HELP Dropped camera in soda! don't ask...haha

I dropped my digital in my cup of cream soda. It was only in there for a few seconds, but it was enough to get some inside my camera. I see some drops in my viewing lenses, the zoom, and my battery compartment, and my zoom lens is all gross on the outside. I'm wiping the zoom off with the lense cloth for my glasses, but can't really get it clean all the way. It still works (for now at least), but I'm just worried about the drops I can't dry off/that are inside. Any suggestions for anything?

Oh boy. That's a tough one. The usual process for a camera that gets dunked in water is to take out the batteries, towel it off, put it on top of the fridge, TV, or another warm dry place, and let it air out for a couple of days. But soda takes it to another level. I would use a slightly damp cloth everywhere it was exposed to the soda. That means inside the battery compartment, on the zoom lens, and anywhere you can get to. And do it over an over. Because one wipe won't clean off all the sugar from the soda. If you don't get it all off, and it gets inside, eventually it will start to corrode the mechanical and electronic parts and your camera will be done for.

What a mess,

To what John said let me add that using distilled water is by far your best bet. You would be supprised the minerals that are contained in even bottled water. (Plus chlorine and other chemicals.)

Good Luck

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Originally Posted by ejlatstl

To what John said let me add that using distilled water is by far your best bet.

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Thanks for that addition! I'll have to remember that the next time I have my gear out in the rain and mud all day.

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Originally Posted by mistherd13

I dropped my digital in my cup of cream soda. It was only in there for a few seconds, but it was enough to get some inside my camera. I see some drops in my viewing lenses, the zoom, and my battery compartment, and my zoom lens is all gross on the outside. I'm wiping the zoom off with the lense cloth for my glasses, but can't really get it clean all the way. It still works (for now at least), but I'm just worried about the drops I can't dry off/that are inside. Any suggestions for anything?

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If it makes you feel any better, at least know that you're not one of those people who is so uptight about their gear that they never have it accessible enough to shoot a photo with!!!! I fried out my laptop by spilling a glass of water on it a few months ago. It did not survive. Just the other day, (I'm not making this up) my kids got into a brawl with each other over a Slurpee in a 7-11 parking lot, which ended up with my "car camera" (my old EOS 650 with lens and speedlight) falling like two stories out of our SUV onto the pavement. It actually works better now! (All those old buttons and dials just got loosened up. I shot the rest of the roll of film in it and it was fine). That old stuff is just so resiliant!

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Originally Posted by ejlatstl

What a mess,

To what John said let me add that using distilled water is by far your best bet. You would be supprised the minerals that are contained in even bottled water. (Plus chlorine and other chemicals.)

Good Luck

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Just a quick sidepoint to this...make sure it's "DISTILLED" water and not "Drinking" water. "Drinking" water may still have minerals etc. that can harm your camera in the long run. I make this point because they are usually side by side and I have inadvertently picked up distilled instead of drinking in the past and vice versa.
One other point, as long as you don't turn your electronic equipment on while it is wet, most electronics can easily withstand an inadvertent dunking. Just make sure that it is "COMPLETELY" dry before turning it back on.
Ken