Last night, while I was playing VR, I accidentally knocked over my glass of Dr. Pepper onto my USB extender and some of it spilled into my laptop's USB-C ports. Fortunately, my laptop seems to have survived the incident. However, I had a Samsung 128GB USB stick that contained five years' worth of university work and my portfolio, which I needed for an upcoming review with a professional. I unplugged the USB stick almost immediately and left it to dry on my dresser. When I tried it this morning, it didn't work. I later realized the USB-C port might still be wet. I haven't noticed any unusual smells or sounds like burning, but I'm worried that I may have damaged my USB stick. It's currently in a bowl of risotto rice to help dry it out. Did I handle this right? Is it ruined? How likely is it that I can recover the data?
2 Answers
First off, a USB extender is just a device that gives you more USB ports, right? And it sounds like you spilled soda on a thumb drive, not an SD card. You have to be careful because the sugar and acid can cause corrosion over time. Ideally, everything that got soda on it should be cleaned professionally. Also, just a heads up: flash memory isn’t the best for long-term storage. I hope you have some backup because recovery may not be guaranteed.
You definitely need to clean the USB ports, not just let things dry! If you can, it's best to rinse everything before it dries. Use isopropyl alcohol and a soft toothbrush to clean the ports and repeat until they're clean. And for future reference, always back up your important files somewhere like OneDrive or Google Drive. You never know when you might need it!
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