So you dropped your iPhone in the sink. Or the toilet. Or maybe the lake at Centennial Beach.
Your phone is soaked, and now your friend with “tech experience” says:

“Just throw it in a bag of rice overnight.”

It’s a nice idea. It feels proactive. But does it actually work?

Short answer?
No.
Long answer? Keep reading — because you could save your phone (and avoid making things worse).

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The Rice Trick: Where Did This Even Come From?

The rice trick has been around since the early 2000s when flip phones were still a thing. The idea was simple:

• Rice absorbs moisture
• Moisture is bad for electronics
• Therefore, rice = solution

Except… rice isn’t magic. And phones today are a lot more complex than they were in 2003.

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Why Rice Doesn’t Actually Work (And Sometimes Makes It Worse)

❌ It Doesn’t Get Deep Enough

Water inside your phone isn’t just sitting on the surface — it’s under IC chips, connectors, and in tiny crevices. Rice doesn’t suck that out. It might remove a little humidity from the air inside the bag. That’s it.

❌ It Wastes Critical Time

Every hour you spend hoping the rice will do something is an hour your phone’s internals are corroding. Once that starts, damage spreads — fast.

❌ It Can Introduce More Problems

We’ve seen rice dust clog charging ports, get stuck inside speaker grilles, and even trigger moisture sensor errors. Congratulations: now your water damage is… rice damage.

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Here’s What Actually Works

If your iPhone (or Android) gets wet:

1. Turn it off immediately.
   Don’t check “if it still works.” Power = short circuit risk.
2. Don’t plug it in.
   Charging a wet phone is like using a hair dryer in a bathtub.
3. Don’t put it in rice.
   See above. You’re just delaying a real fix.
4. Bring it to a repair shop (like us) for proper drying and board cleaning.

At Barrie Screen Repair, we:

• Open the phone
• Clean the board with alcohol if needed
• Dry all components properly
• Test everything from battery to screen, port, camera, and power

Here’s what to expect from our water damage repair process

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“But My Phone Still Turns On After Water. Am I Safe?”

Not really.

Water damage doesn’t always show up immediately. It can take hours or days for corrosion to trigger:

• Ghost touches
• Battery issues
• Camera fog
• Sudden shutdowns
• Death with no warning

So if you dodged the bullet this time, don’t assume you’re in the clear. A diagnostic inspection is your best move.

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Repair Costs for Water Damage in Barrie

We quote after diagnosis, but here’s a rough guide:

Service	Typical Cost
Water damage cleaning & board inspection	$80–$120
Plus parts (screen, battery, etc.) if damaged	Varies
Data recovery from dead devices	Ask us — we try our best to recover it affordably (costs can get prohibitive if excessive damage)

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What About iPads or Consoles?

Yep — we’ve dried out:

• iPads left in backpacks in the rain
• We don’t normally fix consoles due to the unpredictable nature of water damage

If it has a port and powered on once — it’s probably still fixable.

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TL;DR

• Rice doesn’t fix water damage
• It delays real help and may make things worse
• Power off, don’t charge, and bring it in
• We clean, test, and quote it honestly

Book your water damage diagnostic now →
Don’t wait for the rice to do something it’s never done.