Compact Flash Card Meets Water

by Aaron Hockley on December 5, 2005

I got home last night, took my 512mb compact flash card out of my EOS-300D and put it on our kitchen counter while I moved a few things around. In the process of moving Brooklyn’s sippy cup, I managed to knock the memory card off the counter, and it landed directly into a dog’s water dish.

Shit.

I got the card out of the water in about 2 or 3 seconds. I shook it several times to get drops to stop coming out, then placed it in the office which tends to be the warmest room in our house.

Tonight I took the card, popped it into my reader and was able to copy all of the images off of the card, and I’m able to open them in Photoshop.

Whew.

  • William Bollinger

    The only thing you did wrong was you didn’t rinse it. Strange as it sounds, short term exposure to water won’t hurt electronics, at least as long as it isn’t powered. What does the damage is the dirt left behind after the water dries out. Rinsing with distilled water and very thorough drying can actually save wet electronics that would have shorted out. Your dog must have had fairly clean water in his bowl.

    There is still a possibility that there is some residue in the card. I wouldn’t use that one for anything you can’t afford to lose.

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