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Recovering Moldy Electronics?
Posted by
kdawson
on Mon Oct 20, 2008 07:17 PM
from the moldy-oldies dept.
from the moldy-oldies dept.
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.
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Oh man (Score:5, Funny)
There is hope (Score:5, Informative)
If they were not plugged in they can be dried out and probably used again. I've never seen mold growing on electronics, but if you have mold/mildew you can wash them with a mild bleach/water solution. After they are clean flush them with distilled water and let them dry completely.
Re:There is hope (Score:5, Informative)
"Completely" is the key phrase. Damage to electronics due to water is actually due to unexpected circuits forming and burning out components.
So if it looks dry, wait another couple of days.
Parent
Re:There is hope (Score:4, Informative)
Actually, you want to do a little more than "completely". If you use a bleach/water solution as suggested, the little drops will leave deposits of conductive material. RINSE thoroughly with distilled water, and use a hair dryer to blow as much of the distilled water off as possible. Any deposit left from water evaporating is going to kill whatever electronics you own when you plug them in.
As a preventive measure, once it's all clean and squeaky like that, maybe spray a coat of polyurethane or some other waterproofing stuff that's non-conductive onto all parts that could conduct and aren't supposed to.
Good luck!
Parent
Re:There is hope (Score:5, Funny)
Let me add my own experience too, wait a long time for the electronics to dry. Once it looks *completely* dry, wait one more year. Then in 2010, turn the stuff upside down, and repeat the process. In 2011, set it on its one side. In 2012, the other side. God help you if your stuff has more faces than a hexahedron!
Parent
Re:There is hope (Score:5, Informative)
Actually, I've found one of the best things to use is desiccant. It will provide an absolute zero moisture environment. Simply put some in the bottom of a bucket, then a layer of paper towel, then the electronics.
If you want to re-use the desiccant you can put it in the oven. When it comes out, it will be one piece (no longer powder), but you can break it up pretty easily (like chalk).
Parent
Re:There is hope (Score:5, Funny)
Just stop, before you end up adding parentheses and reimplementing Lisp.
Parent
Re:There is hope (Score:5, Informative)
Bleach (chlorine) is a very bad idea. It will oxidize the metals very badly. Chlorine is incredibly corrosive.
Better to use a pure non-oil based solvent such as denatured alcohol (pure alcohol). Remember, nothing oil based like acetone or gasoline. Rubbing alcohol contains a lot of water so it's not best either.
Parent
Re:There is hope (Score:5, Funny)
[bender]"Heheheheh... Lightweights! Oh, wait... Chlorine."[/bender]
Parent
Re:There is hope (Score:5, Insightful)
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
Parent
Re:There is hope (Score:5, Informative)
Denatured alcohol is mostly isopropyl
Well, no, last I looked it was mostly ethyl (i.e., neutral grain spirits, i.e. yum)... Rubbing alch is isopropyl.
with methanol added to make it undrinkable
Isopropanol doesn't need much help [wikipedia.org] in that category.
Parent
Re:There is hope (Score:5, Informative)
I use MG Chemicals Super Wash Cat# 406B-425G [mgchemicals.net] for cleaning most PCBs. The important thing to consider is if the electronics are new enough and worth saving it probably as BGA components that water will lurk under for weeks. This chemical can has 3 power settings and setting it to HI with the straw will push the residual water out. I have recovered many water soaked laptops using this and failing to get under the BGAs will lead to failure later on.
$15 per can at your local Fry's
Parent
Re:There is hope (Score:5, Funny)
This chemical can has cheezburger
There, fixed that for you.
Parent
Re:There is hope (Score:4, Informative)
That lurking moisture is why pure alcohol is so important. Alcohol will not dry water but it will sneak about and displace water so that a fan can dry the parts out. Simply repeat the dunking in alcohol a couple of times and the blowing out with a fan. You can ask your local pharmacist for pure alcohol and explain why you need it.
I used to use under water metal detectors and those critters are known to flood now and then. In salt water time is an even greater factor but usually those circuits could be saved by a quick flushing with fresh water followed by drowning them in pure alcohol and blowing them out.
Parent
Re:There is hope (Score:5, Informative)
How the hell does water get *under* a BGA? The surface tension should keep it out.
The gap is tiny. Fractions of a millimeter.
