Two year old, CF cards and a glass of water

[Shawnwil]

So I turned my back for a moment and my two year old dunked a couple of CF cards in a glass of water. One of them has some photos I kind of want.

Right now I have the cards sitting on a towel air drying, should I leave them like that for 24 hours untill I know all the water is out or should I try a hair dryer or something like that?

[Headshotzx]

kids - you gotta love 'em... even it that means a broken lens or two (gulp) :p

I would let it dry naturally if I was sure it was relatively clean water without salts.

[Shawnwil]

Thanks, I'll let them dry and see if I can salvage the photos.

I guess it's time to pick up some new cards!

[DDCSD]

Let them air dry for a few days. I've got two CF cards that I washed (separate times!) 5-6 years ago that still work. I still use them to send with my wife to get prints once in a while.

[S230]

wash them throughly with distilled water or (very clean water). This would help get rid of any particals that can be bad for the card such as conductive stuff.
Let the card sit and dry for at minimum 24hrs. I had also had a CF card go through the washer before and was still usable for non essential jobs.

[djvkool]

it will be OK mate

I had 2x USB sticks and SD Card gone through a washer earlier this year, I put them outside in the morning (shaded, lots of breeze), by the time I return home from work, they were good as gold, and still usable until now...

[rpolitsr]

I would recommend to test the card (once it is dry) using a card reader. If something goes wrong, it is cheaper to replace the reader than the camera.

[BLOWNCO]

you can also put them in a bowl with rice in it the rice will draw out the moisture in the cards and you should be good to go.

[Dave R.]

WD-40 is proven to be a moisture remover. :lol:

[Jon]

I wouldn't use it on electronics though; at the least the hydrocarbon base is a non-conductor. And you don't want to introduce them into your camera.

[pwm2]

No WD-40 or anything else.

You might decide on washing them in distilled water before letting them air-dry.

The cards will be perfectly fine, so you will not need to "rescue" any photos. People have washed them in the washing machine, or dropped them into the dish washer, for none the worse. They are intended to be reliable.

The only thing is that you should give them a bit of time to get dry before starting to use them. The inside will not dry up as fast as the outside.

I wouldn't normally recommend a hair dryer or other heating, unless you are in really big need to get access to your photos quickly.

[DisrupTer911]

you can also put them in a bowl with rice in it the rice will draw out the moisture in the cards and you should be good to go.

+eleventy billion.

rice is a wonderful thing.

put it in a baggie or a bowl and let it just sit there untouched.

[adam8080]

I've had cards go through rivers, downpours, sweat, saliva, washing machine and dryer and come out just fine. I wouldn't worry about it.

[SMP_Homer]

I've had cards go through rivers, downpours, sweat, saliva, washing machine and dryer and come out just fine. I wouldn't worry about it.

like he said...
I've had a card in shorts that have ended up in the pool, ocean, washing machine, etc...
then I did several tests with several cards, putting them in different liquids, freezer, sun, etc... and I came to the conclusion that it takes a lot of effort to kill one of these...

[adam8080]

http://news.digitaltrends.com/news-article/5140/blast-destroys-camera-flash-card-survives

[powaysteve]

bw!for the bowl of rice. When people drop their cell phones in the water where I work the bowl of rice has salvaged about half of them. It should work great foer a CF card

[Shawnwil]

After two days drying in some rice, all is well. The photos I needed transfered to the computer without a hitch.

Thanks for all the advice folks.

[DDCSD]

After two days drying in some rice, all is well. The photos I needed transfered to the computer without a hitch.

Thanks for all the advice folks.


Good to hear!!!

[onebikeonehorseone5D]

I had a CF card and a thumb drive go through the wash and dry cycles. I let them dry for a week on the windowsill in the kitchen. I put them in the camera/computer. Worked fine, no issues. Still using the CF card. I would say NOOOOO! on the hairdryer, the WD40, and the torch.

[RiaGurl]

+eleventy billion.

rice is a wonderful thing.

put it in a baggie or a bowl and let it just sit there untouched.
cooked rice? or hard uncooked?

[DDCSD]

cooked rice? or hard uncooked?


Uncooked.

But I'm not convinced that putting it in a bag with rice does anything. I put some waterlogged equipment in a bag with rice and it didn't help at all. The bag that I put the stuff in had a few condensation drops on it, but the rice didn't absorb anything.

[RiaGurl]

hard rice i wouldnt think would absorb anything either. no way. maybe silica gel