Water damage to mixer and power amp!

[Richard]

To make a long story short, my washing machines water level switch tube was clogged so my washing machine didn't know when to stop filling. When it over flowed, the water went into my band room in the basement and right on top of the Mackie VLZ 12 channel mixer and Carvin 2000 watt amp. Both was plugged into a power strip that was off so no electricity got to them while they was wet. I let them both drain out for an hour and then opened them up and used a blow dryer on both until I could not see anymore water or moister anywhere. I then put them in front of a box fan for a few days just in case there was some water I could not see hoping that it would dry. I then read on the Internet that it sometimes helps to put wet electronics in rice for 3 days to draw out any moister. So now they are sitting in a box full of rice and I'm not going to get them out until Saturday to fire them up to see if they even work or not. Anyway, what I'm geting at is. Does anyone know anymore tips that might help me save them? Or has anyone else had this happen to them and everything turn out fine?

Thanks in advance,
~Richard

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Water damage to mixer and power amp!

if they were off at the time, my bet is that youll be fine

 

[GoldenVulture]

Re: Water damage to mixer and power amp!

Yes, they should be okay. If you want to be sure , leave it dry for at least two weeks. I've hosed down circuit boards from TV's in the past. They were so dirt and dust caked on the inside it was the only way to get it out, to work on them. They worked fine after all that. I dried them for a month.

Was it clean or soapy water?

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Water damage to mixer and power amp!

Just make sure you get all the rice out. Water should do it

The biggest concern IMO would be the transformers and under the IC chips, where water could safely hide from the evaporative forces of the air.
Not to mention inside any connector plugs.

Wondering aloud: could WD-40 be used in this situation? I mean, it's Water Displacement formula #40, and it has the same liquid properties, so it should be able to root out any hidden water.

 

[GoldenVulture]

Re: Water damage to mixer and power amp!

Just make sure you get all the rice out. Water should do it

The biggest concern IMO would be the transformers and under the IC chips, where water could safely hide from the evaporative forces of the air.
Not to mention inside any connector plugs.

Wondering aloud: could WD-40 be used in this situation? I mean, it's Water Displacement formula #40, and it has the same liquid properties, so it should be able to root out any hidden water.

Used very sparingly. and on selective parts. Also, wipe off any residue left if you do so. The hairdryer is probaly better for hard to get to places.

I've just replaced some switches on a control box on a scissor lift. It appears some one had dropped it in muddy water. Then they drowned it in WD40 or the like. It clings to the wires and surfaces and leaves them sticky. It also got into the switches and mixed up with the dust and dirt from the water and clogged up the switches with a goey mixture of the aforementioned.

 

[Richard]

Re: Water damage to mixer and power amp!

Clean water.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Water damage to mixer and power amp!

You've done exactly what you're supposed to do, using a hair dryer and rice.

My wife dropped her cellphone in the toilet, and the first thing I did was remove the battery then go to work on it with a hair dryer. I also let it sit for 2 days in a can of rice.

As long as the circuitry isn't powered up and is allowed to become bone dry, you've got an 80% chance of success. Be patient and wait till there's no chance of moisture in the gear.

 

[SamusChief]

Re: Water damage to mixer and power amp!

My dog peed on my footswitch once and it dried nicely. I did have to clean it because of the odor.

 

[GoldenVulture]

Re: Water damage to mixer and power amp!

Clean water.

Cooel! No residues to form connections/shorts or corrode bits.:bigok: