Once that toy goes into the drink there’s often no saving it, but for those who foresee the danger, there have been preventive measures available for years. Companies like Otterbox and Lifeproof have offered the protection we need, but at the expense of bulk. It becomes a question of whether the protection is worth the added size.  

Things have changed. A company called Liquipel has developed a process of coating our small delicate devices with a hydrophobic nanopolymer that creates a layer of protection that’s a tiny fraction of the thickness of a human hair. Because this layer is so thin and flexible, it’s completely invisible to the naked eye.

This protective service is currently offered from Liquipel to the consumer from their website, and is available for over two dozen different makes and models of devices, with prices ranging from $59 for your Motorola phone to $129 for your iPad 3. For reasons that aren’t clear from their site, there are various levels of protection available, but not all levels are available on all models. Protection ranges from Level 1, which is “protection from brief, light, accidental water contact, like accidental water spills and splatters”, to Level 3, “protection from brief, heavy, accidental water contact, like sudden torrential downpour or even a quick surprise push into a pool.”

It’s important to note that Liquipel adds a disclaimer to every description of these levels of protection, stating that they assume no responsibility for water-damaged electronics. This seems like good marketing sense. For peace of mind, the folks at Popular Science recently sent them a working iPhone 3GS to treat, and reported it unaffected by a five-minute immersion under a running faucet.

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