Oh noes mic dropped in water

Mick Doobie

Mick Doobie

Resist We Much
An sm57 got accidentally dropped and submerged for a period of time(overnight) in kind of muddy/dirty water(don't ask. I swear I wasn't recording underwater doing a cover of Octopus's Garden). I rested it upside down to drain out the water. Anything else I should do? Is it going to be alright? If it is going to be alright no harm done, I'd kind of like to maybe dunk it in clean water to wash it before someone kisses it. Bad idea? Pitch it?
 
A quick splash is very different to soaking overnight - and I fear that a dunking like that will have killed it. best you can do is dismantle and warm it up. The trouble is the water will have got into the capsule coils - they're sort of sealed, but hygroscopic if the sealing is in any way compromised, which they usually are.

Stick it somewhere hot for 24 hours and plug it in. It will be dead, dull or good. You can buy new capsules, as the transformer is epoxy encapsulated and should be safe. In humidity heavy environments outside that can cause trouble but that usually dries out. Underwater is VERY different, but just plug it in. Pull it apart and just look. Some of the metalwork inside will probably be corroding already.
 
Correction mispoke, it was a 58, not that it makes a lot of difference I would think. Gear is gear, but not an expensive replacement cost. We had a sh*tload of rain in a short period of time the other day/night. On top of that one of the gutters I had missed cleaning and the downspout clogged. Rearranging for Christmas gathering had sort of haphazardly ditched some things in the basement. Items in a box placed on top of the lid of an empty 5 gallon bucket. Some CDs, the mic. Water rose, bucket floated enough to tilt. Fished most of the CDs out pretty much as soon as I heard sort of a disruption. Didn't realize the mic was underwater until I cleared the drain pipe down hill in the yard and the water was pretty much gone the next morning. Nasty basement water. First time that has happened since we've been here. There's always something. Any chance it may cause a short that could potentially damage any equipment if/when I plug it in?

Thanks Rob.
 
I have a very old Shure 55 that was underwater when my basement flooded. I tried rinsing it later with distilled water to flush out any debris, and let it dry. No luck, the mic was totally trashed. I kept it thinking one day I would try to restore it, but that will probably never happen.

It is one of the really old ones with the HML impedance switch and the old Amphenol connector. It was one of the first mics I ever used. My dad bought it cheap in the mid 60s.
 
Maybe try putting it into a bowl of uncooked rice for a few days. Saved a phone with that method.
 
Mick Doobie said:
Correction mispoke, it was a 58, not that it makes a lot of difference I would think. Gear is gear, but not an expensive replacement cost. We had a sh*tload of rain in a short period of time the other day/night. On top of that one of the gutters I had missed cleaning and the downspout clogged. Rearranging for Christmas gathering had sort of haphazardly ditched some things in the basement. Items in a box placed on top of the lid of an empty 5 gallon bucket. Some CDs, the mic. Water rose, bucket floated enough to tilt. Fished most of the CDs out pretty much as soon as I heard sort of a disruption. Didn't realize the mic was underwater until I cleared the drain pipe down hill in the yard and the water was pretty much gone the next morning. Nasty basement water. First time that has happened since we've been here. There's always something. Any chance it may cause a short that could potentially damage any equipment if/when I plug it in?

Thanks Rob.
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Definitely don’t plug it in until you’re certain it’s totally dry inside. It would probably help to take it apart the best you can and keep it somewhere warm until it dries.
If it does work after, it probably will have a warped diaphragm…but it might be a cool effect!

If it doesn’t work, I think someone might have said somewhere it makes a good stage hammer…not that anyone has ever used a stage hammer.
 
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You guys are a riot.

Somebody left it out in the enclosed side porch, no climate control. If there was any water still in there it probably froze, which is awesome. Looking in at the wind filter material it is a wonderful sort of red (dirt) color. Eh, I may plug it up at some point, but may just sell it on eBa....ahem, pitch it in the trash.
 
Can't think of anything in there that should be immediately damaged as a result of contact with water.
Take the ball grill off and just wash it in warm soapy water.
If the foam disintegrates it was dosed and going to fall apart soon anyway.

I'd take that off, use the grub screw to release the xlr connection - Just tease it out of the barrel,
and break the mic in the middle by unscrewing.
Dry what you can by hand with a paper towel then just set it somewhere warm and dry for a few days or a week.
As RFR says, in an open container with bone-dry rice is even better.

I wouldn't bother with intentional heat like a hair dryer or oven - Just leave it somewhere you could dry damp towels.

If it was really manky water I don't see the harm in rinsing it in clean water before doing the above ^.
 
POIDH! Curious to hear what the results are when you test it. If you want to invest the time, I agree with the others that suggest taking it apart and cleaning it all up as best you can before you plug it in. BUT do you really want to mess with it? Is it worth your time?

Even though it's not worth my time...I'd mess with it just because I can....and I like taking shit apart and fixing stuff...Tom Fixin

If you are so inclined here's a cat playing with a few sm 57 and 58's and showing how they are assembled disassembled.

 
Send your mic to @TAE. Once it's on his property it will become enchanted and self-repair. The closer it will be to TAE, physically, the faster this will happen. He will return it to you in a couple days in like-new operational order :p:D
 
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I'd removed the ball before second posting here, everything actually looks pretty clean. Looking inside the ball the foam material looked maybe tinted by red dirt tainted water, but who knows, I've seen that black material take on a faint red color...age related or whatever. I'll hang onto it for now, everything is broken down so it's not really convenient to test at present.

A little side info: I'd seen a mouse a couple of times on the side enclosed porch by the dog food container, near the stairs leading to the basement. Likely scavenging stray chunks. I got him, snap trap. You know what they say, where you see one....So, had a hair clog in bathtub drain, had a mop bucket near those stairs in a little slide door storage space (hard to explain) catching water when I pulled the plug in the drain trap. Successfully cleared the drain with a snake. So pleased with the success moved on without emptying the water in the bucket. A few days later needed the bucket for something, so went to retrieve it. Yeah, pretty gruesome sight. Several dead baby mice floating in the bucket. My guess walked that pipe as they had perhaps done before and plunged to their death not realizing there was a bucket of water now there. Have set snap traps since, no mice.

So anyway, that's the potential type water in which the mic was submerged. Mouse urine and droppings, spiders, snakes(?). Maybe I'll start an Alice Cooper or Ozzy tribute band, or maybe a Metal band, some cookie monster vocals might sound awesome through that mic. Take inspiration from where it can be found.
 
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