Water on TV

[glen4cindy]

Hello,

This isn't a "Bad Cap" question, but, one that I could use some input on.

We had a water pipe rupture in our basement on Sunday 6/15/14. We were filling our pool, so the sound of water running didn't concern us. Little did we know, our anti-freeze spigot had frozen during the winter, and when we opened the line to fill the pool, a section of the line inside the basement ruptured.

For about 3 hours or more, water cascaded into the ceiling of the basement, soaking our tiles, falling down to whatever be below, which was the TV, VCR, a DVD player, DVD Recorder, DirecTv Receiver, LaserDisc Player, and Surround Sound unit.

All of these got wet to some degree. The TV was about 1/2 in the stream of splashing water and being the highest probably got the most splashing, though the main rupture was to the right of it.

Knowing that there is always power running through at least some of the circuitry of the various units, what should be my next step? They call this a "Level 1" since it was clean fresh sanitary water, and not storm water, sewage, or runoff.

Once everything is good and dry, is it safe to plug in and power on for a test, or should I do something else first?

Looking for helpful advice here. Also, if it works today, what are the chances for longevity? In all likelihood, will it have the same lifespan as it would have had having never taken a shower? (I know, no one can predict the future, but, just wondering.)

Thanks in advance.

[goontron]

Re: Water on TV

pictures are a good starting place.

[selldoor]

Re: Water on TV

Home insurance not cover accidental damage?
I wouldnt switch it on without taking the back off an having a look to see if it really is dry.
Chances are its not unless of course you took the back off to dry it - in a small warm room with heating and a dehumidifier would have been best.
I dont know about plasma but if its an LCD and water has got into it it wont have dried
and probably never will - it just moves around condensing and evaporating leaving patches. Even clean water is likely to cause corrosion to any circuit boards to some extent so I think you can expect shorter life.
This is just my opinion - I have no personal experiance of such an event.

If you have some electronic skills you could try and wire it up with a 75watt old type
filament bulb in series with the mains + input - if there is a short the bulb will light bright and stay bright and to some extent would prevent further damage.

[glen4cindy]

Re: Water on TV

Yes, homeowners will pay, but, some items are old enough that depreciation will likely evaporate much of the value.

I planned on pulling the back off and seeing what I could find.....

Thanks.

[tom66]

Re: Water on TV

Anything with optics in it - laserdisc/DVD etc. be very careful as water can cause a lot of problems for the optics.

LCD TVs will get water in the diffuser films - there will be no avoiding this and it will be a pain in the arse to get out. Plasma TVs will generally be OK but due to the high voltages a complete drying is definitely a requirement. If powered up during the water damage, then it is probably ruined regardless of the technology.

The surround amplifier might be the only thing that survives if it's predominantly analog.

[Dgtech]

Re: Water on TV

Surprisingly, there are few components that are damaged by brief water exposure. Like he mentioned before, the corrosion and oxidation is the worse part if not dried out fast. The most affected parts, to me, are transformers. It's hard to get water out of those unless you have something that can create a true vacuum in which water will boil away - even at room temp.

We used wash flux off of circuit boards of all types, put them into a drying oven, and sometimes put them into a vacuum chamber if they had transformers on them.

I got a TV in my basement now that has had some moisture damage but now works.