Recovering Moldy Electronics?

cookiej writes "We just completed having our basement gutted and our house decontaminated from mold. The finished basement is gone, my office floor has been removed as well as 24' of drywall around the base of the room. So, we had a full home theater downstairs along with a couple of computers in the electronics closet that were completely immersed (rainwater, not sewage). We moved them to a sheltered area outside and covered them with a plastic tarp. Since the electronics were off when the water hit them, 1) do I have a chance of recovering them? 2) If so, is there a way to clean them with some sort of liquid bath that would not damage the electronics? and 3) I don't want to bring moldy pieces back in the clean house. How could I decontaminate the electronics themselves, pre-bath? Not looking to save the speakers, just the amp, DirecTV box, video switch, etc. Thanks for any help, here, Slashdot." Read on for more details of this reader's plight.
Early last month, we had about 10" of rain in the course of two hours. Many houses in our neighborhood were damaged. We had rainwater coming in our back door and cascading down the basement steps. We have two sump pumps that weren't keeping up (and of course, no battery backup) and as the water rose in the basement, it was getting dangerously close to the breaker panel. So I made the hard decision to shut down the main power and we got the hell out.

The water reached about 6' in the basement before it drained out. Once we got back, we could not move fast enough to get all the debris out before mold set in and boy did it.

Since we are not in a flood plain, our insurance for this is woefully inadequate. While I would love to just go out and buy replacements, there are far more pressing things to re-buy (washer/dryer, furnace, water heater, etc.) and if there is a chance I can salvage some of this it might be a nice change of luck.

Comments

Corrosion is inevitable.

[actionbastard]

Even though there was no power applied to these devices, the dissolved minerals in the water are enough to facilitate electrolysis between dis-similar metals and destroy the devices. You will be better off replacing the lot.

Re:Corrosion is inevitable.

[Muhammar]

It depends on the degree of corrosion. Since corrosion cannot be repaired, there is only a prayer. Make sure your electronics is completely dried out, then power it up outside your house on Halloween night. Kids will appreciate the sparks and smoke.

As for disinfecting it: mold is heat sensitive - it likes cold wet dark environments best (in sealed cask, furry adipocere!) - so having your electronics running outdoor for a day or two should take care of disinfecting the inards. You wash the case from outside with household disinfectant cleaners like Lysol but I advise against spraying any liquid on the circuits, especially not stuff like bleach (eats metals) or rubbing alcohol (eats resin wire insulation). If it makes you feel better, you can also try blowing hot air into it from a hair gun, or tumble it in a laundry dryer, or hang it up in a cold hardwood smoke for ten days.

Don't

[idesofmarch]

I have been through a mold contamination myself, and having made some bad choices, let me assure you. Better safe than sorry. If you leave moldy stuff in your house, it will spread through the whole house via A/C. Just toss it.

Re:Don't

[Anonymous Coward]

Although I have recovered soaked electronics before, I've got to agree with this one. *Wet* stuff generally works fine if you let it dry out completely. Leave it in a sunny spot (not outdoors) for several days, then rotate it/turn it over, and leave it for a few more days. If in doubt, wait a few more days.

However, if it's moldy, I don't think I'd chance it. Maybe temporarily to transfer data off to a new harddrive. But if you bring moldy stuff back into a clean house, you're asking for the kind of trouble that can take forever (and a lot of money) to fix.

Re:Rubbing Alchohol

[etinin]

Rubbing alcohol is actually accepted as safe for electronics as far as I'm aware.

Re:There is hope

[Anonymous Coward]

So if it looks dry, wait another couple of days.

Then put it in your oven at it's lowest setting (120F) for a few hours, with the door propped open to let any humidity out.

Re:There is hope

[mysticgoat]

I have successfully used a warm oven to recover a cell phone that had been immersed in a kayaking accident. Oven temperature was somewhere around 120F, left the cellphone in it for about 6 hours with the oven door open. I figured that this would be about the same as leaving electronics in a parked car in the sun, but with better ventilation.

House and Contents - Claim.

[Therefore I am]

Seems pretty straightforward to me. Add 'em up - photograph the lot in detail - store for possible examination and then send your insurance claim in. No insurance! An expensive lesson learned the hard way.

Re:Rubbing Alchohol

[TheLink]

I think it's more like they can't _run_ when ambient is at that temperature.

e.g. if you pass electricity through them while they are that hot, they get way too hot and burn up.

Whereas if you don't do anything, it's pobably a long way off from damaging the silicon.

But check the manufacturer's specs for _storage_.

Re:There is hope

[RichiH]

The ions from the bleach will be under whatever you spray on after the fact.

Re:There is hope

[TheCarp]

yah but, chances are the mold can't really feed off anything in the electronics. It needs more than just water to grow. Really its all about washing off water deposits and residual mold spores.

You don't need to kill the mold, just get most of it off. There is plenty of mold in the air anyway.

-Steve

Re:There is hope

[jeffeb3]

Try these things out on your DVD player first, as an experiment. Then you are out only $20.