Friday is my day to do laundry. Exciting, I know. Well, last Friday I ended up washing my iPhone with my laundry. It went through an entire permanent press cycle.
And you know what? In less than a week, the darn thing started working again. This result is both good and bad. Good because, well, the darn thing works again. That’s a good thing, right? Bad because I already got brand new white iPhone 4S.
Do you see my dilemma?
Let me take you through the process* of what happens when you realize you’ve washed your phone with your laundry, starting from the beginning**:
*if you actually washed your iPhone and would like to know exactly what to do, take a deep breath and go straight to the bold bullet
**experiences may vary. greatly.
- Open the washing machine, start taking clothes out to move to the dryer and see your phone in the washing machine.
- Hope that you just dropped your phone into the washing machine as you were taking clothes out and wonder how that’s possible since you can’t remember the last time you saw your phone and why you didn’t hear the phone hit the bottom of the washing machine.
- Go immediately into denial.
- Gently place the phone on top of the washing machine and continue to load wet clothes into the dryer.
- Start the dryer and load the washing machine with more dirty clothes as you say a little prayer in your head hoping that your phone will turn on when you pick it up again.
- Pick up the phone and attempt to turn it on.
- After 16 more tries, put the phone back down and go back to work at your computer.
- Wonder if the phone works yet.
- Check your phone again.
- Go back to the computer and google things like “iPhone in the washing machine.”
- Ignore the posts that tell you you’re screwed.
- Note the numerous posts that mention rice.
- Go to text your husband about all of this and realize you can’t.
- Wonder what you ever did without a smart phone.
- Find some rice in the cabinet.
- Email your husband. Start the email with “so I washed my phone.” End it with a four letter word.
- Post something on Facebook via your computer. Because people might be texting or calling you at that very moment. They need to know.
- Put the iPhone in the rice, for goodness’ sake!
- Try to figure out if you have insurance on your phone but give up quickly because the Verizon Wireless website isn’t helpful.
- Ask your husband, via email, if you have insurance.
- Find out that you do and go to call your local Verizon Wireless store.
- Swear, because you don’t have a phone that works.
- Don’t bother looking at the website (see above).
- Get your butt into your car and drive on over to the store.
- Remember why you prefer online shopping.
- Get a piece of paper that explains the insurance you have and get the hidden website link you were looking for an hour ago.
- Ask the woman at the store which phone you should use when she tells you to call an 800 number to file a claim.
- Apologize to the nice woman who was only trying to help and didn’t quite appreciate your sarcasm in this emergency situation.
- Wonder how people will know the exact moment you get to the air show the next day if you don’t have a smart phone.
- Go back home and realize you need to pay a $169 deductible for water damage.
- Ask your husband if he will transfer his upgrade to you. Note that you were going to use yours in October for a new iPhone 4S anyway.
- Go back to the store to get your new iPhone because if you do it online, you have to wait longer.
- Wait in the store.
- Get annoyed because you brought your iPad and they won’t give you a wifi password even though you see every device in the store using wifi.
- Read blogs on the Verizon Wireless display iPad. Via wifi.
- Eventually take your brand new iPhone home and proceed with your life.
- Wait a few days.
- Out of curiosity, take your iPhone out of the rice and try turning it on.
- Watch, in utter amazement, the white Apple logo appear on your old iPhone.
- Take a picture of your old, washed iPhone turning on using your new iPhone.
- Text said picture to your husband.
- Find out that there’s a 14 day period where you can return your new iPhone.
See? Easy as pie.
I hate pie.
So, here’s the question. What would you do? Would you take the new phone back and hope the old phone continues to work for a while? (My husband noted that I might want to wait it out in order to get the iPhone 5. Whenever that comes out.) Would you try to sell the old iPhone? Or, would you just keep the iPhone 4S since you were going to get it in October anyway?
Help! I need your advice. I only have a few days left to make my decision.
Thanks, in advance, for your help. Sorry if I offended anyone with the pie comment.
Update (4.15.13): Almost 7 months later and the iPhone 4 I washed in the laundry is still working. I returned the 4s and now I’m holding out for the 5s!
