I accidentally put my mother's ipod in the washing machine a week ago and just realised this.... is there any way of rescuing the ipod?

[Lavender01]

(Sorry if this is in the wrong forum, i didn't really know where to post it)
So, as the title says, i accidentally put my mothers ipod nano 7th gen in the washing machine, and I'm so mad at myself... it was in my backpack (an eastpak if that matters) wrapped up in a sock (to protect it) and i always turn my bags upside down to make sure it's empty, so idk how it got there. I think it was in the laptop sleeve, but i can't be sure. Now the worst part is, it has been a week since it went into the washing machine, so the damage might have already been done... but my mother got that ipod during a hard time in her life and even though she's not touched it for years (i used it) i know she'll be so mad at me... so i really hope there's a way i can save it, help is greatly appreciated...

 

[nxwing]

Have you tried turning it on since then? That should have been plenty of time to dry it out. See if it still works and test out if everything is normal and report back

 

[BigOnYa]

I'd put it in a bag of dry rice for day or so, and pray!

 

[linuxares]

It really needs to be opened up and cleaned out properly. IPA 99% for sure and a toothbrush. Since a washing machine got detergent etc. it really needs a cleaning.

 

[BigOnYa]

It really needs to be opened up and cleaned out properly. IPA 99% for sure and a toothbrush. Since a washing machine got detergent etc. it really needs a cleaning.

They are a nightmare to open. Have to heat the back up with a heat gun, then use sucker cup to pull the glass off the metal case, while still warm, just like an iphone. Good news though ,they are only $50-75 used off ebay.

edit: i was wrong, 7 gen models different. No heating required.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Have you tried turning it on since then? That should have been plenty of time to dry it out. See if it still works and test out if everything is normal and report back

I dunno. Once water gets into the crevices it doesn't dry out very easily. I would not suggest turning it on until they have opened it up and dried it out properly by a fan. It's likely to cause more damage.

I'd put it in a bag of dry rice for day or so, and pray!

Rice is good at absorbing water but it needs to be in contact with the water, it's not terribly effective at sucking moisture out from the inside of a sealed device, and it can make a mess.

It really needs to be opened up and cleaned out properly. IPA 99% for sure and a toothbrush. Since a washing machine got detergent etc. it really needs a cleaning.

This. There's no other way to make sure it's completely dried out and it's not safe to turn it on until they're sure.

(Sorry if this is in the wrong forum, i didn't really know where to post it)
So, as the title says, i accidentally put my mothers ipod nano 7th gen in the washing machine, and I'm so mad at myself... it was in my backpack (an eastpak if that matters) wrapped up in a sock (to protect it) and i always turn my bags upside down to make sure it's empty, so idk how it got there. I think it was in the laptop sleeve, but i can't be sure. Now the worst part is, it has been a week since it went into the washing machine, so the damage might have already been done... but my mother got that ipod during a hard time in her life and even though she's not touched it for years (i used it) i know she'll be so mad at me... so i really hope there's a way i can save it, help is greatly appreciated...

A week is enough time to do a lot of damage... Not sure what your chances are of rescuing it at this point. There's likely to be a lot of corrosion, but it may work despite that, and sometimes, cleaning off visible corrosion with IPA or scraping off the really tough bits with a fiberglass brush (take special care to make sure the pins on the ribbon cable connectors and on the cables themselves are clean) can get a liquid damaged device working again. But it's gonna come down to luck. Turning it on for a few minutes can be worse than leaving it wet for a week though (it massively speeds up the corrosion damage especially if the water has a lot of impurities, which detergent would certainly count as) so definitely don't turn it on, open it up and dry it out properly first.
At the very least, expect the screen to be damaged. Liquid can get in between the layers of the screen and leave visible marks, and it's impossible to get out.
I would not trust the battery either, even if it may work, I am wary when it comes to lipo batteries. Not worth risking a house fire when battery replacements are cheap.

 

[JuanMena]

(Sorry if this is in the wrong forum, i didn't really know where to post it)
So, as the title says, i accidentally put my mothers ipod nano 7th gen in the washing machine, and I'm so mad at myself... it was in my backpack (an eastpak if that matters) wrapped up in a sock (to protect it) and i always turn my bags upside down to make sure it's empty, so idk how it got there. I think it was in the laptop sleeve, but i can't be sure. Now the worst part is, it has been a week since it went into the washing machine, so the damage might have already been done... but my mother got that ipod during a hard time in her life and even though she's not touched it for years (i used it) i know she'll be so mad at me... so i really hope there's a way i can save it, help is greatly appreciated...

Post pictures of your device.

If possible, disassemble your device and post pictures of the pcb.

Also, explain what's the issue, other than "got wet" doesn't help. Is it not turning on? I presume that's the main concern.