How the hell does water get *into* a sponge? The surface tension should keep it out. The holes are tiny. Fractions of a millimeter.
Parent
Re:There is hope (Score:4, Interesting)
Come on slashdotters, this is grade eight science!
Parent
Re:There is hope (Score:4, Funny)
Are you reading the same two posts the rest of us are?
GGP: "you will see a miniscus"
GP: "it's spelled meniscus".
Now sing with me, "One of these things is not like the other..."
Parent
Re:There is hope (Score:5, Informative)
It is called Capillary Action [wikipedia.org] my friend. That surface tension you were talking about, actually causes the water to be sucked into small gaps like this. It only works if the attraction between water molecules is less than the attraction between water and external material.
Parent
Re:There is hope (Score:5, Funny)
Don't listen to him. I work for a major soup manufacturer. I recommend putting lots of soup in your dishwasher. Also, fill your car's gas tank with soup. (This is called "souping up" your car. All the real car lovers do it.) And why not buy an extra 100 cans of soup per week with your grocery shopping? Too much soup is never enough. BUY MORE SOUP.
Parent
Re:There is hope (Score:5, Interesting)
No! Bleach BAD. Bleach will oxidize all the metals, including the ones you thought couldn't rust!
I have washed boards in the dishwasher before (no soap!) but that was for spilled liquids. With the presence of mold, you have a different problem.
First, remove any batteries on the board (coin batteries are common,) as they create a sparking hazard. Use pure isopropyl alcohol (not the 66% stuff) which will mix with remaining water and should help you both clean up and kill the mold. I'd start working over an empty pan, and pour alcohol over it as I cleaned it. Brush everything possible with a natural fiber brush (not a plastic bristled brush that may dissolve.) Get under components with a pipe cleaner. And no smoking around the alcohol, of course! When it's done, drain it. If you have access to it, thoroughly blow it dry with dried compressed air (air from an ordinary shop compressor will contain water and/or oil.)
Once the visible alcohol is gone, you'll still need to dry the board. It will take time, warmth, and air movement. An oven at the "keep warm" setting (no more than 170 degrees) shouldn't damage the plastics, but not while it's still evaporating alcohol fumes. A fan and some incandescent light bulbs (desk lamps up close) would probably do just as good. Warm sunshine is very good, too (and helps kill mold) but the humidity outside is usually pretty variable, so you wouldn't want it to remain outside in the evening to collect dew.
However, be prepared for disappointment. If there are electrolytic capacitors on your board, there's a good chance they were already destroyed by the water. They are not typically sealed to ward off immersion in liquids.
Parent
Re:There is hope (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm just chiming in here.
A few people mentioned bleach being bad. Yes, it is.
My step son died in our home, in his bathroom Natural causes, don't be gruesome please. As much as I don't like saying it, there was a smell left behind. The coroner's office couldn't give us any advice. When people die, they leave behind a smell pretty quick. For them, they change clothes on the way out of work and don't take them home.
We tried a variety of things to clean the bathroom. After trying so many solutions, I decided to spray the entire room down with 50/50 bleach and water mix. It helped to get rid of some of the smell, but on most of the metals it touched, it corroded them almost immediately. Things like sink fixtures, outlet screws, door knobs. Think, anything metal that may be in an otherwise emptied bathroom (towels, floor mats, and even the shower curtain had already been removed).
So, yes, bleach is bad.
I've repaired some electronics that have had exposure to some liquids. Usually rubbing alcohol works well. It'll dissolve nasty things like dried soda and some corrosion. I usually use a Q-tip to do the actual cleaning. It can be rather bad on it's own too, so it's a very manual process of cleaning, rather than what the original poster seemed to want (dump it all in, bring it all out, and turn it on). Depending on how nasty it got, you could spend an hour just cleaning out the insides of a single remote control.
Any (ANY) power will lead to corrosion. Most people think the A/C power, but laptop batteries, and even the BIOS battery or other onboard batteries will cause corrosion too.
My wife left one of our cordless phones out where the sprinklers hit. Our water is filtered very well. She didn't realize it until the next day. The corrosion from the phone battery pretty much destroyed it. I managed to clean up a lot of the corrosion as outlined above, but not enough to make it work right again. I told her about the battery and corrosion. Our baby dropped the other cordless phone in the toilet. She fished it out within a minute and pulled the battery out. I just left it to sit in the sun for the rest of the day and it worked fine after that. The same quality water, and the toilet was probably worse exposure, and just removing power from it saved it.
