Oops! Just found our camera memory card in the washing machine
 

Luckily my husband has downloaded whatever was on it. Good thing I prodded him into making copies of our recent cruise as I was anxious to email them out to friends. Now I wonder if the card will work. It still has droplets of water coming out so it may be a few days before I find out. Has anyone had this happen and got the memory card working again?

Okay, on the off chance that nobody else answers this...

Anecdotally, I've heard of people using those little packets of "do not eat" silica crystals (that are sometimes found when you buy new athletic shoes, cameras, and such) to draw out moisture. Just put a few of them in an airtight container with the memory card. You could probably call up a local camera store or shoe store and they would give you some packets.

I've also heard that kitty litter is useful for this, especially the "crystal" kind.

Anyway, I hope somebody will weigh in with some other ideas.

What kind of memory card is it?

I have NO IDEA if that will work but the theory sounds interesting.

Instead of silica crystals from shoes/camera, you might go to a boating store, like a West Marine, and get a product called "Damp Rid" or other moisture sucking chemicals.

Also for what it's worth, had a computer geek tell me to deal with/clean damp contacts (wherever, on keyboard, on ink-cartridges for the printer, etc.) by dabbing alcohol (not the drinking kind) and letting it all evaporate.

I have no idea if it will dry out OK or not but camera memory cards are cheap. I wouldn't take the risk of losing irreplaceable photos to save $20-30. I'd get a new one and junk the soaked one.

There are many reports of people leaving cards in pockets by mistake and running them thru the washer and dryer and they still work.

Make sure you dry it out throughly before sticking it in the camera or you could short something out in the camera.

The advice about getting a new one is sound though and that's probably what I'd do, given how cheap they are now ...

Bill

I washed my USB thumb drive (same as a compact flash card) a few weeks ago (yes, by accident!). I just let it dry for about two weeks and it is totally fine.

It is a 2 GB Sandisk Ultra II. My husband checked with some professional photographers and a few said they worked fine once they are dried out. The dryer is the one you'd want to avoid because the heat would damage the card.

The Damp Rid, silica and kitty litter sounds like a good idea. Thanks!

You can also use uncooked rice in an airtight container to draw out moisture.

It's frequestly used in salt shakers in many humid places I've visted to keep the salt from clumping.