Water Damage 101: What to Do in the First 60 Minutes

Water damage is one of the most time-sensitive problems a device can face. Unlike a cracked screen, which stays the same until you get it fixed, liquid exposure keeps causing damage every minute the device sits untouched. Corrosion spreads, connectors oxidize, and a repair that could have taken twenty minutes on day one can turn into a full board replacement by day three. Knowing exactly what to do in the first hour after a spill is often the single biggest factor in whether a device survives.

The First 60 Minutes Matter More Than You Think

The very first step is also the most commonly skipped: power the device off immediately, and do not turn it back on to “check” if it still works. Powering on a wet device is the single most common cause of permanent, unrepairable damage, because it sends current through circuits that liquid has already bridged. If the device is already on, hold the power button down rather than pressing any other buttons, and disconnect it from any charger right away.

Once it’s off, resist the urge to reach for rice, a hair dryer, or the freezer. Rice does almost nothing to draw out moisture from inside a sealed device, a hair dryer can push liquid deeper into the ports, and freezing risks condensation forming as it thaws. The only thing that reliably helps in this window is gently drying the outside with a soft cloth and getting the device to a technician as soon as possible, ideally the same day.

The same rule applies to consoles — most Xbox repairs involving liquid exposure start with a full teardown so corrosion doesn’t spread to the motherboard while you wait.

It also helps to remove any case, screen protector, or SIM card if you can do so safely, since trapped liquid under these can keep components wet long after the outside feels dry. Write down roughly what the device was exposed to, whether it was fresh water, salt water, or another liquid, since that changes how a technician approaches the cleaning and corrosion check.

Water damage isn’t automatically a death sentence for a device, but the odds of a full recovery drop fast with every hour that passes untreated. Turning the device off immediately, avoiding the usual myths like rice and hair dryers, and getting it into a technician’s hands quickly gives you the best possible chance of walking away with a working device instead of a replacement bill.