Unfortunately, my advice for the original poster is, suck it up and replace anything that you can't get going again fairly quickly. You'll spend a lot of effort on nothing otherwise. Remember that basement theaters are cool, but not when there's a potential for flooding, which can happen anywhere.
Parent
Re:There is hope (Score:5, Informative)
There's where you went wrong. A bleach solution of 200ppm (parts per million) is sufficient to kill molds,yeasts, and any kind of odor causing bacteria. It's unlikely to have any affect on metals if rinsed. It's even safe to drink if you don't over do it. A 50/50 mix is used specifically for its oxidizing properties. Like making your undies *really* white.
Parent
Re:There is hope (Score:5, Informative)
Let me add to these other ideas a product named "Corrosion Block" (for the marine industry) and/or "ACF 50" (for aviation). Despite the different names, the product itself is the exact same thing, and works wonders on electronics that have been, or will be getting, wet. You can find it in most boating stores. Spray on a thin film, clean the electronics, let them dry thoroughly. A little goes a long way. The only caveat is that due to its ability/nature to "creep" over time (a good thing, it ensures even coverage), you want to use it sparingly around LCD displays so that it doesn't get inside. Living on a boat, I have had plenty of opportunity (too much!) to do what it is that you are having to do. :) Good luck!
Parent
Re:There is hope (Score:5, Informative)
Oops, should have included a link:
http://www.nocorrosion.com/corrosion-control.htm [nocorrosion.com]
Parent
bleach and mold - a summary of suggestions (Score:5, Informative)
I've done this too, but not as much as the parent, I'm sure!
I personally think mold is insidious and terrible, so I'd prioritize getting rid of mold over saving the electronics - but that doesn't mean I wouldn't try. (I rather imagine that most of the boater's stuff has to ALREADY be mold resistant, which does help stop the spread of mold.)
So I definitely recommend the mild bleach solution. This is increasing the death rate of the mold, but at the cost of reducing the life of your electronics. Since these things were submerged in water, ideally I'd recommend submerging them in a mild bleach solution for perhaps 20 min - ideally rotate/shake them a couple times during this bath.
If something has a ton of mold on it, you may want to actually WASH this - perhaps with mild soap or mild bleach, and scrubbing until there isn't a big pile of mold. Or it might be enough to let it soak longer (but with more corrosion) and shake it more.
Then to get RID of the bleach, I'd rinse them with two baths. (Because the first bath becomes bleachy just by the presence of the bleachy item you're rinsing.) In each case I'd give it some time to soak (~20 min) but esp in the first rinse, to make sure it gets all the bleach into solution.
Tap water is probably fine for the first one, but use distilled water for the second. After a couple items you should replace the second bath - and you might as well replace the first-bath with the water you just stopped using for the second bath.
Then I'd make sure they were quite dry as fast as possible, so any mold spores the bleach missed doesn't regrow on the damp you just created. The easiest way to do this is baking. 120 is pretty safe - most electronics can handle 140+ without a problem... the sensitive interior components get really hot while running, so the ones you're worried about damaging are usually the outside plastics.
40 min on one side (including getting it up to temp) and 20 min upside down is probably enough to stop further mold growth. I'd give them hours in the oven or days sitting before I turned them on, though.
Assuming you have a big pile of stuff to do this to, and 3 large buckets, and an oven as big as all 3 buckets combined, I've just described a 5 step assembly line process, where every 20 minutes you can move something ahead one step.
For smaller items, or ones you're not taking apart, the last bath could be rubbing alcohol, which would make it dry much faster. But in volume it's considerably more expensive; even distilled H20 is only a dollar a gallon.
You can do all the above things as a wash instead of a bath, IF you can effectively get to all the surfaces...
Spraying on a nonconductive corrosion resistor (like the above mentioned products seem to be) sounds like it would tend to extend the life of the device; it might also seal in any remaining mold spores, which I'd consider to be a good thing - but I'd still do a bleach-bath first to kill as much as you can.
It's a lot of work.
Parent
Rubbing Alchohol (Score:4, Informative)
Pure rubbing alcohol might be your best best.
Re:Rubbing Alchohol (Score:4, Informative)
Where are you getting your information? Once in college I spilled Coke onto a motherboard (not plugged in fortunately). I cleaned with pure rubbing alcohol. I let it sit for a day, and plugged it in. It worked fine.
