Waterproof an iPhone on a Budget with a Zip Lock Bag

Did you know that you can put an iPhone inside a plastic bag and still use the touchscreen? Yes, that’s right, stick your iPhone in an airtight ziplock bag, and you’ll have an instant and amazingly cheap waterproof case for your iPhone. Well, waterproof may be a bit aggressive, and perhaps water resistant is a better term assuming you seal it off completely and are fairly delicate with it, but considering the extremely cheap price it’s hard to beat if you’re in a pinch and need some quick splash protection for the iPhone, whether that’s because you’re poking around in the kitchen or bathtub or simply because you’re spending a day at the beach.

It really is just a matter of putting the iPhone into a zip locked plastic bag that is mostly air and water tight. That’s fairly easy to check by squeezing the bag and seeing if the air escapes or bubbles up like it should.

Now, imagine the possibilities with a (semi) waterproof iPhone: Paint your house without painting your iPhone! Browse the web from the bath! Update Facebook in the pouring rain! Text your friends from the depths of the seas! Well, maybe not that extreme, but you get the point, though for the latter cases of swimming or diving with an iPhone there are actually true waterproof cases for iOS devices available if you don’t mind springing some serious cash on them.

While this may seem like a rather funny tip, but it’s actually really useful and I’ve already found myself using it a few times around the house for both the iPad and iPhone. Obviously you should make sure the seal on the ziplock bag is very strong, or else your iPhone will drown and end up with liquid damage. Don’t let that happen, but if it does, here’s how to save the iPhone from water damage.

The context of this tip originated in regards to cooking, which we have also recommended specifically for the iPad too as a way to keep it safe in the kitchen from splashes, ingredients, and dirty hands:

So, First & 20 says the same trick works with the iPhone in a zippy locked baggy too, and why wouldn’t it? Give it a go, it’s certainly much cheaper than a true waterproof enclosure!

Heads up to First & 20 for the iPhone picture, and to Eliza V for iPad.