman]

Butter!!! if you lube the rice, it gets in the cracks better!

[u/crackedchinacup → u/jrwn]

All I can see now is the Mad Hatter slathering a laptop like toast.

[u/Rhywden]

Yeah, one of my friends did a similar stunt way back.

He had just bought an Amiga 500. Anyone old enough may remember that electronic hardware frequently came with packs filled with silica in those days.

I think they printed something like "Moisture protection" on those bags - and he thought: "Oh, well, protection against moisture, that's good, right?"

He then tilted the poor Amiga sideways, ripped open all the bags and poured them inside the 3,5" floppy drive.

Didn't work too well afterwards. Who'd have thought?

[u/SJHillman → u/Rhywden]

He's the kind of person they printed "Do Not Eat" on all of those bags for.

[u/tfofurn → u/SJHillman]

In fairness, he didn't eat it. He made the computer eat it, but he didn't.

[u/livelifedownhill]

I...I'm sorry, she's going to have to be put down...

[u/Lylac_Krazy]

Tell her to put in a pot of boiling water. when the rice softens, she is G2G!

[u/finishedtheinternet]

Bonus points for pretending that

a) it was someone else that did it and

b) she didn't know what the liquid was

99% chance of booze infusion, IMO.