Rubbing alcoholic has the advantage of evaporating completely away rather quickly. So unless you can point me to a source that says otherwise, rubbing alcohol is fine.
Parent
Re:Rubbing Alchohol (Score:5, Informative)
You can get some pretty good 99% isopropyl from any good pharmacy (ask for it) or computer store (I get mine from Altex, it's $8 a bottle..). While it's good for cleaning things like keyboards (because it'll cut through grease like a hot knife through butter) it does have some nasty side effects like being able to etch the anti-reflective coating off LCD panels, taking the silkscreening off of PCBs etc. :)
It shouldn't really damage tin solder or chip packages but who knows. You're probably better off with distilled water and bleach for mold. Maybe give it a wash with isopropyl afterwards, but use the 50-70% cheap stuff. The idea is that isopropyl is a solvent - therefore things will dissolve in it including all the crud. But too strong a solvent and you'll eat into the PCB and any components that aren't up to it.
Parent
Re:Rubbing Alchohol (Score:5, Informative)
We use CMOS grade IPA (95% Rubbing alcohol) to clean boards all the time. Works a treat.
Buy a couple gallons from a chem supply company and a handful of *hogs hair* brushes (not metal brushes, obviously, and not nylon, not so obviously)
If you can't order from a supply company, then you will spend more, but get either 99% IPA or 190 proof everclear from the drugstore and soft bristle toothbrushes. Go to town, be sure to lightly soak the board under components to flush out residual water.
Bake cleaned boards under some 60-100 watt desk lights for a day or two (close enough to feel that the boards get warm) or in your oven at 110deg C for about 90 minutes (door open).
-nB
Parent
Re:Rubbing Alchohol (Score:5, Insightful)
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_.
Parent
Re:Rubbing Alchohol (Score:4, Informative)
Used to clean TV sets with a few buckets of distilled water, then throw a 20W incandescent inside and leave it for a week to dry.
Parent
Corrosion is inevitable. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Corrosion is inevitable. (Score:5, Informative)
Look for a product called Corrosion X.
It's somewhat like WD-40. It is non-conductive and can be sprayed directly on electronics. It forms a hydrophobic barrier between the electronics and the elements and may help.
It is typically used as a preventative. Often used in the aviation market to protect wing/fuselage interiors, it is also sprayed directly on avionics to reduce corrosion.
It's cheap and is worth a shot.
Parent
Ethanol (Score:5, Funny)
Copious quantities of ethanol will help, possibly in more ways than one. :)
Um? (Score:4, Funny)
rubbing alcohol (Score:4, Informative)
Don't (Score:5, Insightful)
Distilled water is your freind (Score:5, Informative)
I was recently able to recover a number of computers that had been in a fire and had been sprayed with water from a fire hose. They were a mess, but so far they all work (10 months and counting)
Electronic baths (Score:5, Informative)
Water can be used to clean electronics in manufacturing processes. Most electronic components will not be damaged by water. Make sure you get all the dirt and grim out.
1.Don't plug it yet.
2. Take all electronics completely apart. Look for damage or corrosion.
3. Remove every battery.
4. Flush it out with distilled water.
5. Use electronic cleaner or alcohol(not the stuff you drink) to remove any mineral deposits.
6. Dry off with paper towel.
7. Let it dry completely. If you have any doubts wait till it's completely dry.
8. Plug it in and cross your fingers.
They're cleanable. (Score:5, Informative)
Start with a rinse with distilled water. There's very little in electronics that gets hurt by water anyway -- the issues are with it shorting out, or longer term, corrosion. You'll want to open all the cases to do this, and then ideally blow them dry with a compressed air nozzle. Letting it evaporate will just redeposit all the crud you cleaned off.
Then rinse with alcohol, and again blow it off rather than letting it dry. At this point, if it looks clean it is, as far as the electronics are concerned. I imagine the same is true from a mold standpoint, but you probably know more about that than I do.
If things are being really stubborn, an ultrasonic cleaning bath in alcohol is remarkably effective (and completely safe for the electronics). 5-10 minutes should be plenty. I don't know off hand where to find a large one cheaply, though -- that may take some investigation. If you can't borrow one, I'd just take some warm soapy water and a toothbrush and work at it by hand (and then repeat the distilled water and alcohol rinses to remove any soap and such).
