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Credit Thomas Jansen

Credit Thomas Jansen

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When even the thought of replacing your $400 big kid toy leaves you feeling queasy, consider the alternative: if it’s broke, fix it. So, whether it’s rum and coke on your BlackBerry or a cracked iPod screen, we’re confident a little tender loving care will have your baby up and running in no time.

WHOOPSIES!

Whether you dropped a camera in the toilet or spilled a shot of vodka on your phone, your first step should be to remove the battery and SIM or memory card. To soak up any liquid, place the gutted, wet phone in a bowl of dry rice. Though some may tell you that using a hair dryer is a quick fix, the practice might actually make the situation worse by pushing the moisture deeper into your gadget's system.

STICKY ICKY

In those messy incidents where, for lack of a better word, crap gets all over your device, there are some solutions. Steer clear of water, and opt instead for a cleaning cloth. If anything made it past the device’s exterior, consider taking the device apart before you get down to scrubbing. Be careful not to do more harm than good when performing surgery; plan ahead by searching YouTube for instructional videos on how to undo all the nuts and bolts of the specific device.

GO TO THE SKETCHY STORES

If you’re not good with your hands or the problem is tricky, try taking the device to an electronics store. For cell phones, don’t go directly to an official store, where the employees usually aren’t allowed to disassemble your phone. At an unofficial dealer, the employees don't have obligations to the phone companies, so they probably can take it apart and won’t charge you much to do it.

IT AIN'T ALL BROKE

If one or more parts of your device are broken — e.g cracked screen, broken keypad — you can probably find the parts online. All your problems will be solved for a very low price, at www.cnn.cn/shop, a practical cell phone parts mecca. If your thing really is busted, consider selling it for a small profit at a site like www.buymytronics.com.