Filed under: iPod Family, Cult of Mac
It lives! The post-rinse cycle iPod
What happens when an iPod Nano meets a washing machine? Nothing good. Late last month, a writer over at the Seattlest left her iPod in her bike shorts. Which her husband kindly washed for her. Oops.
Since bike clothes aren't thrown in the drier, the Nano was at least spared a tumble-dry on high heat, a small mercy. The battery, however, was drained. After connecting the Nano to a USB power source, she was able to recharge the battery and (yay!) found all her music and playlists still onboard.
The buttons were initially a little sluggish, according to her follow-up report, but other than the Menu button they've recovered nicely for her training rides.
The moral of this story? Check your pockets after you train and don't wash your iPod. The ending might not be as happy as this one.

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Doug Stewart said 5:38PM on 2-09-2007
I'm waiting for the day I do this to my iPod Shuffle 2.0.
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Seth said 12:53PM on 2-09-2007
I too had a washing machine incident. My iPod Mini went through the washer and dryer and came out working just fine. The touch-sensitive part of the scroll wheel didn't work very well at first, but now it works perfectly. The screen has a few lines of pixels missing, but other than that, it's as good as new.
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freeskihp said 1:35PM on 2-09-2007
I too had a washing machine accident as well as a dryer incident with my nano it never recovered but it dried out enough that it didn't look like it got washed so I could take it back to the apple store and replace it under warentee
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sam said 1:58PM on 2-09-2007
Has anyone tried submerging their 2nd Generation iPod shuffle in water? I bought one when it first came out and then found the site below selling waterproof iPod shuffles and wished I had known about it beforehand. However, after reading this story I'm thinking maybe the shuffles are fairly waterproof to begin with?
http://www.swimman.com/main.html
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Frank McDermott said 1:43PM on 2-09-2007
Mine went thru both washer and dryer. The inside of the screen had water beads like a cheap watch. Placed it on the heater vent and left it for a day. Recharged and it works with the exception that it won't shut off. Need to keep it charging.
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rich said 1:54PM on 2-09-2007
i once dropped my nano into the toilet (a clean toilet, thank god). it was completely submerged at the bottom for a few seconds. after rubbing it dry, it turned on just fine and worked like a champ!
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Matt said 1:59PM on 2-09-2007
My 3rd gen went through washer/dryer combo back in 04, after a few days of drying out it charged right up. The battery life was never the same afterwards, but other then that it still works great, and a battery replacement last month has it working better then ever.
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Matt said 1:59PM on 2-09-2007
My 3rd gen went through washer/dryer combo back in 04, after a few days of drying out it charged right up. The battery life was never the same afterwards, but other then that it still works great, and a battery replacement last month has it working better then ever.
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Bridget said 2:10PM on 2-09-2007
My 1st-gen shuffle had a fatal encounter with a washing machine. They don't seem to do well with moisture. Even getting my replacement shuffle a bit sweaty causes it to act funky until it dries out.
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David C. said 2:13PM on 2-09-2007
I washed my 1G iPod Nano and it now only works when it is plugged in.
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Greenline said 2:17PM on 2-09-2007
Please learn to confirm your comment only once.
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Greenline said 2:18PM on 2-09-2007
Please learn to confirm your comment only once.
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Geoff Miller said 9:31PM on 2-09-2007
This has worked for clients of mine that have done this with cell phones & iPods: Our tech bench has a food dehydrator that just sucks the moisture out. Provided that nothing shorted out, it will usually light up after "treatment". Battery does usually need replacement.
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Rob said 5:52PM on 2-09-2007
I hope this lady doesn't get hit by a car because she can't hear whats going on while riding her bike.
iPod + cycling != good idea
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ClunkClunk said 6:11PM on 2-09-2007
Rob, there are places to cycle that don't allow cars. Bike trails come to mind. Automatically assuming she's dodging traffic could be a little short sighted.
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Deirdre said 8:26AM on 2-10-2007
My daughters iPod shuffle was missing and I found it in the washing machine AFTER the wash cycle. Took it out (ear buds too) and turned it on and it worked! Way to go Apple!!
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Sara said 11:13AM on 2-17-2007
ya i washed and dried my nano and it only works when it's plugged in, is there anything i can do to fix it?
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