My USB cable got wet. Can I still use it?

A funny thing that happened to me recently was that I accidentally dunked the end of a USB cable in my coffee cup when I was moving it over my desk. “My coffee’s going to give me a little extra energy boost today,” I thought as I pulled it out and examined the connector for drips of delicious, amber-colored goodness.

But as funny as it was, it raised an interesting question for me, that being: Could I simply use my USB cable right away as I had intended to do, or was my cable now roached? I wasn’t sure, so I investigated. Here’s what I found out…

Wet USB cables: The lowdown

While most USB cables are water resistant, it’s important to note that this is the kind of water resistance you can expect from a knockoff 1980s analog wristwatch, meaning you can splash them a little bit without there being much of a problem, but you generally don’t want to submerge them in water — they’re simply not made for that.

The most vulnerable part of a USB cable is the connector, since it’s open to the environment and not bound by plastic or rubber. Regardless of where your cable gets wet, you should shut down the device you’re using quickly and then unplug it if it’s plugged in.

You also shouldn’t use the cable right away but wait an hour or more until it dries out first. This ensures that you’re not transferring the corrosive water (or coffee as it may be) to your USB port or allowing the liquid to damage the cable itself. You can also help dry out your cable with a few carefully applied techniques.

How to dry your cables

If your cable gets wet, you can use a cloth to dry it off, running a closed hand down its length. If the connector gets water inside it, give it a little shake to get any droplets out first. Then use the end of a tissue or a microfiber cloth to carefully poke inside and soak up any remaining droplets that remain there.

I used the above techniques on my USB cable connector and found it worked perfectly once I plugged it in again.

Want a quick solution? Try this…

A hairdryer can speed up the process of drying out a connector if it has water inside it, but there are a few steps you’ll want to take to protect your cable from being melted by the hairdryer’s powerful heat.

First, you should always switch the hairdryer to the lowest heat setting.

You’re also going to want to keep your cable at a safe distance from the hairdryer’s nozzle, to ensure you get a constant flow of hot air that won’t start to burn the cable or connector — a distance of 14 inches should do the trick.

Pexels: Liza Summer

Drying with a hairdryer should get your cable dry enough to reuse in just 15 minutes rather than several hours, but just be sure to check that it’s completely dry before plugging it in.

So, in summary, while most cables do have some level of water resistance and will survive being splashed or momentarily dunked in water (or other beverage), you should still apply caution before using one again and dry it out completely to keep your devices safe from harm.