Reading Your Kindle While Bathing
From the title of this header, I’m sure some of you are scratching your heads. I have heard of people reading their Kindles while sitting in the bathtub (maybe you are one of those), using a variety of methods such as enclosing the Kindle in a Ziploc bag as well as having the Kindle enclosed in one of the waterproof cases I have seen on the Amazon website.
While the waterproof case was expensive at $39.95 (click here or type in http://amzn.to/kindlewater into your web browser to see one) and seems like a good solution if you are so inclined, I wouldn’t recommend reading your Kindle in the bathtub, pool , or shower trusting your life to it being enclosed securely in a Ziploc bag. If you wonder why I say that, just think of how dangerous it is to blow dry your hair while sitting in the bathtub – hopefully, you don’t do that – as it can kill you: if the electronics, and the electricity contained in them, get into the water and you are in the water you could die.
Death is obviously forever, and I can’t think of any book I would absolutely have to read while sitting in the bathtub that could jeopardize my life while reading it in a Ziploc bag. Besides, I take showers!
I bring this up as I received a note from a blog reader wanting to know if I knew of a cure for a Kindle that had been dropped in the bathtub. You could try drying it out in a bag filled with dry white rice and see if it resurrects your Kindle – that sometimes works on cell phones, but not when I was pushed into the pool this spring and it fried my one-week old new cell phone – but I wouldn’t hold out much hope.
I think your best bet would be to call Amazon’s Kindle customer service and tell them what happened, as I have heard numerous stories of Amazon offering a replacement Kindle for half price. The only “catch” is after you receive the replacement Kindle you have to return the damaged unit. That 50% off replacement policy may not be valid today, but it is certainly worth a try.
Good luck!
Michael
Posted in: Kindle Tips
June 22nd, 2012 at 2:06 pm
I would doubt that here’s enough power in even a fully charged Kindle to deliver anything more that a mild shock – unless it were plugged in at the time.
However, I do suspect immersion would be fatal to the Kindle.
June 22nd, 2012 at 2:17 pm
Sorry, Michael, but if you research the issue you will see it is simply not possible to electrocute yourself by dropping your Kindle into the bathtub while on battery power alone (such as when it is in a plastic bag). It may be disastrous to the Kindle, but it can’t hurt the user in that situation.
June 22nd, 2012 at 2:37 pm
I have managed to resurrect every cell phone my husband or I have dropped in a puddle, paint pan or sink of dish water by immediately popping off the back removing the battery, blotting away as much moisture as possible (using a Q-tip in the case of the paint to get it all before the paint dried in the connectors). I have then propped up on something under a high wattage incandesant light bulb. Make sure the connector is in the up position & back is still off. The heat of the light bulb evaporates the moisture.
My Blackberry had a little of that paint around the edges of the screen & the rim around the connector for the 2 years I had it But it still worked perfectly.
June 22nd, 2012 at 2:44 pm
Just like your experience falling into a pool with your cell phone in your pocket, unless you’ve got your kindle plugged into a wall socket, it falling into the pool, the shower or the pool with you will probably not even give you a shock, let alone “kill” you. A little hyperbole there don’t you think? Have a great weekend!
June 22nd, 2012 at 3:18 pm
I had to laugh reading the headline on this, as I can remember someone doing exactly this with a Kindle 2 a couple of years ago, then getting indignant because Amazon wouldn’t replace it under warranty. As one wag responded: “If you smack your car into a tree, would you expect Chevrolet to replace it?”
But if it happens, I agree… contact Amazon’s Kindle customer service and tell honestly them what happened. I’ve also heard a few stories of Amazon offering a replacement Kindle for half price.
June 22nd, 2012 at 4:46 pm
Michael: reading your Kindle in the bathtub isn’t risking death. If you drop it in the water with you it’s going to ruin the circuits but there isn’t near enough power in it to come near to harming you.This isn’t as if it’s a device plugged into the power mains.
June 22nd, 2012 at 5:41 pm
I purchased a kindle waterproof case (not the one pictured) a long time ago just for the sake of going to the beach (to prevent sand and moisture from hurting my precious), but I have since started using it in the bathtub all the time, and it works wonders. Of course, I tested it first by filling it with a paper towel and then submerging it to check for leaks. I do so every so often just to be safe, and I have never had issue. Also, I originally purchased it for my kindle keyboard, but I use it with my fire now as well. The trick is to be careful.
Oh, and there’s definitely no risk of electric shock. Even if its resistors didn’t pop, there is nowhere near enough juice to harm let alone kill a human
June 22nd, 2012 at 6:20 pm
Love reading in the bath-books only
Wish Kindle was bath proof
June 23rd, 2012 at 12:09 am
I am so much in awe of how much you know about the Kindle, that I hesitate to question you. But I doubt that a Kindle has enough power in its battery to electrocute a person. Perhaps if it were connected to the charger while one was reading in the bathtub, but that would seem to be unusual.
June 23rd, 2012 at 10:40 am
I read in the tub almost every night for hydrotherapy. I use the “Trendy Digital” cases. They are heavy guage plastic and have a double zip as well as a double fold and snaps. I have given them to my kids who go to the beach often. When the zip wears out, I just get a new one as they are reasonably priced. One of my dogs did knock my Kindle into the tub and the case did not leak. They recommend placing tissue in the case and testing it for water leakage occasionally. A great solution.
June 23rd, 2012 at 10:41 am
My husband and I have each damaged a Kindle 3 wi-fi through no fault of the Kindle’s (although I think they are a little delicate) and both times Amazon has replaced them for $65. It’s a MUCH better deal then just buying a new one.
June 23rd, 2012 at 2:20 pm
I was shocked (pardon the pun) to read the threat of death for dropping a ziploc-enclosed Kindle in the bathtub. True that you wouldn’t want to bathe with a Kindle that was plugged into a wall outlet. However, absent the wall connection, the Kindle battery by itself doesn’t carry much ooomph. The Kindle 3 battery is 3.7 volts, 1750 milliamps. Fewer milliamps than that can kill with enough voltage, but the low voltage means there’s not much of a driving force behind that current. It would dissipate incredibly fast. Water would help as a conductor, but the current would still have to overcome the natural resistance of the skin and penetrate deeply enough to disrupt important electrical signals in the body (such as the heart).
Ever try sticking your tongue on the terminals of a 9V battery? That’s been used safely for decades to determine the battery condition. The mild shock is stronger if the battery has more juice left. I wouldn’t do it if I had a pacemaker or was very ill, just to be on the extremely careful side, but I’m not personally worried about it.
Ziploc bag works wonders. I read in the bathtub with confidence that my Kindle won’t die. Even if I dropped it in the water and there was a pinhole leak in the bag, I’d be able to get it out before many drops of water penetrated the bag.
Commercial waterproof bags and cases offer more protection if you’re worried.
Thanks to Verity for the drying out suggestion. My husband has inadvertently killed many devices.
June 29th, 2012 at 3:00 pm
[...] week, I had a post about using your Kindle while in the bathtub – you can click here or type in http://bit.ly/KRpKt2 into your web browser to read it again or in case you missed it – [...]