This hack might be better than rice at saving your phone if it gets wet

Ok wow

Pretty much everyone is familiar with the stomach-flipping feeling of causing your phone irreparable water damage. Maybe you accidentally dropped it in the pool, or it slipped out of your hand and into the toilet during a bathroom run (hey, we’re not judging — it’s happened to us, too). But what do you do when that 'oh no' feeling sinks in?

You have probably heard others tell you that the best course of action is to quickly find some dry rice and plop your phone in it, under the impression that the grain will suck the water out of your precious iPhone. But according to some tests done by electronic buyer and reseller Gazelle, there’s a wet phone hack that’s even more effective.

The trick is cat litter. The crystal kind. As soon as the phone hits water, you should shake the liquid out as soon as possible, then let it air dry. But if you want to try sticking your wet phone in something, crystal cat litter seems to work best.

Oh yeah, and to minimize damage, you’ll need to turn your phone off, too. Three days of inactivity will give your phone the best chance at recovering.

If three phoneless days sounds like too long, maybe consider buying a waterproof case to avoid this harrowing experience altogether.

Good luck!

From the editors of Hello Giggles