I just washed a memory stick

chaosof99

Tomorrow I'll have to attend a funeral and unable to find a dry cleaner yesterday who could do it in time, I thought I'd try my luck and wash my dress pants in a washer. As I pull them out of the washer, I hear the clack of something droping on the tile floor. I look down and find the USB memory stick I though I had lost years ago. The USB stick endured in the pants since my oral Matura exam three years ago. The presentation I give then probably was still on the stick when I put the pants into the washer.

So now this USB stick was washed and while it doesn't seem moist in any sense anymore, I am not really sure if I should try and plug it in. Can I somehow make sure that it is dry or is it perhaps a lost case anyway?

Tyashki

Don't plug it in until next week. Leave it in a dry spot until then. If iPod shuffles can work after going through the wash, a simple flash drive can.

...

AWESOME! I thought, when reading the thread title, this was going to be about an accidental format, but this is way cooler. As Tyashki said, just leave it in a sunny and dry spot for a few days and then plug it in. It's best if you place it show that any water might drop out.

Li_Akahi

I accidentally washed one of my memory sticks (and two DS games), just let it dry and it will work.

Luke Burrage

I have a friend who put an iPod Nano through the wash. He left it until the inside of the screen dried up completely before trying and it worked without a hitch.

Apreche

Yeah, everyone here has the right idea. Take the plastic off, if you can. Wait a few days for it to dry completely. Then plug it in. If it works, great. if not, throw it out.

Tyashki

Any idea how big this flash drive is? Three year old flash drive can't be that big.

bees knees

My phone went down the toilet on Friday. It's been a bit hit and miss but this morning: it seems to be working fine except for what I can only call screen tearing.

It's amazing what technology can stand up to if you're patient.

chaosof99

It's 250MB, so not that big, but it's a better way to swap files quickly than getting out an external hard drive. It should be sufficiently large enough.

Omnutia

If you can, disassemble it. I've heard leaving it in a sealed bag of dry rice works well. As long as it's only water it should be ok. It's the sugars and salts in things like coffee that hold moisture for a long time you have to watch out for, pure water should be fine.

Sail

I've heard tons of stories of those UBS sticks going through washers and surviving. I'm pretty sure it's going to be fine.

Erwin

Let it sit on distilled water and then let it dry. It worked wonders with my cell phone

Victor Frost

I've washed flashdrives many a time. Just let em dry for a couple days and they'll be fine.

For sd Cards through, just plug em in, they'll be fine.

Omnutia

MicroSDs for the win, they're practically sealed. Just wash it, wipe it and plug it in.

Cramit

I actually ran my flash drive through the washer and dryer (both on high heat no less) and it worked fine.

Lusankya

Back when I had a subscription to PC Magazine they ran a torture test on a bunch of flash drives. After dropping three different flash drives off of a balcony, running them over with an SUV, and then throwing them in a washing machine AND a dryer, they all worked perfect after an extra half hour of air drying out of the tumbler. This was about four years ago too, so they're probably the same vintage as your stick. You could probably try it out now, but I wouldn't recommend it - water bridging the USB contact could potentially toast your computer if it doesn't have surge protection on the USB bus supplies.

CHOIS CHOIS CHOIS

I've had that happen once or twice to me. It smelled like a mountain meadow for a whole week!

Tyashki

I know! Lets torture test him!