Getting our cell phone or iPhone damaged due to water is one common problem that we all face many times. However, cleaning a mobile phone might sound like a misnomer as you might have never thought of cleaning it yourself.
But the good news is if you are among those who know some basic repairing of gadgets, you can try repairing your water-damaged mobile phone at home yourself using an ultrasonic cleaner device.
Be aware that electronic devices like phones, PDAs, tablets, laptops, or computers should never be placed in an ultrasonic cleaner machine, as the heat, pressure, and vibrations generated during the cleaning process can cause irreversible damage.
However, if you can disassemble the parts, ultrasonic cleaners make the cleaning process easy to help you perform the mobile repairing task efficiently like a pro.
Here are some tips which will help you to clean your water-damaged mobile phone and its parts at home, without any hassles.
Step 1 – Wipe Out the Outer Screen
No matter what kind of phone you are cleaning, it’s good to start with wiping down the outer surface using a soft cotton cloth. Especially when the mobile phone is water damaged you need to take extra steps.
Use a silk or microfiber cloth that can help you remove the dust, debris, and water drops from the outer cover. Then dry off the water deposits completely from the screen and outer body part of your cell phone.
It is recommended that you always use a smooth fabric to clean the phone. Never use paper or anything rough to clean your smartphone, as it may leave permanent scratches that are very difficult to remove.
Before dissembling to clean further, place your mobile phone in the sunlight for about half an hour. This will dry off the water from your mobile phone, and if you are lucky, you may find your mobile phone back in good working condition with this one step.
Step 2 – Dissemble to Clean Internally
If the above process does not work, switch OFF your mobile phone and then remove its back cover and battery.
After removing the battery wipe the Mic and speakers because these are the most sensitive sections where moisture or liquid could easily reach. Then wipe out the internal screen and other parts where the water deposits can be easily seen.
Next, you need to remove the sim card and battery and then unscrew all the tiny screws you see on your mainboard using tweezers and screwdrivers. After unscrewing the parts, you can see the small circuit board inside the phone, which needs to be cleaned carefully.
Dampen a cotton swab with isopropyl alcohol to clean these parts along with hard-to-reach areas like the edges of the screen or around buttons.
Remember, depending on your cell phone model, there may be different ways of disassembling, and it’s the trickiest part which should be done with care.
To get the instructions you can search online on the popular video site YouTube where you can easily find exact ways to disassemble and reassemble your particular mobile phone.
Step 3 – Use Ultrasonic Cleaner for Mobile Phone
Contaminants and moisture on the PCBs and other fine electronic parts in your cell phone are hard to take out and you need to get the job done with care. However, a hard job can be made easy if you use a device like an ultrasonic cleaner.
After having unscrewed and wiped the mobile phone parts, you can place the sensitive parts in an ultrasonic cleaner machine to remove the contaminants from the parts completely.
Using ultrasonic cleaners offers many benefits. Some of these are:
- Powerful yet gentle at cleaning
- Economical and environment friendly
- Offers high speed and energy to clean objects fast
- Gets into each nook and corners that are hard to clean otherwise
- Apart from smartphones, you can use it to clean other gadget parts.
These cleaning devices are also effective for cleaning the outer casing of your expensive iPhone.
Due to regular usage, mobile phones are home to microorganisms like bacteria and viruses. Washing the internal as well as outer parts of your smartphone in an ultrasonic cleaner can help wash away these disease-carrying microorganisms that cling to the surface of the phone.
How Does the Ultrasonic Cleaner Work for Smartphone Cleaning?
An ultrasonic cleaner for water-damaged phones works on the principle of ultrasound waves with a frequency range of around 20-40 kHz. The capacity and power of these sonic cleaners vary depending on the transducers used in the device.
While deionized water is safe to use for delicate mobile phone parts cleaning, a high-quality ultrasonic cleaning solution is often advisable to ensure that you get the best cleaning results without fail.
When switched on the machine the microscopic bubbles are created in the solution that fall in with immense power of high temperature and pressure on the sensitive part for cleaning them efficiently. Consistent creation and falling in of these microscopic yet powerful bubbles work as a scrubbing agent, which in turn cleans the sensitive parts gently without damaging them.
The good thing about these advanced sonic cleaners is they work continuously for a set amount of time and then shut off automatically to avoid unit breakdown.
Risks of Using an Ultrasonic Cleaner Machine for Mobile Phone Cleaning
Ultrasonic cleaners are like tiny bubble-powered cleaning ninjas, blasting away dirt with high-frequency sound waves. They work wonders on metal parts, but toss your phone in, and you might as well be sending it on a one-way trip to tech heaven. Even water-resistant models aren’t built to handle the intense cavitation effects, which can force liquid into places it was never meant to be—cue short circuits, corrosion, and an expensive trip to the repair shop.
Here’s why ultrasonic cleaning and smartphones are a disaster waiting to happen:
- Tiny but mighty… and fragile – Your phone’s delicate soldered joints and microchips don’t stand a chance against ultrasonic vibrations. The result? A touchscreen that doesn’t respond, sensors that go haywire, or hardware that just gives up on life.
- Glue problems – The adhesive keeping your screen and internal parts snug can break down, leading to peeling screens and flaking protective coatings. Basically, your phone starts falling apart before your eyes.
- Battery issues – Lithium-ion batteries and high-frequency vibrations are a recipe for disaster. Swelling, leaking, or even catching fire—none of these make for a good day.
- Audio nightmares – Your speakers and microphones have tiny protective meshes that can detach or clog, turning your crisp audio into muffled nonsense.
The moral of the story—don’t dunk your phone in an ultrasonic cleaner unless you enjoy expensive regrets. Stick to safer cleaning options like microfiber cloths, isopropyl alcohol wipes, or compressed air.
If you absolutely must deep-clean your phone, take it apart first (if you know what you’re doing). Only metal casings and circuit boards should go near an ultrasonic cleaner—keep screens, batteries, and speakers far away. And if this all sounds like too much work, maybe just let a pro handle it before you accidentally turn your phone into a very expensive paperweight.