usb memory stick survives the wash

What's Hot
left in trouser pocket, washed on cotton wash at 40 degC + spin in 2 hr 20 min cycle.

data still intact afterwards :)

Transcend 4GB stick
"Working" software has only unobserved bugs. (Parroty Error: Pieces of Nine! Pieces of Nine!)
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
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Comments

  • strtdvstrtdv Frets: 2356
    Presumably the temperature is a bigger issue than the water bit? I can't imagine a bit of water changing a 0 to a 1 on a solid state device but I'd imagine if it got hot enough it might. 
    Robot Lords of Tokyo, SMILE TASTE KITTENS!
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  • A win is a win
    www.maltingsaudio.co.uk
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  • gringopiggringopig Frets: 2648
    edited July 2020
    .
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  • thermionicthermionic Frets: 9499
    I was planning to listen to some podcasts on a drive up to north Wales last year and had just bought a new (to me) car with a USB input on it. I stuck the podcasts on a TDK 8GB stick a couple of days before and put it my pocket for safe keeping. The morning of the trip I realised I'd washed those jeans! I took it with me anyway but it didn't work... However, when I got home and plugged it in my Mac it was all there. Looks like a file structure or formatting issue which the car won't recognise.
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  • Emp_FabEmp_Fab Frets: 24210
    I've washed USB sticks several times and they always survive.  As long as you dry them out before plugging them in, they'll very likely be fine.  It's just a PCB with a surface mount potted IC on it.
    Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.
    Also chips are "Plant-based" no matter how you cook them.
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  • 77ric77ric Frets: 539
    I would reckon that that the detergent used in the wash may eventually erode/corrode the solder holding the IC to the PCB or even the PCB tracks, especially so those that use a biological detergent, but how many washes that would take is anyone’s guess, I wouldn’t make a habit of washing them for that reason, but yes they are mighty resilient. 
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  • GagarynGagaryn Frets: 1553
    I noticed an article on the Shure website stating that their earphones are generally fine if they go through a wash. I've not tested their claim.
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  • Danny1969Danny1969 Frets: 10357
    It might work now and might carry on working but I wouldn't trust it without ultrasonic cleaning. At first there won't be a problem but it's not uncommon for green fur to start growing on the legs of the chips and components and that conducts and causes problems. 
    www.2020studios.co.uk 
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  • thermionicthermionic Frets: 9499
    The one I have is pretty well encapsulated in plastic with only the contacts exposed. I have an older one where you can see the pcb and led in the clear plastic snap-together case - pretty sure that one wouldn’t survive.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71960
    The one I have is pretty well encapsulated in plastic with only the contacts exposed. I have an older one where you can see the pcb and led in the clear plastic snap-together case - pretty sure that one wouldn’t survive.
    It would, as long as it's completely dry before you use it again. As said earlier water is not a hazard to electronics as long as it's removed before power is re-applied, and nor is a temperature of only 40º - over 80º might be.

    I have been known to thoroughly wash amps that have had accidents involving drinks getting inside, or pedals with battery leaks. Use plenty of clean hot water and then leave it somewhere warm and dry for a week, and no problem.

    In fact, *pure* water is not a hazard even if power is applied - it's not electrically conductive - the problem is the dissolved salts and sugars in tap water and drinks which make it so.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • On another tack I went on a road trip in a transit where the radio into which I plugged my usb stick was above the heater and after 5 hours had wiped the stick
    www.maltingsaudio.co.uk
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