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I had three Lexar Micron flip-drives and one Cruzer Glide on my desk when I spilled some Coca Cola and about the bottom one-quarter of each flash drive was immersed in the cola. All of the Lexars were folded up and the Cruzer Glide was retracted when this happened. I Immediately removed them from the cola and dried them off on the outside with paper towels. What is the chance that the drives are damaged, and how can I safely test them?

EDIT: I've read other threads about liquid damage to flash drives but this question is about the specific brands and models I have, in case there's something specific about them that makes a difference.

Onager
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  • Coke is pretty nasty stuff (it's a great rust remover if you remove the parts before the good metal starts to dissolve. If none got inside your drives, you're probably OK after damp then dry wiping them and then following the drying instructions in the link. If it did get inside, the sugar will continue to attract moisture and the acid will make a mess of the circuitry. It probably won't be practical to open them for inspection/cleaning. If you're confident none got inside, check the contents periodically for several weeks for confirmation that they are operational. – fixer1234 Apr 24 '16 at 05:21
  • I'm aware of that thread but this is specifically about Lexar Microns and Cruzer Glides. – Onager Apr 24 '16 at 14:26
  • The linked thread is about potential water damage. That's a different issue from something like Coke. Water won't damage the drive if it's dried out, so drying is the only issue. Coke is corrosive. It will also leave residue, so simply drying isn't enough. The real issue isn't the brand/model of the drives, but the particular liquid. – fixer1234 Apr 24 '16 at 17:36
  • Coca Cola is quite different than water, so I'm voting to reopen this. – Ben N Apr 28 '16 at 13:06

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Coca Cola contains sugar, acid, water, and other ingredients that could damage the drives. I would thoroughly clean them with a 90%+ isopropyl alcohol solution available from most drug stores and allow then to dry out for several hours. As long as the cola did not sit on the drives for too long, they should be fine, but if the acid is allowed to sit in/near tiny connections on the PC board of the drives, they could be damaged. Just drying them with a paper towel is not sufficient because the acid could get under the chips on the board.

acejavelin
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  • With Lexar Microns and Cruzer Glides, what's the risk of damaging any device they are plugged into for testing, if they are damaged? – Onager Apr 24 '16 at 14:28
  • Minimal, but I would plug them into a USB hub first to see if they work, there is a potential of shorting across the contacts of the USB port, a hub would protect the PC from possible damage. If they have been cleaned and properly dried out, the chance of harm is near zero. TBH though, unless these are large flash drives (32+GB) or you require the data on them, why bother, flash drives are dirt cheap and replacing them is safest. – acejavelin Apr 24 '16 at 14:32