Thumb drive got washed

[m1shooter]

Well my thumb drive must have needed cleaning because I left it in my shorts and put it throught the washer but not the dryer. After looking online I found that I might get lucky if I let it dry completly. Any ideas on how long this should take, and is there a way to recover the data if the thumb drive is trashed? Thanks guys.

[GotGlock1917]

I did the same with my SanDisk Cruzer Micro.

I shook it out and blew it out and let it air dry for a couple of days.
Works fine.

[Atlas]

Most likely it isn't necessary to wait.
If it's dry on the outside I would plug it it.

Those things are not mechanical, like a hard-drive, they're an array of solid-state memory chips.
I'm pretty sure they're all encapsulated in epoxy. That means it's waterproof. I would be surprised to find one that was not.

[GotGlock1917]

I may have been too cautious but, I have taken one apart that was not waterproof.
Also, mine has a retractable usb connector with a sliding thumb switch on the side.
I had to make sure all the water was out.

[2fast4u]

Do not plug it in for a while. An easy way to dry it out, is to place it in a bowl of rice (uncooked of course) for a few days. The rice should draw out any moisture, and you'll be fine. Worked for me twice over the past couple of years.

Good Luck!

[Deanster]

Thumb drives and memory cards are surprisingly robust. They routinely survive washing and drying.

Dry yours out and chances are good it will be fine.

[theleafybug]

bah. no worries. i have 6 flash drives that i've probably washed like 35 times each. none of them has failed me yet. one day i'll learn to empty my pockets before washing.

[cgwahl]

Yeah, when I was in school I had the only copy of a group project on a thumb drive go through the washer/dryer.

Was freaking out that day, but it worked fine and still works fine 5 years later. Although, being 16MB, I don't use it much. :supergrin:

[RyanNREMTP]

Mine gets washed and dried at the laundrymat quite often. No problems.

[PeterJasonMN]

I fell in the lake with my iPod Shuffle. Still works just fine.

[GotGlock1917]

one day i'll learn to empty my pockets before washing.

Apparently not. :rofl:

[gwalchmai]

I washed one of my 4Gs last week. Works like a charm. I think the data's cleaner now.

[GotGlock1917]

I washed one of my 4Gs last week. Works like a charm. I think the data's cleaner now.

You got shiny bits?

[Luke49783]

if you're still concerned about getting the water out, and this is probably what i would do just to be safe, dunk it in some rubbing alcohol and let it air dry for a day. That'll dry the water out of it and you should be good to go.

[gwalchmai]

You got shiny bits?

:rofl:

[greenLED]

My son's washed and dried his USB drive at least half-a-dozen times... still working just fine.