if i accidentally drop my arduino on water....

(hypotetical question) If i accidentally drop my arduino on water, do i have trouble or it will work fine after being dry like other eletronics?

Luigi_xp:
(hypotetical question) If i accidentally drop my arduino on water, do i have trouble or it will work fine after being dry like other eletronics?

Dry it well and it should be fine.

Lefty

Maybe a dip in some IPA would help

A rolling boil for about seven minutes. Serve with lemon and garlic sauce.

AWOL:
Maybe a dip in some IPA would help

I've heard of Coca Cola being used to remove rust but I've never heard of India Pale Ale being used to prevent water damage! :slight_smile:

Oh... Isopropyl Alcohol. Nevermind.

I've heard of Coca Cola being used to remove rust

I've never heard tooth enamel described as "rust"

Was it connected to your USB port?

Your biggest problem won't be damage caused by water to chips and components, it'll be the damage that it causes to all the pin connectors if any water is left inside them.

If the water was of the "fresh" variety then drying off as quickly as possible using a strong blower (hair drier on "cold") should give good results. If you use a warm or hot hair drier make sure you do not get too close or you'll cook the components. Do NOT bake in an oven or a microwave. Oven thermostats are pretty useless and you may end up overheating the plastics. Microwaves just love to eat metal components.

If the water was "salty" or dirty then flush extensively in fresh running water to remove all salt and contaminants then dry as above.

If you have deionised or distilled water available, a flush in that before drying would be beneficial.

If the circuit was left wet and the component wires start to show signs of going green then kiss it goodbye - you are too late.

A squirt with some dewatering fluid such as WD40 might help after the event but you will end up with a sticky circuit board. I suppose you could then flush that off with a propriety degreaser.

jackrae:
A squirt with some dewatering fluid such as WD40 might help after the event but you will end up with a sticky circuit board.

While I'm always keen to promote WD-40 as a way to help the local San Diego economy, I learned long ago it's a bad choice for complex PCBs, especially those with socketed parts. Over time the connections get poor.

The best and SAFEST way to dispel water from a small electrical device is to put it in a bowl of new, clean, dry white rice. After a day the rice will have absorbed all of the moisture. The same technique "fixes" cell phones dropped into the sink, but won't remove the red mark from the moisture label!

Ah the rice trick is useful to know.

One problem is enclosed components like relays - they fill with water and can't be dried properly. On the Uno I'd reckon the connectors and the push-button are the most problematic - a blast with compressed air can might help dislodge moisture from within these.

And yes if its salt water you need to wash off the salt in fresh water ASAP before drying