If any of these things have moving parts (eg DVD player) they'll be more difficult. None of this will hurt anything, but if there are any gears that are supposed to be greased this will remove that. Some rubber in pulleys and such might not like the alcohol. But, most modern cheap moving parts are unlubricated nylon, so there isn't likely to be an issue. Cooling fans are usually unlubricated, either with a plain nylon bearing or ball bearings, and so should be ok with this cleaning treatment.
Similarly, hard drives are almost certainly a lost cause. I'd try powering them up, but if they've been underwater then the water likely got in through the pressure equalization holes. I wouldn't clean them (wipe down the outside with a damp sponge, but nothing more aggressive) -- just hope for the best and expect them to have died.
Good luck, and may I suggest you invest in a more serious pump?
My water damage recovery (Score:4, Interesting)
I moved from Ca to Co once. In winter.
In a storm.
In the back of a truck.
Get the idea?
LOADS of electronics got wet. Some took, literally, years to get working again.
The BIGGEST thing you can do to save your stuff is this: GET IT DRIED THE FUCK OUT. Water is corrosive to the copper in the products you have (besides the electromechanical problems, like bearings in hard drives (old ones), etc), and if left to do it's thing, electrolysis will eat them up.
I ended up having the entire back of my truck filled with the style cartons you find at 7-11 or something similiar. Split top, about 12 to 18 inches deep. My tarp had a rip in it, unbeknownst to me, and when I stopped, THEY FILLED WITH WATER.
The next day, I made my destination, and the day after that, I got the screwdriver out. EVERYTHING was cleaned off with a rag internally, and I ended up losing about 10 percent of the devices.
Don't power them up until you KNOW everything is dry.
Any transformers, if your really worried about (read, if they are HEAVY and expensive), can be desoldered and heated in your home oven, on it's lowest setting (they can take > 150 degrees easily). That will bake out any moisture.
Ditto for some really high power transistors. One trick we used in making REALLY high power CB radio amplifiers was to bake the transistors for about 2 hours. This removed ANY moisture under the caps of the 2879s (part number 2SC2879). This netted us about 2 to 3 more volts on the collectors. After talking to engineers, we found that even a LITTLE bit of moisture in there, will turn to steam after the devices reach their internal operating temp. Higher voltage on the collector = higher temperatures (more dissipation). Baking them got us 2 to 3 more volts and that equalled a few hundred more watts (for every 50 percent increase in supply voltage, your Pout doubles) (think, 24 to 64 transistors being combined).
Simple green or even lysol does well for mold inhibition. You can also do a 5 % bleach solution, but then you run the risk of losing color, faceplates, some plastics, etc.
Hope it helps.
--Toll_Free
A lot of pessimists around here! (Score:5, Interesting)
Many years ago I worked in the service department of an electronics OEM repairing stuff returned from the field. The OEM built two-way radios. One time we were sent a portable radio that had been recovered from the sea-bed having been dropped from an oil-rig in the North Sea six months previously. The unit had a die-cast zinc/aluminium chassis and case and standard double-sided PCBs with mostly discrete components and a few ICs. It was extremely corroded, covered in salty deposits, and naturally didn't work. I was written off immediately but as a 17yo with time on his hands I took it as a challenge. I cleaned up the unit by passing it through the tanks of hot trichloroethylene that were used for cleaning newly assembled boards. This removed most of the surface corrosion on the PCBs and chassis. An open-framed rotary switch for channel selection was replaced as it was too far gone.I ran the boards through the normal service/setup procedure. The receiver came up no problem with basic retuning. The transmitter was dead but only needed a new final stage transistor and a retune. It passed spec. It was returned to the customer along with a new replacement unit. They were astonished and very pleased with the customer service received beyond the call of duty or expectation. Whether it was connected I don't know but they placed a huge order with us several months afterwards...
The kit here was immersed in fresh water for much less time. While component densities are much higher in modern kit, I think there's a good chance it will work after careful cleaning and drying. Worth a shot anyway - what have you got to lose?
Re:The home theater all got wet? (Score:5, Informative)
One of the ugly little things about homeowner's insurance (at least in the US) is that it, by default, does not cover damage due to flooding.
Many people who don't live in an area where floods are a real likelihood don't buy the extra flood insurance, which is probably the case here ("Since we are not in a flood plain, our insurance for this is woefully inadequate.")
