Dropped iPhone In Toilet? No Problem. Here’s How To Save It!

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Oh, no! If you are reading this right now, then you probably you did an #iTurd (aka dropped iPhone in toilet). Unfortunately, dropping an iPod, iPhone, smartphone or other electronic device into a toilet appears to be a common problem. Seriously. We get tons of emails about iPod or iPhone toilet falls every month.

Many electronic devices can be rescued from water immersion if you act quickly. Here’s what to do if your iPod, iPhone, MP3 player, smartphone or other gadget falls into a body of water, whether that water is an ocean or a dirty toilet.

Requirements:

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

iPhone Toilet Problems: Help! My iPhone Fell In Toilet Share on X

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 in the toilet water, then use an aquarium fish net or a colander spoon if you have one.

You can also use a paper cup or even enlist the help of a small child to remove the iPod or iPhone from the toilet water. It’s about time they earned their keep anyway. Let’s put those small hands to work (just kidding).

Turn It Off!

Kill 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!

Remove Excess iPod or iPhone Toilet 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 (aka poop water), then attempt to wipe it off as good 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 my iPod for a few days when I went to wipe my 2-year old’s butt and it took a dive into the toilet (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. 🙂 My iPod acted up for about at least 1 month afterward where the iPod’s click-dial wouldn’t respond or would be VERY sporadic. Then, all of a sudden it started working and hasn’t acted up since.” ~ Dustin

Let It Dry – iPhone Rice Trick

Rice is an excellent water-absorbing material. Grab a bag of rice and pour a heaping amount into a medium-sized bowl. Then bury your waterlogged gadget under the rice. It will some time, but the rice will help pull out the moisture. You can also try placing the bowl over a warm place, such as a heater or warm air vent. The heat will also help the moisture evaporate.

Wait 48 hours or more. The longer you wait, the better. You want your device to be completely dried out. Always wait until it is completely dry before plugging it in, or using it. And please throw the dirty toilet rice away, don’t eat it! Yuck! Then say hi to Katie Couric below.

Wipe It Down

When you remove your dried out iPod, iPhone, smartphone or other device from the rice bowl 48 hours later, please wipe it down thoroughly with antibacterial cleaning products. The last thing you want is toilet germs and bacteria all over your hands. A phone is even worse because you need to be able to place the device near your face to answer phone calls. “Hello, can I please speak to the diarrhea particles near my mouth please?”

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! Go watch a DVD you ripped using Handbrake If not, keep reading.

Try To Fix Your iPod Or iPhone Yourself

There are a variety of things that 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 the 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 see either the Folder icon or Sad Face on your iPod screen, then 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.

Seek Professional iPod or 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. You can also post a comment below and get help from other methodshop users.

• “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, it fell from my hand, and just happened to land into the toilet. Yep, an iPod toilet fall. 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 pressed reset (pause and menu together) and there was a very faint low battery sign. I plugged it in for a 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

Find A Silver Lining

Look on the bright side, at least you didn’t stick it in the washing machine. Did you?!

• “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

That’s It! Was Your ‘Dropped iPhone In Toilet Problem’ Solved?

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

Here’s a general piece of advice, don’t use your iPod, iPhone, cell phone or any other device 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 necessarily need to listen to “Move It” by Christina Aguilera while sitting on the toilet.

• “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 website. 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

• “iPhone toilet fall?! 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