One of the common ways Kenyans use to dry their phones is by placing them into a bowl of uncooked rice.
The reasoning behind it is that the rice will act as an absorbent and absorb the water hence preventing your phone from permanently shutting down.
However, despite popular opinion, experts warn that placing your wet phone in rice could do more harm than good.
Technological experts opine that rice acts as a weak absorbent and does not significantly dry a wet phone.
“Rice does have some ability to absorb water from wet things, but it’s very weak.”
“When you leave it on a bowl of rice it will naturally dry off with time and you end up thinking it was the rice that did something when in reality it was simply leaving the phone alone for a while that did the trick,” according to electronic engineer Mike Kilpatrick
Studies have further shown that rice poses three dangers to your phone;
Rusting
Sarah McConomy, a phone expert, warns that putting your phone in a bowl of uncooked rice exposes it to rust.
"The starch in rice can actually speed up the corrosion process inside your device that occurs when liquid seeps into the device and starts to rust," McConomy warned during a past interview.
This means that while the drying will give you a temporary reprieve, you end up damaging your phone in the long term.
Blockage
Rice is usually made of small grains that cause blockage to your phone.
“Dust, starch and small grains of rice can get lodged in the mechanisms of your phone causing the blockage,” Erica Young a phone expert warns.
The blockage will affect key components in your phone like the speaker and audio port.
Damage to Hardware
Apart from blocking key components, electronic engineers warn that uncooked rice can damage the hardware.
"The rice can get stuck inside your charging port, your speaker, or your microphone and this can actually damage the hardware inside the phone," Erica further warns.
For instance, the pins inside your charging port can easily be damaged by a grain of rice.
Alternatives
Instead of rice, Kenyans are advised to use Silica Gel in case the phone gets wet.
Silica Gels are majorly used in packaged and boxed products like shoes and medicine to absorb moisture and can do the same for your phone.
Place a few Silicas Gel packets under your phone and on top and wait for it to dry.
