How Rice Can Resurrect Your Cell Phone and Other Natural Fixes for Common Tech Problems

Photo: Josiah Lewis / Istock

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For every convenience electronic devices bring us, there is an equal and opposite frustration. Flashlights go dim right as the power shuts off; the romantic date-night DVD has a fatal scratch; the smart phone fails to connect right when we need directions most. The most common ways electronic devices are damaged is when their owners drop them or get them wet, according to Aaron Cooper, marketing director for Worth Ave Group, which insures personal electronics like smart phones and laptops against lost, theft or damage. While warranties cover manufacturing defects, they won't cover scratched or broken screens, or the damage that results from submerging in water (including toilet water, a surprisingly common problem, according to Cooper – and one that Worth Ave Group is proud to insure against). When it comes to claims, he said, "theft cracked screens and liquid damage – that covers just about everything."

For those who didn't buy an insurance policy for that submerged, cracked, no-longer-functioning smart phone, try these eight ways to repair common electronics damages without using harsh chemicals or expensive products – or paying a dime!

Wet Electronics

We learned in Electronics 101 to never mix water and electricity. Never. Unfortunately, accidents happen – like you jumping into the lake to retrieve a lost oar and your cell phone coming with you. If you ever find that you have to deal with a wet device, don't just abandon it. Instead, try the following method to repair the water damage:

• Do not turn it on
• Take it apart as much as you can. Take out the battery, the memory card and whatever else can be easily disassembled. (Just make sure you can put it back together.)
• Store the parts in an air-tight container covered with either dry rice, silica gel packets or kitty litter. These will absorb the moisture from your electronics device, leaving it water-free.
• If no rice, gel packets or kitty litter are available, try using a vacuum to suck the water out. Do NOT blow-dry the parts, it will only force the water farther in and cause more damage.

Short Battery Life

If you haven't already invested in a set of rechargeable batteries, you should consider it. Some batteries contain heavy metals, so limiting your overall use of – and exposure to – them is optimal. But if you're still relying on single-use batteries, you can also cut down on your consumption by making them last longer. Try these tips to get the most life from your batteries:

• Take them out of rarely used things, like holiday decorations or flashlights.
• Don't use alkaline batteries in high-current machines (like a digital camera). For high-current uses, try lithium, NiMH or NiCD batteries.
• Don't try to recharge a non-rechargeable (primary) battery, especially not with a low-quality charger. The battery could start on fire or leak, exposing you to the chemicals inside. If you're feeling adventurous, try the ReZap Battery Doctor, but stand back just in case.
• Store batteries in a cool, dry place.
• Don't mix the brand/model of batteries in one device – the small differences between the batteries will decrease their lives.

Scratched Discs

After a lot of use, it's hard to keep CDs, DVDs and other discs from getting a little scratched up, and scratches can cause discs to be virtually unusable. To repair minor disc scratches, look to the medicine cabinet for help:

• First, rinse and gently dry the disc with a soft cloth. Make sure to wipe straight across the disc – wiping in circles will cause additional scratching.
• Squeeze some toothpaste on the disc and spread until there's a light layer around the whole surface.
• Rinse off toothpaste and gently dry disc with a soft cloth. (Remember, no circles!)

Scratched LCD Screens

LCD screens, typically found on laptops and televisions, are susceptible to scratches that can really degrade the quality of the screen's performance. Rather than replacing a screen (or worse, replacing the whole machine), fix the scratch with one of these basic tools: a pencil eraser or petroleum jelly.

• For pencil eraser method: wipe away any dirt or dust from the screen and scratched area. Then, find a clean pencil eraser and buff out the scratch. Wipe away eraser shavings.
• For petroleum jelly method: wipe any dirt or dust from the screen with a soft cloth (not paper – this will scratch more) and minimal pressure.
• Rub petroleum jelly into the scratch.
• Wipe away excess jelly from screen with a soft, clean cloth.

Sticky Keyboards

Over time, food, dirt and dust particles can accumulate in a keyboard, causing the keys to jam or become hard to use. Instead of replacing the entire keyboard, just take a few minutes to clean away the dirt and get it back working as if it were new!

• Disconnect keyboard, turn it upside down and shake it gently to remove dirt, dust and food debris.
• Blow compressed air (from a can) in between the rows of keys to loosen more dirt.
• Turn keyboard upside down and shake gently again.
• Vacuum between keys to pick up excess dirt.
• Make a mixture of Leslie Reichert's Light Dusting Spray from The Joy of Green Cleaning: boil three cups of water and drop in two teabags. After that cools, add one tablespoon of lemon juice and remove the used bags. Place the liquid in a spray bottle, and spritz onto a microfiber cloth (don't spray directly on the keys). Wipe down keys until clean. According to Reichert, the acid in the lemon juice will cut through oils left by fingers, and the tannins in the tea will kill any mites that could be lurking.
• Let keyboard dry before use.

Dead External Hard Drive

If you can no longer read data on an external hard drive, all is not lost, according to Christopher P. Conway, of GreenT Digital, a firm that advises companies in energy efficient computing technologies and techniques. The surprising secret to get access to your data – at least for the time necessary to extract it – is temperature.

"An old external hard drive that no longer can be read can often be resurrected for a short period using this trick," Conway writes. "Stick it in the freezer overnight inside a Ziploc bag. Plug it back in the a.m. and it may work for a few hours or longer so you can get your data off of it. Often the problem has to do with the breakdown of the internal lubricant of the hard drive which makes it unreadable. Repeat as necessary, but always assume that the drive will eventually be completely unreadable. File this in the realm of Old Wives Tales that work."

Lost Connection or Function

If your device can't connect, fails to act as expected or has otherwise lost its mojo, it could just need some tough love: Namely, a hard reset. That's the first step most help lines will recommend for a device in need of reviving from unexplained ills. For many devices, like Blackberries or laptops, that means turning it off and popping out the battery. For iPods and iPhones, it means holding down two buttons simultaneously. It won't fix everything, but for the tech novice, it's the easiest fix to try before calling for advanced help. Didn't work? Try these tips for speeding up your computer.

Use these easy, at-home repairs to make your electronics last as long as possible. Old devices pile up in landfills and leach toxic chemicals into the air and ground – potentially contaminating the surrounding environment. Considering our affinity for personal electronics, this e-waste has become a dangerous and concerning problem. Recycling electronics properly is one important way to avoid e-waste, but it's even more important to learn how to keep them working!

TDG Senior Editor Dan Shapley contributed to this report. Friend The Daily Green on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter

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