Washed my key fob

[Gone in 60]

On a month long business trip. My wife called and said my key fob got washed with the laundry. I sent her a link to a video to take the fob apart to get the battery out. She took it apart, blew the pieces with some compressed air and put them in a rice bag. Hoping it will work when I get back. Anyone do this and did it work when it dried?

Thanks

 

[kivnul]

I have not had this with a keyfob but with other hardware. For future readers if the fob is wet (especially with soap) I would:

* take it apart and wash it with distilled water or alcohol prior to drying.
* a) I have heard that rice is more of an old wives tale in its effectiveness, but if you are going to use it - use a ton of rice, bury the fob in it and seal it. Shake the bag to move things around a couple times a day.
* b) Airflow is key (unless its 100% humidity) so get a can of air and blast all the crevices (be careful not to spray the concentrated liquid) or use hair dryer on low (or just blow) and keep the air moving over and around the pieces to get them to dry completely (as long as you can stand to do this) before reassembly. A convection oven on very very low can work just as well. (if the air is very static prone be super careful not to shock the keyfob using a hairdryer)
* Replace the battery with a fresh one and see if it works. If the functionality is intermittent there may still be water in it so try to dry it out some more.

I have had good luck with flashdrives and the like doing this.

 

[TyphoonFiST]

This is a simple solve....Don't leave your keys in your pockets....besides forgetting them in there and going thru the wash ...it also avoids the buttons being punched by the elaborate keychain collections people have today. I enter my house...I put my keys on a hook next to the door...I always know where they are and avoid the infamous wash. Another thing you could try is using a desiccant bag from amazon and putting it into a sealed container with a couple of bags and let it sit for a couple of days. you might get lucky....or you might end up getting a new FOB.

 

[speed_easy]

Did anyone test the fob to see if it still works? I've washed my fob once or twice before. Picked it out the of the dryer, walked out to the car, pressed the button, and whoa-la, found that its still fully functional.

 

[D1JL]

On a month long business trip. My wife called and said my key fob got washed with the laundry. I sent her a link to a video to take the fob apart to get the battery out. She took it apart, blew the pieces with some compressed air and put them in a rice bag. Hoping it will work when I get back. Anyone do this and did it work when it dried?

Thanks

Did it come out clean?



Dave

 

[XR650R]

I'm sure you're fine. If she took it apart and dried it out, it'll still work.

 

[M-Sport fan]

...it also avoids the buttons being punched by the elaborate keychain collections people have today.

ONE reason why I do NOT have ANY 'chotchkies' attached to my remote AT ALL (let alone the 5+ lbs. worth I've seen some lug around!).

 

[Gone in 60]

Cool, sounds like I might be in luck.

 

[TheSixtyFive]

This is a simple solve....Don't leave your keys in your pockets....besides forgetting them in there and going thru the wash ...it also avoids the buttons being punched by the elaborate keychain collections people have today. I enter my house...I put my keys on a hook next to the door...I always know where they are and avoid the infamous wash. Another thing you could try is using a desiccant bag from amazon and putting it into a sealed container with a couple of bags and let it sit for a couple of days. you might get lucky....or you might end up getting a new FOB.

Right said!...never leave keys in pockets…..I left them in my jeans pocket before the weekly wash …….When my granny found them, she hang out the laundry...and the keys with a clothes peg ….Jokes aside..I had to buy a new one

 

[LargeRubberFist]

Did anyone test the fob to see if it still works? I've washed my fob once or twice before. Picked it out the of the dryer, walked out to the car, pressed the button, and whoa-la, found that its still fully functional.

Did the same thing myself, fob still works with no issues. You should definitely let it dry and test it before taking it apart.

 

[Zormecteon]

First time I ran mine thru the wash I had no issues. The second time tho, while it still functioned the batteries would only last two weeks. I got a replacement made so that I have two, but the last time I checked the original, still only two weeks per battery.

 

[neeqness]

The key fob is pretty water resistant and has seals for it. I've actually swam with mine on me in the ocean no problem a couple times because I didn't trust leaving it lying on the beach. Didn't have to take it apart as it worked fine afterwards and when I later opened it the first time just to make sure, the insides were completely dry so burrowing it in rice was unnecessary.

If yours did get wet on the inside because of a bad seal or whatever, burrrowing it in rice can help if it is dried and done right away and then left sitting in there for a couple days. This worked for me on my cellfone twice after getting my cellfone soaking wet on a ride at 6 flags as well as at a mexican wedding where I was dunked with the groom into a deep pool with my cell on me not knowing that this is typical procedure at weddings in Mexico with pools in the vicinity.

Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk

 

[Gone in 60]

Just got back from two weeks on the road, so it had plenty of time to dry out while I was gone, and was disassembled by my wife and in a rice bag. Stuck a new battery in and it works. Whew. Never left the key in my pocket before but snuck in a track day right before I had to pack and prep a rig for a two week trip so lots on my mind at the time.