HELP! Dex went swimming in the toilet!

Hey all,

I’m a new Dexcom user (about 1 month) and I’m so embarrassed to admit this, but I dropped my receiver in the toilet. :frowning:

I searched the discussions looking for some advice…from what I can see, there may be some hope for my unit. I have heard of a few people who were able to dry out the receiver in rice or some other desiccant.

Just wondering, has anyone out there been successful in resurrecting a unit that got wet? I know the replacement (under warranty) is about $300. And, from what I understand, there is no guarantee that it will work as well as it should (ie. working alarms).

Please, if you were successful, I would love to hear from you how you did it!

I know there are no guarantees, but your words of encouragement right now are truly appreciated!!! :confused:

put it in uncooked rice right away!
i did the same thing but in the sink and i put it in rice for 3 days and it worked after!

I did that a few weeks ago. Fortunately, I keep mine in the cases that came with it - the plastic one and the zippy up one above that. They protected it. If you still have them, you might want to put it in there in the future. (I drop things all the time, so I’m sure my Dex will go swimming again.)

Mine was in the zippered one :frowning: I immediately grabbed it, removed it from the case and wiped it down. Unfortunately, all it took was that split second and there were a few drops of water under the screen. Then the battery icon started flashing like it was dying and then it shut off.

I wonder if there is a slightly more water-resistant case for purchase…I may actually try to create something myself to avoid this mess next time. I bet you could vacuum-seal it in plastic in between charges and that would help make it more idiot-proof for people like me!!

Hi Alice,

I left my Freestyle Navigator (similar to the Dex) in the rain and it didn’t work until I took the batteries out and ran the heat in my car on the battery case and after about 5 mintues it worked again!

**it happens! I put mine in oatmeal. It dried out and worked again. No promises, but it worth a try to save $300.

i have never tried it, but is there a reason that a zip lock sandwich bag wouldn’t work?

How was the oatmeal??

As with most electronics that get wet, the damage is done by running the battery. Remove the battery and dry the thing out asap. Use a hair dryer. Rice or oatmeal probably also work but take longer. Any desiccant will work.

Jeff

Alice,

On the prevention side of things, I put one of those straps that comes on your camera on my Dexcom case. Then I loop that through the belt loop on my jeans (which is what I wear most of the time). I almost did what you did and that’s why I came up with my handy fastener. But that doesn’t help if I wear something that doesn’t have belt loops.

Linda

Thanks for all the replies and great advice everyone!

Update: I packed the unit in a ziploc container filled with rice and let it dry for the last few days. Today, I plugged it into the charger and it powered up! I put on a new sensor and it appears to be working!

I’m going to be WAY more careful with my receiver from now on!! I think I’m going to try vacuum sealing the receiver in between charges. I had no idea how much it cost to replace the thing!!! It should come with a tag that says, “BE CAREFUL - COSTS $300 TO REPLACE UNDER WARRANTY!!!”

I’m glad to hear Dex is up and running again. About 6 months ago, Dex “jumped” from my pocket into the already-flushing toilet and got swept away. I had to replace the receiver and was quite bummed about it. Glad things worked out differently for you :slight_smile: