Even though it’s 2015 and smartphone technology has come a long way, all phones are not waterproof by default. Only select high-end phones from the likes of Samsung and Sony even offer the feature.

That means getting pushed into the pool at a braai, falling into a dam while fishing or putting your phone in the wash accidentally means no more phone, and a forced upgrade on your part.

Or does it? There are things you can try to rescue your phone from the brink of death, provided you get to it quickly enough.

Here’s a quick how to on what to do with your wet phone.

First things first – you really need to get the phone far away from the moisture that has turned it off and dry that sucker off as fast as you can, so open it up, remove the battery and SIM card, place everything on an absorbent paper towel and pat it all as dry as you can with another paper towel. Just be careful not to tear anything and leave bits of paper behind.

The reason water damages phones is partly because of the short-circuit it creates, but also because of elements in the water itself which stick to metal surfaces inside the phone even after it’s dry.

This leads to long-term problems like corrosion, so to avoid that as far as possible it’s highly recommended that you clean every metal surface you can see without opening the phone with rubbing alcohol and an earbud.

Once you’ve done that, it’s time to break out the vacuum cleaner.

Yes, a vacuum cleaner is an indispensable tool for drying off a wet phone. Just don’t hold it too close to your phone’s sensitive insides while you’re running it, as all that rushing air could create a buildup of static electricity which could discharge through your phone and seriously damage its circuitry.

To do it properly and minimise the risk of static, don’t put the vacuum’s nozzle right up against the phone; rather angle it in from the side, keeping the nozzle parallel with the surface the phone is resting on and about five centimetres away from the phone. Feel free to move the nozzle around every few minutes to attack the wet from all sides.

Drying the phone out this way could take up to 20 minutes, so keep at it.

Now for the most important bit: you need to get a bag of uncooked rice and fill a sealable plastic bag with it, stuff your phone inside so that it’s entirely covered in rice, seal the bag and leave it for 24 hours, occasionally turning it.

Rice has moisture-absorbtion properties, and will naturally draw any moisture out of your phone. Turning the bag every so often ensures that any trapped water gets the opportunity to roll into a new position where it can be absorbed by the rice.

After 24 hours, remove the phone from the rice and clean it of any clinging rice grains. Place it on another paper towel, and observe it for a few hours. If you see no wet patches developing, the phone is dry and ready to be reconnected with power. If you see wet spots, repeat the vacuum trick you tried earlier until no more dampness appears.

Once you’re sure your phone is dry, put it back together, connect it to a power source and power it on. If it doesn’t come on, remove the battery and try again; if the phone comes on, the only remaining problem is your battery, in which case simply replace it and you’re golden.

Should your phone not come on either way, bad news – it’s dead and you need a new one. But at least you tried!