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"  E-readers like the Kindle and tablets like the iPad are replacing older reading media in all parts of our lives, and our beach vacations are no exception. (Kindle ads from last year even featured people reading them at the beach.) But while a little sand brushes right off a paperback, it could worm its way deep into the electrical innards of a Kindle or iPad. The same thing goes for smartphones, which owners tend to take everywhere.  If you&amp;#039;re planning on taking your Kindle or iPad to the beach, first take precautions: Invest in a watertight case, or a simpler solution such as a large Ziploc bag, to keep beach elements out of your device. We&amp;#039;d recommend playing it safe and toting an old-fashioned book to the beach, but here&amp;#039;s some advice in case you take your gadgets and disaster strikes.  If Sand Creeps In If you have a case with your device, you may have helped minimize the damage already. But to be sure, remove the case carefully, because there may be sand on the surface that could cause cosmetic damage to the screen or shell of the device. If you can revive your device, you may as well revive it in pristine condition.  No matter what you do, don&amp;#039;t plug your device in right away. Depending on where the sand is lodged, plugging it in could permanently damage it, ensuring that it&amp;#039;s never going to work again.  For that matter, don&amp;#039;t plug anything into the device&amp;#039;s USB ports, headphone jacks or other ports. These openings are prime spots for sand to sneak in. The charging port on your iPad has a row of circuits biased to one side, making the smaller side vulnerable for sand to get jammed in. The same goes for the USB port on the Kindle. If you ever want to use your headphone jack again, you&amp;#039;d be smart to avoid plugging in your earphones and jamming sand further into the device.  The iPad, as well as the iPhone and iPod Touch, also features a sensor in the charging port that warns you about water damage, and if you plug it in while wet sand is in there, your iPad won&amp;#039;t be covered under the warranty. And don&amp;#039;t start pushing buttons. If you&amp;#039;ve got sand lodged in the keyboard or page buttons on your Kindle, pressing them will only make the issue worse, potentially shoving the sand deeper into the device. The same goes for the menu button on your iPad.  Cleaning Out the Sand The Kindle and iPad use solid-state storage drives, meaning there aren&amp;#039;t any moving parts inside of them when they&amp;#039;re turned on. If you got sand inside the speaker holes on your Kindle or iPad, you can shake or tap the device to get it out without damaging it. But don&amp;#039;t go overboard and hit it so hard you break the hardware.  You&amp;#039;re not going to be able to open up a Kindle or an iPad without voiding your warranty, so be extra careful when going about the cleaning. For spots out of reach, we recommend getting a shaving brush or another with similarly soft bristles, such as a toothbrush, which will allow you to get into the tiny cracks and sweep out sand without damaging circuits. Soft bristles also ensure that you don&amp;#039;t scratch important components.  If brushes can&amp;#039;t get everything, move on to compressed air. Nothing too powerful though\u2014don&amp;#039;t go grabbing your air compressor from the garage. We recommend simple canned air, the kind used to clear dust from computer keyboards. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/how-to/a6876/what-to-do-if-sand-gets-in-your-ipad-or-kindle/>