Liquid damage
Water & liquid damage repair
- Ultrasonic board clean
- Data recovered first
- Skip the rice
- Walk-in or mail-in
A phone in the sink, a drink across a laptop, a console that took a spill, liquid damage is a board-level problem, and it gets worse every hour. We clean the corrosion off the logic board under a microscope, recover your data first, and tell you honestly whether it is worth saving. Walk in at our Arlington, VA lab, or mail your device in from anywhere in the US.
Don't use rice, don't charge it, and power it off. Water rarely kills a device on contact; corrosion does, in the hours and days after, as dried minerals bridge pins and eat solder joints. Get it to a board-level lab fast. We ultrasonically clean and de-corrode the board, recover your data first, then repair the damage. The $65 diagnostic applies toward the repair.
Water rarely kills a device on contact. What kills it is corrosion: the dissolved minerals and salts left behind as the liquid dries, bridging tiny pins on the logic board and eating solder joints for days or weeks after the spill. That is why a phone can seem fine, then die a week later. Our job is to stop that process, disassemble the device, ultrasonically clean and de-corrode the board, repair what the liquid damaged, and get your data back. Skip the rice, and don't try to charge it.
After a spill: what helps, what hurts
| Action | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Power it off | Do | Stops current driving corrosion |
| Put it in rice | Skip | Too slow, reaches nothing |
| Try to charge it | Don't | Current accelerates the damage |
| Get it to a lab fast | Do | Corrosion spreads by the hour |
| Ultrasonic board clean | Do | Removes corrosion rice can't |
The gap between today and next week is often the difference between a clean fix and a replaced board.
Signs of a board-level fault
- Won't turn on after contact with water or liquid
- Worked at first, then died days or weeks later
- Won't charge, or charges hot / erratically
- Screen has lines, blotches, or no backlight
- Speakers, mic, or cameras stopped after a spill
- Powered-off phone or laptop with photos and files on it you need back
Honest by default
Every board starts with a $65 diagnostic and a written report, exact cost and timeline before we touch it. The fee applies toward your repair.
Why liquid damage needs a board-level lab
Most shops handling a wet device wipe it down, swap a part or two, and hope. That ignores the real enemy, corrosion under the chips and shields where a cloth and a toothbrush can't reach. As an independent board-level lab, we ultrasonically clean the logic board to strip corrosion from the spots you can't see, then repair the failed components under a microscope and recover your data first. No manufacturer program limits what we're allowed to open, and we'll always give you an honest call on whether a board is worth saving.
Get your repair price now
Get a real, upfront price on most common repairs in a few taps. For board-level work or anything trickier, leave a request and a technician confirms your exact quote.