I accidentally washed DH's Airpods ... Help/Advice Please!

[debthaven]

DH is away for the weekend so I decided to do some of his laundry. I SWEAR I checked his pockets, but clearly not well enough! 

I washed his Airpods ... the case, and the 2 Airpods. 

I put them in a sealed bag of rice. 

Any advice?!

I'm trying to tell myself, it's only money. Worst-case scenario, I'll replace them. But obviously, DH won't be happy about this.

I would REALLY appreciate any help/suggestions!!!

PS FWIW, the case still lights up. I don't have or use Airpods, so I don't really know how they work. 

[debthaven]

DS2 just called and told me he did the same thing once. He told me to put them in a sealed bag of rice for 24h (which I did even before I spoke to him.) DS2 told me his worked even without putting them in rice. He said they're designed to be waterproof ... but just how waterproof?!

[Tennesseer]

'I accidentally washed DH's Airpods ... I need advice ASAP!'

To paraphrase a quote from Forrest Gump, 'Run, debthaven, run!'

[debthaven]

Thanks for your help Tennesser. I'm sure I'll see the humor in this one day, but not yet. Clearly you do though. Glad I could give you a laugh. 

[Tennesseer]

Mar 31, 2022 17:48:12 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Thanks for your help Tennesser. I'm sure I'll see the humor one day, but not yet. Clearly you do though. 

Sorry, debthaven. I meant no harm.

I have no idea of the value as I don't use equipment like that.

[debthaven]

Then perhaps when someone is clearly upset, it might be better to refrain from posting a "joke"?!

I don't know the exact price, but I DO know they are expensive for us, and they were a gift to DH from DS2. 

In case you don't know what a joke is, my sister has a great definition ... it's when BOTH people laugh. 

[nidena]

What To Do When AirPods Go Through the Wash?

[debthaven]

THANK YOU NIDENA!!! There was no water, but I wiped them anyway. I put them in the sealed bag of rice separately.

THERE IS HOPE!!!

[saveinla]

I think thats the only thing you can do. If you have an iphone, you can try and pair them to see if they work after 24 hours.

[debthaven]

saveinla THANK YOU! I DO have an iphone, but so does DH who uses those airpods. I'm reluctant to do that because firstly I don't know how, and secondly, I worry my trying could screw settings or things up for DH. Maybe that's not an issue?

DS3 called and also told me to put them in rice, and leave them until DH gets back on Sat night. 

DS2 told me to leave them in rice for 24h. DS3 told me to leave them in rice for 48h. 

Fingers crossed they will recover from their ordeal within 48h LOL. 

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Sorry....I was going to suggest rice too, but found that it took a bit more than 24 hours.  TD jumped into the pool with his phone in his pocket.  Granted, his phone was much bigger but it took longer.  

BTW, I have watched so much crap that TD leaves in his pockets that he doesn't want me to wash his clothes anymore.  He wasn't happy that I threw the clothes that he threw into his hamper without checking the pockets and washed his wallet.  Funny thing is, he forgot that he ruined every single one of my shirts when I first came out here by washing a pen that HE threw into the washer!!

[debthaven]

The Walk of the Penguin Mich , DS3 told me 48h is better than 24. DH will be back in 48h, so I'll just leave them in the sealed bag of rice until he gets back. 

DH is the same! SO much crap in his pockets!!! I removed a TON, but alas, I missed the Airpods. 

[geenamercile]

I have washed my ear buds before and they worked fine.  They went through the dryer too, and they were just a cheap 20 dollar pair.  I am not saying put them in the dryer, just that I think you will be okay.  

[debthaven]

Per Nidena's link, I just put that sealed bag of rice in the sun. (I mean it'll be in the sun tomorrow, it's night here now.)

[debthaven]

Thank you all! 

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Hope it works out!!


Let us know!

[billisonboard]

If DH is not out of contact range, my advice would be to ask him how he would like you to deal with his Airpods.

[stillmovingforward]

Keep them in the rice as long as you can. The danger to electronics is the existing water in them when you activate them. The water will cause the shorts. So, keep them in that rice as long as you dare. The longer the better. And roll them over a couple of times while in the bag to encourage water to evaporate.

[minnesotapaintlady]

My son's survived a trip through the washer and dryer and were fine.  We didn't even rice them.  Just let them sit out for a day or so.  I would worry more about the charging case. 

