Drying Out a Mobile Phone

Dropped your smartphone in the bath? Try this:

•  Turn off the phone straight away, even if it still seems to work - because water likes creating circuits inside the phone that shouldn't be there, ultimately damageing your phone.
• Next, go into the kitchen, bury the phone in a bowl of uncooked rice, and place the bowl at the back of the airing cupboard for at least 36 hours. 
• The rice draws the moisture out of the phone - and will hopefully save your device.

Mobile phone insurance may seem like an unnecessary expense, but if you are tied into a mobile phone company contract, they won't sell you another subsidised phone, and you'll be faced with paying a large sum to replace it or to repair it. You may have mobile phone insurance included as an 'extra' with your bank account, so check this out.

A final tip - don't use your phone in the bath.

Will Guyatt, Gadget Guy column in the Wiltshire Times, 29 Aug. 2014