Getting this house ready to put on the market has included a lot of life lessons. I can’t keep track of them all but one that probably ranks up there as #3213 is the following.

Don’t wear your AirPods when you are staining the dock.

It was a beautiful day and we were committed to staining our dock in the morning. We cleared the furniture off, got the stain and brushes and rollers and set to work. I always have to have a podcast or ebook to listen to when I do stuff like this so I was listening on my AirPods as I worked.

And then it happened.

My right AirPod fell out of my ear and plunked into the lake.

I looked at Chris and said – “Oh no!”.

I could see it on the muddy bottom of the lake (they are white, after all, and the spot right off our dock is not very deep) and I knew it was gone but I had hopes that I could at least retrieve it.

So I ran to the house, grabbed a mesh colander and taped it to.a pole and fashioned a AirPod retriever of sorts. Since Chris has longer arms and a longer reach I allowed him to man the retrieval apparatus. We knew we only had one shot — once the colander touched the bottom it would stir up all the mud and silt and it would be lost.

.

I waited with bated breath as he scooped and then we had to dump all the gunk out on the bank. HE DID IT! But now the true test was if I could get it dried out. So I asked the internet for help on what to do and this is what it told me.

Step-by-Step Drying Guide

Remove them from the water immediately.

Disconnect Bluetooth.

Shake out excess water.

Wipe the exterior with a microfiber cloth.

Air dry outside of case with the speaker grills pointing down.

Wait patiently and let them dry for 24-48 hours.

I did all of the above.

.

I waited 24 hours. I reconnected the Bluetooth and turned them on and THEY WORKED!

So there you go — learn a lesson from me. No rice for wet AirPods, no hair dryer or compressed air. Follow these directions and hopefully you can save them if this happens to you. But my life lesson learned –don’t wear them while staining a dock. Never again!