I washed my USB drive. Any long-term risks?
Problem
I accidentally left a USB flash drive in my clothes, which was then washed with my laundry. This was a colored load, hot water. The drive survived just fine and was very clean. All data was still there, and I see no physical damage. Am I risking any long-term data loss/drive damage due to this washing affair, or is there no additional risk now that I see the drive has not suffered any initial damage?
Unverified for your environment
Select your OS to check compatibility.
1 Fix
Fix for: I washed my USB drive. Any long-term risks?
Get rid of the water up as soon as possible, prevent metal corrosion. The life span has likely been diminished. There are metal parts that if got wet may corrode over time, unless you are absolutely sure that you got rid of all the water that got into the USB drive. Putting it in a bowl of uncooked rice overnight is often said to help. It is worth to take the increased risk as the cost of a new USB drive might not be worth it. In the comments iglvzx explains that this is dependent on where you …
Awaiting Verification
Be the first to verify this fix
Sign in to verify this fix