I learned the hard way a year or two ago exactly what "flood" means in insurance terms. It includes a flooded basement due to a failed sump pump. Fortunately in my case, the only loss was some 20-year-old carpet.
So here's my little PSA: Even if you don't live somewhere that can really "flood" in a traditional sense, buy flood insurance if you have a basement. At least the minimal "get the mold out" insurance.
Parent
Re:The home theater all got wet? (Score:5, Informative)
You had water up to the celing to get your projector and all the gear in the rack as well? Holy crap how about replacing the electrical panels as well as the furnace, ac and other things forst..
If you re-read the original post, you'll see that those things are of course on our list. We had the electrical panel dried out, taken apart and inspected by an electrician.
The water didn't actually reach the ceiling. It got up to about 6' which was close to (like within 3-4 inches) the bulk of my networking equipment (router, one of my UPSes, Apple Airport and the cable modem) but just missed.
Or are you calling a best buy TV and stereo a "home theater" if you did not have a projector, screen sound control on the walls, and a real integrated sound system you did not have a "home theater".
I find it cute when people call their TV and cheapie stereo a home theater.
P.S. if your surround sound decoder cost less than $3500.00 it's a cheapie toy.
Well, I've been upgrading parts here and there over the years. We had a Zektor HDMI switcher that swapped between the computers, the PS3 and the DirecTV. Had a Slingbox pro that piped stuff upstairs through the 1GB network. An older Panasonic AE700U projector projecting on a home-built 102" screen. Truly, the amp was a cheapie but the speakers were klipsch and the sub was an old NHT Sub-One. I had a Philips Pronto that I used to control the DirecTV, lights and the switcher, but no in-wall controls, so I guess it doesn't meet your criteria for a "true" home theater. *eyerolls*
Also, why waste your time, simply collect on your insurance and buy all new. You had homeowners insurance right?
Yes, of course. However if you read your fine print, you'll see that you can't buy flood insurance in the US from your insurance company unless you are in a flood plain (this is what I was told when I asked about it awhile back). If you want to get flood insurance, you need to get it through a federal program. Again, re-read the original post.
Parent
Re:dunking electroncis whole is a bad idea (Score:5, Interesting)
Heh. The good news was that our HT setup is a Front-projection and the projector was on the ceiling. The lens cap that hangs down had a thin line across the top third, indicating how close the water came to ruining it. And that one I don't think would have survived. Those bulbs are quite sensitive.
The screen was home-built for around $80 in parts, so I can re-create that. But the whole "down to the studs" thing is
Parent
Re:dunking electroncis whole is a bad idea (Score:5, Funny)
Apparently, you found more water after turning the power back on.
Parent
Re:Maybe... (Score:5, Interesting)
>
Finally, where do you live? 10" of rain turns into 6' of water in a basement when you don't live in a flood plain? Why would anyone build a basement in an area subject to such problems? (I live in an area without basements, both because of shrink-swell soil and high water tables.)
Well, it was the worst rain in 135 years. So the phrase "subject to" is... well, quite subjective.
Parent
Re:Maybe... (Score:5, Interesting)
Well, we are at a somewhat low point in the area, but also right next to a storm sewer. We haven't had water before this so I was quite surprised to see the water forcing itself through the bottom and sides of our back door.
Our storm sewer has been known to get clogged and start to back up toward our house. But I usually just go out, clear the sewer with a rake and that's the end of it.
Actually, I *DID* exactly that earlier in the morning of that day. Wife threw up the alarm that the water was starting to pool, so I went out, cleared the sewer... watched it all drain in, no pool... and went back in and started breakfast. Before breakfast was over, I heard something strange and thought one of our gutters was overflowing. Only to find the newest waterfall down to the basement.
Parent
Re:Non-moving parts should be OK (Score:5, Interesting)
Interestingly enough, one of the computers that got dunked was an old Apple Cube I used to monitor my UPS and other various cron jobs. It as no fans, so we'll see. The bad news is that it may have been powered when the water hit it. It was at the bottom of the rack and the water was at about 3' when I killed the power.
The real test will be the PS3. It was at the top of the rack and probably was barely under. Amazingly, my network gear and the UPS that powers it were all at a height of about 6'4". And never were touched.
Parent
Re:I'd try... (Score:4, Funny)
Parent