I just recently discovered humidifiers. I had never been one to have bloody noses or other obvious need for them in the winter. However, this fall, I have had more than my share of colds and bugs. During one of them that had me out for a week, a nurse suggested a humidifier to relieve symptoms. And, lo, it decreased my stuffy nose and eliminated my hacking spasmatic cough. It was a miracle at that point, finally allowing me to sleep.

Fast forward to a couple nights ago. I was up later than I should have been, and I started into an unproductive, uncontrollable coughing fit. So I set the humidifier up next to the bed and sent myself to bed. I woke up in the morning to discover that, in my hurry, I had placed the humidifier too close to the end table and it soaked the entire thing with a thick dew — including my electronics set to charge for the night.

The cell phone survived fine in its case. My tablet however, was just sitting out. I wiped the water off the outside. When I pulled the back off, more water dripped out from inside. It took a bit to figure out how to unplug the battery, but I did that and then stared at the tablet in dismay. I figured the best bet was to leave it open and off all day to dry out. My only consolation was that it was pure water and not likely to be as damaging as salt water.

Last night I turned the tablet on and crossed my fingers. All sensors and devices seem to be working. The one casualty appears to be the backlight. The light itself works, but the white material it is supposed to reflect off of was still dark in places with humidity, and generally mottled. I left the back off overnight and the screen on which dried out most of the humidity. However, it is still mottled and dimmer on the far side from the lights. Anyone know if there is anything to be done about that? It is the Google Nexus 7 tablet.