[PLUG] Flash Drive went through the wash

[Galen Seitz]

On 7/6/19 2:17 PM, Dick Steffens wrote:
> I put a flash drive in a shirt pocket and forgot about it. The shirt and 
> the drive went through the washer and dryer. I just tried it and it 
> works. (I had already downloaded the contents, so I wasn't worried about 
> losing data.)
> 
> The question is, did running it through the dryer right after it ran 
> through the washer dry it out enough that it will be okay? Or simply 
> because it got wet, and corrosion began, one day it will die?
> 
> Not a big deal. It's an older, smaller flash drive that I don't use 
> often. Just an academic question.

It's certainly possible that there is still moisture inside.  If you 
want to try to preserve it, try burying it in some uncooked rice. 
Alternatively, if you have an electric oven or toaster oven, you could 
bake it for an hour or so at 125 degrees.  I wouldn't do this in a gas 
oven due to the moisture given off by combustion.  OTOH, given the low 
cost, I would just recycle it.

Had you intercepted it between the washer and dryer, I might have 
recommended an extra rinse to attempt to get any detergent residue out 
of it before drying it out.

galen
-- 
Galen Seitz
galens at seitzassoc.com