Like all electronic devices, garage remotes can suffer water damage. Whether you have spilled water over your garage door remote, dropped it in your backyard swimming pool, or accidentally left it out in the rain, here are five tips you can follow to try to make it work again.
1. Take Out the Battery
To prevent further damage to your remote, it is important to take out the battery as soon as the device gets wet. Removing the battery prevents an electrical current from flowing through the circuits inside the remote, which is what causes permanent damage.
2. Remove Water With Silica Gel
Silica gel is a substance that is designed to absorb a large amount of water vapour from the air. Packets of silica gel are often placed inside packaging to protect water-sensitive products during shipping. If you have any of these gel packets at home, place them into an air-tight container along with the garage door remote.
3. Remove Water With Rice
Not everyone has packets of silica gel at home, but most people have rice in the pantry. Place your garage remote into an air-tight container along with a generous amount of dried, uncooked rice. For best results, leave the battery cover off the remote and fill the container with enough rice to cover the remote completely.
4. Leave the Remote in a Warm Place
Once you have placed the remote in a container with a water-absorbing substance, the next step is to leave it somewhere warm. An airing cupboard is an excellent option. You could also use a windowsill if it is sunny outside or a shelf close to a heater. Do not use a microwave to warm up the remote, as this could cause it to explode.
5. Insert a Fresh Battery
Leave the remote for a few days to give it a chance to dry out. After this time, remove the remote from the container and insert a new battery. You can now test out the garage door remote to see whether your action has saved it from water damage.
These steps often help to save a garage door remote that has come into contact with water. However, sometimes permanent water damage has already occurred by the time you can remove the battery. In that case, you need to contact a garage door repair service to enable you to remotely control your garage door again.
For more help, reach out to a local garage door company.