Oh no! If you are reading this right now, you probably typed "iPod Toilet" into a search engine. Which most likely means you pulled off an iTurd - dropping your iPod or iPhone in the toilet. Unfortunately this tends to be a common problem. Seriously. We get tons of emails about iTurds every month. And as you might imagine, the toilet isn't always full of clean water.

Here's a general piece of advice, don't use your iPod or iPhone in the bathroom. If you just finished jogging with your iPod and have to use the bathroom, then just take a moment to remove the device from your body before lifting the toilet seat. You don't necessary need to listen to "Move It" by Christina Aguilera while sitting on the toilet.

Many electronic devices can be rescued from water immersion if you act quickly. Here's what to do if your iPod or iPhone falls into a body of water whether that water is an ocean or a dirty toilet.

Requirements:

• Any waterlogged or wet iPod or iPhone
• A bag of rice
• A medium sized bowl
• Antibacterial cleaning products
• Can of compressed air or a vacuum

01) Quickly Remove Your iPod or iPhone From the Water

The more time an electronic device spends submerged in water, the worse off it will be. Quickly pull the iPod or iPhone out of the water. If you are too scared to get your hands dirty, then use an aquarium fish net or a Toiletta if you have one. It's a handy little cleaning and item retrieval tool for your toilet.

"I have kind of a weird problem. I was listening to my iPod while in the bathroom (don't ask), and when I stood up to take care of things, my iPod belt clip hit the toilet paper roll holder and fell in. I was very angry and then devastated. I don't want to go into detail but I stayed home from my summer job due to bad seafood from a sweet 16 party the night before. Luckily no one was home, so I ran down the hallway and used my little brother's goldfish net to fish it out of the toilet. I then used my anti-bacterial lotion and cleaned it off. But my iPod doesn't work at all anymore!! The screen is just blank no matter how long I charge it. I'm so embarrassed I can't tell my parents. I have to fix this soon before they ask why I'm not using my iPod anymore. I think I want to fix it, sell it and get a new one. I don't want to really touch it any more. Please help me! What should I do?" ~ Miss X

02) Turn It Off!

Kill the power! Water and electricity don't mix. Turning off the power immediately is very important. The electrolytic action of electricity, metals and a liquid, causes rapid corrosion of the fine electrical connections. So turn it off ASAP!

03) Remove Excess Water

If your iPod or iPhone was only immersed in clean water for a brief moment, then a careful drying is all that may be required. If it was immersed in dirty water, attempt to wipe it as best as you can. Then, shake out excess water, blow into crevasses with a compressed can of air, use a vacuum, etc. until no more water droplets come out.

"I LOVED the quotes on the iTurd (iPod in the toilet) and what to do about it. I barely had mine for a few days when I went to wipe my 2 year old's little buddies and it went Kaplunk and took a dive (luckily I had just flushed!!!!) Since then, I've called it my iTurd. I immediately hooked a vacuum up to it to suck air through it. Watch out, however, because my vacuum started overheating and smoking. :) Mine acted up for about at least 1 month afterwards where the click-dial wouldn't respond or would be VERY sporadic. Then, all of a sudden it started working and hasn't acted up since. I'd send you my "story" which I sent to my friends about an hour after it took a swim, but it wasn't written using the best language skills and would possibly offend.. :)" ~ Dustin

04) Let It Dry

Grab a bag of rice and pour a heaping amount into a medium sized bowl. Then bury your iPod or iPhone under the rice. The rice will help absorb the moisture. You can also try placing the iPod rice bowl over a warm place, such as near a heater or warm air vent. The heat will also help the moisture evaporate. Then wait 48 hours or more. The longer you wait the better. It needs to completely dry out. Always wait until the iPod is completely dry before plugging it in, or using it. And please throw the dirty toilet rice away! Yuck!

05) Wipe It Down

When you remove your dried out iPod or iPhone from the rice bowl 48 hours later, please wipe it down very carefully with antibacterial cleaning products.

The last thing you want is toilet germs and bacteria all over your fingers when you're trying to use your iPod. The iPhone is even worse because you need to be able to place the device near your face to answer phone calls.

06) Turn It On

Your iPod or iPhone should be both dry and clean enough to test. Cross your fingers and turn it on. Is it working? Congrats! If not, keep reading.

07) Try to Fix Your iPod or iPhone Yourself

There are a variety of things you can do to troubleshoot your broken iPod or iPhone:

Restart - The hard drive might have gotten a little whacked out of shape if it hit the edge of the toilet during the fall. Many times a restart will fix most common iPod or iPhone problems.

Diagnostic Mode - Putting your iPod into Diagnostic Mode will help you determine if your iPod has any physical damage. If your iPod fails any of these tests, then you'll need to have a professional take a look at it.

Cracked LCD Screen - A cracked screen isn't something the average person will be able to fix on their own. You will need to have a professional iPod or iPhone repair shop replace your screen.

Factory Restore - If you are having issues like the Folder icon or Sad Face, you should probably try to erase and restore your iPod.

Battery Issues - If your device won't hold a charge, then the water most likely got to the battery.

If none of these tips helped, please continue to the next section.

08) Seek Professional iPod/iPhone Repair Help

If your iPod or iPhone won't turn on, or the screen cracked during the fall, you may need to replace a few parts depending on what exactly happened. Please check out our VIP Repair Service for a hardware repair estimate and more information. Also, please warn them it fell into the toilet before they crack open your iPod and find dried urine and a dingle-berry inside.

"I know this was stupid of me, but i never thought it could happen. About 3 days ago, i was listening to my ipod (1st gen, 5gb) whilst brushing my teeth. I held the ipod and was selecting a song to put on, however if fell from my hand, and just happened to land into the toilet. I grabbed it out of there as soon as i could, which was about 1 second. i immediately dried it with a towel, but also shook it allot to get water from the inside out of it. It wasn't working, but i pressed reset (pause and menu together) and there was a very faint low battery sign. I plugged it in for recharge but there was no response, and i continued to try and get it working but to no avail." ~ hsloyal

"Oops! I dropped my iPod in the toilet. It was in there for about a second or less. Ever since then, I've been able to play music sporadically, but it will no longer sync from the computer. I've tried resetting it as explained in the manual, but it didn't work. Can my iPod be repaired??" ~ epb

09) Find A Silver Lining

Look on the bight side, at least you didn't stick it in the washing machine.

"help!!! I left my ipod in my jeans pocket and my mom washed it, can it be saved, repaired or is it junked!" ~ mgwhome

"So, i was reading your article about the ipods falling into the toilet and at the very end, you said, "Look on the bright side, at least you didn't stick it in the washing machine." Well, i did. it went through an entire cycle and an extra rinse because my clothes were extra dirty from working in red clay. I was about to put my clothes in the dryer when my earphones fell out of the pocket of a sweatshirt. NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!" was all that came out of my mouth." ~ mac0904

"Hi, My son's iPod barely survived a run through the washer. After drying, it continued to work for a few days, although some songs weren't accessible. Finally, however, the screen began to display the folder alert and now does nothing else. Can you tell from this description about how much a repair would cost? The model is 10gb without the play buttons across the top. Thanks!" ~ frichmond

10) That's It!

Hopefully you found this page helpful and got your iPod or iPhone working again.

Congratulations! You are done. Go buy yourself a drink... and feel free to buy us one too. These articles don't write themselves. Show us some love and drop a PayPal dollar in our MethodShop.com Beer Fund. Beer Fund If you are low on cash, you can say thanks by following us on Twitter, friending us on Facebook, subscribing to our RSS feed or joining our weekly mailing list. We totally apprecieate your support.

"I just read your article about iPods swimming in toilets, washing machines, etc. I'm surprised no one has mentioned another brown liquid, one often found near (and occasionally on or in) computers ... coffee. My husband was driving and I was riding shotgun, and my coffee was in the beverage holder between us. (And not just black; it was either coffee with lots of French vanilla creamer, or else a cappuccino, I've forgotten now.) Well, you know what happened. This happened over a month ago, I've felt awful guilty, I've asked several times if he's tried fixing it yet. He always said it wouldn't do anything, nada, not turn on or anything. He's going on a trip tomorrow plus his birthday is in 3 days, so I figured I'd try to fix it for him. I read about using a guitar pick to open the case, so I went and pulled out my old guitar case and almost didn't find one but right when I was about to give up, a guitar pick fell out. Then I started thinking... I wonder if in all this time he's plugged it in to charge the battery... So I did... I got the "Do Not Disconnect" sign and found your web site. I followed your instructions for getting rid of that sign, and well, that was all it took! I didn't have to open it, I didn't even have to reset it! It's charging now, and the music plays. Anyway, I thought you might be interested in our story - different liquid, different fix, and probably the lamest reason it didn't work before (even worse than the guy who had his in the locked position). Can you say, "Is it plugged in?" ~karakeeter

"Yes, it really happened, and I'd rather not go into it right now. It was submerged in water for 3-4 seconds, and now the screen is on and not responding. It's making a little sound like it's still running. I tried opening it but couldn't get the case open except for a corner. SOMEONE HELP! 15GB new iPod. What a shame." ~ xboardr720"MY

Ipod fell into a cup of Grapefruit juice..is it doomed?" ~ TroyB7

"When [they] get [their] iPods fixed, [they] should also custom engrave the back, iPoop." ~ agreenster

"eeewwww!" ~ Jay G.