Your phone hit the water. The clock is now ticking. Every minute matters, because tap water and saltwater start to corrode the inside parts within hours. We offer fast, walk-in phone water damage repair with free assessment and professional ultrasonic cleaning. Walk in right now — do not wait.
Some phones look fine right after a dunk. Hours later they refuse to turn on. Other phones show damage right away. Here are the clear signs you need to bring your phone to us today.
You pull the phone out of the water. You press the power button — nothing happens. This is the most common sign. Water has shorted out the inside parts. There is still hope, but only if you bring it in fast. The next few hours decide the outcome entirely.
Water under the screen often shows as rainbow spots, faded color, vertical lines, or full black bars. The display layer is damaged. Touch may also stop working in spots. We replace the screen and clean the inside in one repair.
Trapped water makes the speaker sound like you are underwater. You may also hear a crackle when music plays. Water often dries out but leaves mineral build-up behind. We clean the speaker grilles and the speaker drivers as part of the repair.
A wet charging port will not let your cable plug in cleanly. Your phone may flash a warning that says "liquid detected." Do not force the cable in. The metal pins can corrode in a few hours and leave the port dead for good. See our charging port repair page.
A foggy front or back camera means water is trapped behind the lens. Photos look hazy. Sometimes you see streaks of mineral build-up on the inside of the glass. We open and dry the camera unit as part of the full water damage repair.
Many phones run for a few hours after a dunk. Then they shut off and never come back. This is corrosion eating the inside of the phone. Time has run out on the easy fix. The repair still works, but it costs more by then. Do not wait further.
Phones get wet in many ways. The type of liquid and the time you wait both matter just as much as the splash itself.
The most common water damage story we see at our shop. The phone goes under for a few seconds. Most modern phones survive this if you act fast. The first 30 minutes are everything — do not sit and wait.
Sticky sweet drinks are worse than plain water. Sugar leaves a film that conducts power across circuits. We see soda spills almost every week. A drink spill needs ultrasonic cleaning — not just drying.
This is the worst type of water damage we see. Salt eats metal fast. Even one minute in the ocean can corrode the inside of your phone. If your phone went in saltwater, drive straight to us right now. Do not stop to dry it. Do not wait.
Phones in gym clothes pockets get wet from sweat. The same goes for working in heavy rain or hot, humid weather. Water sneaks in through the speaker grilles and the charging port. The damage builds up slowly over weeks.
The most important section on this page. The first half hour is the difference between a fixed phone and a dead phone. Do these steps in order, right now.
Every second matters. Do not stop to dry your hands first. Get the phone out of the liquid immediately.
Hold the power button until the screen lets you turn it off. If the screen is broken, hold power plus volume down for 10 seconds. A phone that is off cannot short out.
Charging a wet phone forces power across wet circuits. This is how phones go from "wet" to "fried" in seconds. Do not plug it in under any circumstances.
Open every door and tray that you can. Water needs paths to escape. Remove the case, SIM tray, and memory card if accessible.
Pay close attention to the charging port, speaker grilles, headphone jack, and SIM slot. Do not push the cloth into any opening.
Light, gentle tilts help water drip out through gravity. Do not slam the phone or shake it hard — this spreads the water deeper inside.
Do not put it in the sun, near a heater, in an oven, or next to a hair dryer. Heat pushes water deeper and melts the adhesive inside.
Send it to us. We can give you a fair assessment from the image before you drive over and start the bench prep.
Speed matters. We can start the ultrasonic cleaning the moment you walk in. Call on your way over so we can prep the bench.
Do not wait until tomorrow. Do not "see if it dries out." Every hour cuts the chance of a full save. Water damage cases get top priority the moment you arrive.
The internet is full of bad advice on water damage. These home tricks make the damage worse — not better. Skip every single one of them.
The rice myth does not work. Rice draws out a tiny bit of surface water but cannot reach the inside of the phone. Meanwhile, corrosion grows for every hour you wait. Rice has cost more phones than it has saved.
This forces power across wet circuits. One press of the power button can short out the inside parts for good. Leave it off and drive to us immediately.
A wet phone plus a charger equals a fried logic board in seconds. The phone will never come back from that. This is the second most common mistake we see at the shop.
Hot air pushes water deeper into the phone. It also melts the glue that holds the screen and the battery in place. Heat makes water damage dramatically worse.
This wrecks the screen, the battery, and the case. It is also a real fire risk. No amount of online advice makes this a good idea.
This spreads the water deeper into the phone and pushes it past water-resistance seals. Gentle tilts with the charging port facing down are the only movement you should do.
Cotton swabs, paper towel corners, and toothpicks leave fibers behind. The fibers corrode along with the water and damage the port further. Leave the port alone until we see it.
Free assessment the moment you walk in. Ultrasonic cleaning that home methods cannot match. 30-day warranty on the repair. Water damage cases get top priority. No appointment needed.
We have rescued thousands of water-damaged phones since 2013. Speed and clean technique matter most. Here is what we do, in order, every single time.
We check the liquid damage indicator, screen, charging port, speakers, and power. You get a fixed-price quote in writing before any cleaning starts. No surprise add-ons.
We power the phone off and take it apart on an anti-static mat. The battery, screen, logic board, and shields all come out. We hand dry every part with lint-free wipes.
This is the step home methods cannot match. We use a professional ultrasonic cleaner to lift water, salt, sugar, and corrosion off the logic board. The bath runs at the right frequency to clean every contact without damage.
We test every chip and every connector. If a part is dead or corroded beyond saving, we replace it with a premium-quality part. Common swaps: battery, charging port, speaker, and screen.
We put the phone back with a fresh water-resistant seal. We run a full test for charging, audio, camera, touch, and signal. The phone goes back to you working — or you do not pay for the repair.
You walk out with a 30-day warranty on parts and labor. We also tell you what to watch for in the coming days, because some water damage takes a few weeks to fully show up. If anything comes back, you bring it in and we make it right.
We repair water-damaged phones on every major brand and almost every model. For brand-specific pages, see the links below.
Water damage repair cost is the hardest of all repairs to quote up front. Every case is different. Here is what shapes the final price on your quote.
Plain tap water is the cheapest case to fix. Sticky drinks and saltwater are far worse, because they leave mineral and sugar deposits that need extra ultrasonic cleaning cycles. Saltwater rescues run higher and take longer than fresh-water rescues.
The longer you wait, the more parts need to be replaced. A phone brought in within 30 minutes may only need cleaning. A phone brought in two days later may need a new logic board on top of the cleaning — a major cost difference.
Many water-damaged phones need a new battery, charging port, screen, or speaker on top of the cleaning job. We tell you each part cost up front. You decide what to fix and what to skip. No pressure from us — ever.
A splash on the outside is cheap to fix. Full submersion in saltwater is the hardest case. We give you an honest assessment, including the cases where a phone may not be worth saving. We never hide bad news.
We are based in Sterling, VA. Water damage cases get top priority the moment you arrive. Call us on the way over so we can prep the bench.
We serve walk-in customers from Sterling, Ashburn, Herndon, Dulles, South Riding, Cascades, Potomac Falls, and the rest of Loudoun County. Water damage cases are always top priority because every minute matters. Call us at (703) 594-9339 on your way over.
Answers from our technicians based on thousands of water damage cases since 2013. Still unsure? Call (703) 594-9339 any day.
We are open every day. Water damage cases get top priority the moment you walk in. Free assessment. Professional ultrasonic cleaning. 30-day warranty on the repair. Premium-quality parts. Trusted by 443+ happy reviewers since 2013. Call us on the way over so we can prep the bench.
