does water permanently damage mic/instrument cables???

[lifes_a_fallacy]

didn't know where to put this.


so, my basement flooded a week or so ago, and i managed to get most of my gear out before it got trashed. BUT ... most of my instrument and XLR cables were laying on the floor and got a good two hours soaking before i ever noticed the flooding.

they've all aired out for a week or so - so my question is this:

are they junk now, or can i still use them??

 

[CoolCat]

EBAY!!!!!!












jus kiddin....

if they work they work, as long as the cables aren't shorting anything, seems you'll be ok. I wouldn't throw them away. Maybe check the ends and connectors from time to time see if corrosion has set in.

the water was probably not drinking water by the time it hit the cables. maybe some chlorine in the water....

if your real anal, you may want to take the cables apart and really clean all the connectors and possible Isopropal Alchol/Distilled water mix and then maybe a anti corrosion/water displacement chemical and then a good wipe, maybe even a light dryer run in the clothes dryer or oven to bake all the moisture out.

corrosion would be the concern. at the price of cables it'd be worth some cleaning time.

flooding sucks.

 

[SonicAlbert]

If they were in the water for at least two hours you'll probably need to let them dry for a long time. Water could have seeped into the actual cables themselves.

You might want to select one of the cables to disassemble once you think they are dry. That should tell you if the others are dried out yet.

Above all, don't connect the cables to live gear until you are 100% certain they are dry.

 

[The Green Hornet]

Uhh, rather than taking a chance of becoming BRAINIAC from a short, just get new cables and toss the other ones. Like, cables are not expensive and, if it were me, I wouldn't want my nose to become a Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer--"It's ALIVE!!!"

Cheers,
Green Hornet

 

[omtayslick]

Uhh, rather than taking a chance of becoming BRAINIAC from a short, just get new cables and toss the other ones. Like, cables are not expensive and, if it were me, I wouldn't want my nose to become a Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer--"It's ALIVE!!!"

Cheers,
Green Hornet

This sounds reasonable. When it somes to safety, better to err on the side of caution.

 

[SonicAlbert]

Then again, you could buy a cable tester and know for certain if the cables area damaged or not. Everyone who uses audio cables should have a cable tester anyway.

 

[g blaze]

i think that i depends whether the cable are in good condition or not