Do you have a tester/multimeter? That'd be handy.

 

[BigOnYa]

Sorry I was wrong, that 7 gen model easier to open then older models-
https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPod+Nano+7th+Generation+Teardown/10826

 

[Lavender01]

Wow, thank you all so much for the replies!!

Have you tried turning it on since then? That should have been plenty of time to dry it out. See if it still works and test out if everything is normal and report back

Yes i have, but the battery was likely emtpy before it ever went into the washing machine, so it didn't turn on and i don't plan on charging it.

It really needs to be opened up and cleaned out properly. IPA 99% for sure and a toothbrush. Since a washing machine got detergent etc. it really needs a cleaning.

Yeah that's what i kind of expected... but i have very controlling parents who need to know everything i buy and what i do in my free time, so i basically have to tell them. I might actually do that, because i want to learn how to repair stuff anyway. Do you know any affordable battery replacements and tools?
Anyhow, i hope the corrosion is very limited, but we'll see.

Post automatically merged: Mar 22, 2023

Post pictures of your device.

If possible, disassemble your device and post pictures of the pcb.

I will try to do that asap, but i will need to buy the necessary tools to open up the ipod, and that will take some time.

Do you have a tester/multimeter? That'd be handy

I think my dad has one!

At the very least, expect the screen to be damaged. Liquid can get in between the layers of the screen and leave visible marks, and it's impossible to get out.
I would not trust the battery either, even if it may work, I am wary when it comes to lipo batteries. Not worth risking a house fire when battery replacements are cheap.

The screen already had dead pixels so if there's some spots on the screen its fine, but i guess I'll have to replace it if it's bad.
And i will def buy a new battery, thanks for the tip!

 

[Lavender01]

@JuanBaNaNa here are the photos of the ipod:

I couldn't get a good photo of the charging port, but i inspected it and it looks completely fine, there's no corrosion on the contacts. The only thing that caught my eye was that there were 2 small black spots on the white part of the charging port, but no corrosion. So can i safely try to charge it?

 

[JuanMena]

Pics of the pcb!
We need to see it's internals.

 

[Kazesama]

seeing as this was in the washer, it means at some point it was submerged in water. Maybe it's best to fess up your mistake, and maybe have a repair shop inspect the damage. The damage could be minimal, but attempting to repair it yourself without the experience and tools isn't a great idea, you may end up breaking it even further.

 

[JayBae]

(Sorry if this is in the wrong forum, i didn't really know where to post it)
So, as the title says, i accidentally put my mothers ipod nano 7th gen in the washing machine, and I'm so mad at myself... it was in my backpack (an eastpak if that matters) wrapped up in a sock (to protect it) and i always turn my bags upside down to make sure it's empty, so idk how it got there. I think it was in the laptop sleeve, but i can't be sure. Now the worst part is, it has been a week since it went into the washing machine, so the damage might have already been done... but my mother got that ipod during a hard time in her life and even though she's not touched it for years (i used it) i know she'll be so mad at me... so i really hope there's a way i can save it, help is greatly appreciated...

If it just got wet, I'd say there is a 50/50 chance it could dry out and work again, but being tossed around willy nilly inside a washing machine.... could do a lot more damage. There is always a chance, but if it's not working at all, the damage could be more than you anticipate, and ipods are not the most durable things, specially if it has a physical drive like the 3rd or 4th gen video ipods... you're basically screwed if that hard-drive gets effed up. tbh, I have my old Video ipod, and gave it the sd card mod and junk, works good, it did not work when I got it, i just replaced the battery and replaced the hard disk with a multi sd card replacement. I unno man, sux ya broke her iPod, could always go on ebay and get her an identical one tho if you care about it that much!

 

[M7L7NK7]

Was 2 months ago, guess we'll never know

 

[Lavender01]

Was 2 months ago, guess we'll never know

Not so fast! I am going to try turning the ipod on, if it works, great! If it doesn't, well, idk

Post automatically merged: May 23, 2023

If it just got wet, I'd say there is a 50/50 chance it could dry out and work again, but being tossed around willy nilly inside a washing machine.... could do a lot more damage. There is always a chance, but if it's not working at all, the damage could be more than you anticipate, and ipods are not the most durable things, specially if it has a physical drive like the 3rd or 4th gen video ipods... you're basically screwed if that hard-drive gets effed up. tbh, I have my old Video ipod, and gave it the sd card mod and junk, works good, it did not work when I got it, i just replaced the battery and replaced the hard disk with a multi sd card replacement. I unno man, sux ya broke her iPod, could always go on ebay and get her an identical one tho if you care about it that much!

the ipod was inside a sock and that sock was inside the laptop sleeve of my backpack, so the tossing around probably didn't do much damage. And since it's months ago now i am going to try turning the ipod on so we will see