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Product Details Edit
The Thirsty Bag is a simple, inexpensive, and effective response to electronic water damage. It uses top of the line Molecular Sieve to quickly and consistently pull all of the water out of any device you leave inside. The special beads are engineered to grab water molecules out of the air, and never release them. It can reduce the atmospheric humidity to 1% RH and remove all liquid water overnight.
Why it Works ¶
Modern, low voltage devices typically do not "burn out" immediately upon water contact. Instead, tiny microscopic beads of water in chip housings and on circuit boards are re-routing the power erratically to places it doesn't belong. This can cause a cellphone to malfunction, or not work at all.
This means, luckily for us, that if you can remove all the water from the phone it is likely to work again. Unfortunately, this is not as easy as it sounds. Water will cling to the smallest spaces where towels and sponges can't reach. We can't heat the phone to get the water out, or we may cook the sensitive flash memory, or melt delicate components. So we must turn to science to get our phone dry.
Liquids, in an atmosphere, will reach what is called an equilibrium vapor pressure. Which means that liquids will evaporate into the atmosphere around them until the atmosphere reaches a saturation limit based on the temperature. We recognize this as air drying. It is why when you spill water on your linoleum kitchen floor and leave it till morning, it will be gone. Water will continue to evaporate into the atmosphere until the atmosphere reaches this equilibrium vapor pressure*. This means if we keep drying out the atmosphere, water will keep evaporating. This allows the Thirsty Bag to maintain an extremely low vapor pressure in the bag, and suck the water out from the tinniest cracks in the phone.
*About 2.5% RH at room temperature
Reviews ¶
"... A good deal that will offer peace of mind for those who have any worries at all about spills"
- iSource
"iFixit's new "Thirsty Bag" can very effectively clear liquids from electronics."
- Cnet
"The iFixit Thirsty Bag can be a life-saver when it comes to salvaging water-damaged iPhones and iPads… if you happen to have one around when an accident happens."
Homebrew Tactics ¶
Rice ¶
A common recommendation to those with wet phones is to use uncooked rice. Theoretically this would make sense, as it appears to do the same thing as Molecular Sieve while being readily available to anyone with a well-stocked kitchen.
Unfortunately, rice is not an effective desiccant for a couple of reasons. Rice has a low capacity for atmospheric absorption. It may absorb the liquid water on the case, but our real problem are the tiny drops inside. Also, as rice sits on your shelf, and the shelf at the store before you bought it, in unsealed boxes and bags it slowly sucks in water out of the atmosphere around it, reaching it's absorption capacity. Thirsty Bag Molecular Sieve pouches are sealed at the factory where they are made, and not exposed the the atmosphere for longer than 2 minutes during packaging where they are resealed and prepared for you.
Heating Methods ¶
A bad idea is to cook your phone to evaporate all the water. Like was said above, increasing the temperature will increase the equilibrium vapor pressure, causing more water to be evaporated. In reality, the temperatures necessary to properly dry a phone with heat will actually damage the memory in the phone, and melt some plastics. The sun won't come close.
Stories
My Problem
I accidentally washed my son's I-Touch. Before buying a new one, I wanted to at least try repairing it. I'd heard that if you put the device in rice there is a chance the water could be absorbed. So, I immediately put it in a bucket of rice. Knowing that may not work, I searched the internet to see if there was anything else that could be done. That's when I found the Thirsty Bag. I ordered it and it came within a couple of days.
My Fix
I took the I-Touch out of the rice and put it in the bag. After 24 hours in the bag, I asked my son to give it a try. It appears to be working ok (except the camera). For now, I've avoided having to replace it. Thank you!
My Advice
Always keep a Thirsty Bag on hand AND make your kids do their own laundry!
My Problem
Because my coworker had broke his screen on his iPhone 4 and needed me to replace it.
My Fix
It went well, I had previously had problems with getting the screws back in the right place, but now with the screw mat, I have no problems at all!
My Advice
Don't drop your phone!
My Problem
Hard disks are expensive these days and I had a spare SSD. I wanted to replace my PowerMac G4 which held the time machine backups and I needed an iTunes server for the Apple TV and to sync the iDevices wirelessly. So I took the cheapest mini which is like 100 times faster than the G4 I guess and installed the RAM and Disks I have.
My Fix
I wasn't very comfortable doing this, I didn't want to mess up my shiny mini, but it all went good. I was astonished at how they managed to cram in those parts while keeping it relatively simple to maintain.
My Advice
It's VERY important to insert the upper hard drive very precisely, otherwise you can't install the antenna plate. The antenna cable is very fragile, don't insert it before you got the drive right!
My Problem
My 2011 2.3 GHz MacMini came with a 500GB HDD. But EyeTV filled it up quite fast. An external 1TB FireWire HDD didn't prove itself as reliable enough for HD Recording.
My Fix
I got myself the Mac Mini Dual Hard Drive Kit and followed the instructions provided.
Worked seamlessly for me. Set up as a RAID 0 i now have a 2TB media center/PVR.
My Advice
Just go for it. It was easier than i thought.
My Problem
My first iPod was not charging right and not responding.
My Fix
I thought the old iPod was past it's life. I ordered a replacement battery and installed it. Opening the case was not easy but I managed. I reformatted, synced, and charged the iPod and it's back to life. Instructions were very clear.
My Advice
I am a 40+ year old female and not a tech y. I have good dexterity skills for fine work. Weak eyes may need strong glasses and good light. I've ordered a battery for an iPod gen 4.
My Problem
i did have a problem, i just bought it for precaution.
My Fix
i haven't used it. I hope not to do hehe
My Advice
The product arrived faster than I thought ... excellent service.
My Problem
Needed a gift. Needed to make nerd happy.
My Fix
Bought Pro Tech Base Toolkit. Wrapped it. Handed gift to nerd. Nerd was very very happy!
My Advice
No advice. You guys are awesome.
My Problem
Water damage and subsequent battery problems
My Fix
All according to plan. 10 minutes and it was done
My Advice
Be gentle, give it the respect it deserves and you will be fine. Only tricky part is having to slide in the display cable. The rest is simple.
My Problem
My brother has a grim history when it comes to gadgets and laundry day. One of his ipods was dead after a quick swim in the washer and his current cellphone can't recognize the 5 and 7 key after being washed too. So I got him and my dad, who recently found out had similar stories about gadgets and water, a thirsty bag. I can only hope they don't get to use them.
My Fix
It's too late for all of my brothers gadgets, this is only a preventive measure for his current ipod.
My Advice
I say, keep some of these bags around the house. Better safe than sorry :D
My Problem
Fast Service on my order Thank you
My Fix
Fast Service on my order Thank you
My Advice
Fast Service on my order Thank you
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