[debthaven]

DH told me to put them in rice. I'll leave them until he gets back tomorrow night, which will be 48h. 

[finnime]

I have no advice, but am glad that they showed signs of life before you encased them in rice. Good luck, debthaven.

[vonna]

I washed my sons, but have no rice in the house.  It was a sunny, dry day out, so I placed them in the sun for most of the day.

They are still going strong!!

[Tiny]

Not to be a Debbie Downer (I'm all for the rice thing - as it gives one an action and hope). Just because I like the "science" behind this kind of stuff...

www.theverge.com/2015/9/14/9326035/can-rice-actually-save-your-wet-phone

From the article: the trick be using rice to absorb the moisture

So, does the trick work? In 2014, Gazelle.com ran a semi-formal test that indicated it didn’t. Of the seven household desiccants they tested, uncooked rice was the least absorbent, behind cat litter, couscous, oatmeal, and instant rice. Unless you’re willing to spend serious money, leaving your phone on a shelf to air dry, they suggested, may be your best option.

The goal is to dry out the ear buds - rather quickly and gently - so I'm guessing it doesn't matter which path you take (rice or letting it sit out in the open) to achieve this.    

I'd think some of the desiccant packets that come with all sorts of stuff these days - might also be used (sealed in a zippy baggy with what you want to dry out.)


No matter what option you use to dry out the ear buds - I hope they dry out enough to work again. (I strongly suspect they will.)

[CCL]

When my son took his phone for a swim in Lake Michigan we tried the 48 hr rice and it didn't fix it. I took it out of the bag and sat it out in the sun for 8 hrs and that did the trick. So if it doesn't seem to work right away, don't give up too quickly. Good luck!

[tskeeter]

Mar 31, 2022 18:09:39 GMT -5 debthaven said:

saveinla THANK YOU! I DO have an iphone, but so does DH who uses those airpods. I'm reluctant to do that because firstly I don't know how, and secondly, I worry my trying could screw settings or things up for DH. Maybe that's not an issue?

DS3 called and also told me to put them in rice, and leave them until DH gets back on Sat night. 

DS2 told me to leave them in rice for 24h. DS3 told me to leave them in rice for 48h. 

Fingers crossed they will recover from their ordeal within 48h LOL. 

I'd opt for the longer (48 hr) drying period.  And maybe change the rice after 24 hrs.

I worked in an office where the fire sprinkler went off and wet down the computer equipment for an office of about 20 people.  We poured the water out of desktop computers, monitors and the like.  Pulled the covers off, set them to continue to drain out over waste baskets, and put fans on them to circulate air.  Left them like that for a couple of days.

When we started stuff back up. we found we'd lost only one monitor and one calculator.  Both of these had been turned on before we had a chance to drain the water out of them.  We didn't even have any corrupted hard drives.

Let the airpods dry out well and I think you've got a better than 50/50 chance of a favorable result.

 

[minnesotapaintlady]

I work in electronics manufacturing.  We put huge complex circuit boards through a waterwash (basically a giant dishwasher) all the time as part of the process.  The important part is that they're all dry before they're powered up which can be an issue once they're already inside a housing that might hold water. I'm assuming there's no easy way to pop an airpod open without wrecking it.

[bean29]

I have never washed my air pods Pro, but my Dogs have chewed my case, and the ear buds.  I replaced one earbud once.  It worked for a long time, and FYI I was able to charge my ear buds by just putting them on a charging pad without the case.  At some point last year, only one earbud was charging, so I bought myself new ones at Christmas.  I put apple care on the new ones, because I really like having them, and figure my fur babies might get ahold of them again sometime.

My I-phone says I have 3 sets of ear buds connected to my phone.  The original ones I bought, then DD and DS gifted me the Pro ones for Mother's day, I think it would not be a problem to connect the earbuds to your phone.  You can always tell your phone to "forget" the earbuds.  

No matter how often I think I check pockets every time, I rather frequently wash a Kleenex, or a screw or some $$, so I am definitely inconsistent. 

[Ryan]

I think if the charging case lights up, it's probably a good sign.  I have never run them through the wash, but I feel like most modern day apple products are at least advertised as being water resistant.  If they are telling you they can withstand a certain amount of water, then they can certainly withstand more than that.

[debthaven]

And they still work perfectly!   

Thanks for all the advice! 

[Anne_in_VA]

Yay!