You can always count on me for amazingly useful information, right?
Anyway . . . I thought I’d share a lovely little trick I’ve been using. I didn’t come up with it, though. A woman at our pool does this in the summer, but I never thought much about it until I was wishing I could read my new Kindle in the bathtub.
I stuck it in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag. This works great with (affiliate link alert!) my bottom-of-the-line basic one
I’ve actually decided I like quart sized bags better, but I use whichever I have on hand!
And there you go. Simple.
Disclaimers and Legal Warnings:
Sticking your Kindle in a plastic bag makes it water resistant but not waterproof. Don’t submerge it in the water and try to read while you’re rinsing your hair.
A Kindle in a plastic bag is not a toy. Don’t trust anyone under the age of 28-and-a-half or anyone who didn’t spend their very own hard-earned money to buy that Kindle to use this trick. If you want a bathtub toy, go to the bathtub toy aisle at the store. But don’t get the ones that suck up water. They get nasty.
Be sure your plastic bag is tightly sealed. Test it by gently tugging to see if it will open, not by shaking it really hard over a tile floor or a wide-mouth garbage disposal. Or a cliff.
Use a clear plastic bag so you can see through it. Don’t stick your head inside the plastic bag to read the Kindle.
The plastic bag will only protect from water splashes. Do not drop your Kindle, sit on your Kindle, throw your Kindle, or step on it.
I have no idea if anything bad could happen from a Kindle not having air for a prolonged time, but just in case . . . when your fingers get pruney, carefully step out of your bathtub onto a non-skid mat, dry yourself off and then remove the Kindle from the plastic bag.
Funny. (all of the above)
I have a friend who does something similar. She covers the bottom half of her laptop in plastic wrap, so she can type while her hands are wet from dishes or dirty from cooking and food prep. She is often chatting with friends online while she is in the kitchen, so this works really well for her.
I have recently aquired a kindle, like yours, so I will make sure I use this trick.
The Hubs says test the bag with TP first so you make sure there aren’t any factory defects. As in defect I mean like the kind that calls you mommy 9mo after buying the discount contraception.
Not THATS funny ! mommy…….
TP? toothpaste? toilet paper? tomato puree? 😀
I had to explain to my whole family why I was laughing so hard. Apparently I’m the only one who thinks this is hilarious
Fine print and disclaimers are so important In this day and age!
You my friend CRACK ME UP!
I am going to try this one out at the pool
Well as soon as the ice leaves east Texas and is replaced by 100 degree days in a row!
OK, I don’t have a Kindle (yet!) and I don’t take baths (before anyone says EEWWW!!–I DO take showers) but when I saw this post, I had to read it ’cause I knew it would give me some laughs and I think we all need more of those these days. It did not disappoint! Oh–and it does sound like a really neat idea! Thanks for a great blog.
Thank you! I needed that good laugh (and GREAT tip) this morning!!!!! I LOVE your disclaimers!!!
I’m going to try it with my Kindle Fire, I carry my phone in a baggie when I am exercising and cleaning, and the touch screen works still & doesn’t get ruined from my .. uhhh .. glistening sweat glands! hee hee hee
God Bless,
Shannon
This is a great idea and has inspired me to put my tub to use this week. I can’t wait to have a free evening for a long hot bath and some reading time 🙂
I do this all the time w/ my Nook knock-off, the touch screen works just fine.
I have it on the word of someone from work that if you drop it in the bath, just fish it out, it will be fine.
Hmm. Maybe I need to trade showers for relaxing soaks in the tub. Great idea! 🙂
I’ve been putting my Kindle in a Ziplock bag for several years now. I take it with me to the beach and read under my umbrella. Keeps the sand and the water off my Kindle. I’ve had many a passerby stop and comment how smart I am for covering it up and that they will start doing the same thing.
The small snack size bags work for iPhone/iTouch too, at least the older ones.
hahahaha
I have a kindle fire! I use the ziploc trick in the tub, too! It works!
the touch screen will work through the plastic bag also our local dollar store sells slightly heavier duty pouches for exactly this purpose in the exact size or ipads and iphones I have a water pouch from from MEC from years ago that I always put my smart phone in when it is raining or I am going to a pool! a zipplock bag works in a pinch though for sure.
As the owner of a touchscreen Kindle, and an iPad, I can verify for you that the plastic bag works with the touchscreen, too.
I also used to put my phone into a snack size ziploc bag when I had to commute to work in the rain. Just in case. You can still text and surf the web, etc.
I use this trick at the beach every summer. Works great for both sand & water, and I can read all day 🙂
This also works when I cook from a recipe I have on my iPad (like your White Chicken Chili!). Keeps my sticky fingers off the screen, and keeps the iPad safe from splashes and drips. The touch screen works fine through the plastic.
What a great idea. Much better than what I usually do, hold it out away from the tub and get a kink in my neck from reading twisted to one side.
Since my dogs are always knocking over my table that generally has a drink on it, along with my tablet, I might need to do this full time.
I don’t even own a kindle (although I do read books in the bath, but not sure how you’d turn pages in a bag!), but I LOVE the disclaimers, they made me grin!
It does work with cheepo, well used novels. I did this in 10th grade mumble mumble years ago when I had some required reading to do for English. Not the easiest in three world, but doable. 😉
You can use a touch screen through the bag. I put my iPhone in a ziplock when we go to the lake to protect from accidental splashes.
WHAT a GREAT idea!!! I was just thinking the other day that I wish I could read my Kindle in the bath tub. Now I can! Thanks!
They do make waterproof cases and sell them on amazon too. I don’t think any are by amazon though. I keep considering getting one for my hot tub 🙂 love the disclaimer 😀
when I seen this title in my email!!
OH I have to read this LOL! thanks for the awesome laugh! love you and keep me laughing please!
I found this Hilarious. Not just for the awesome prose.
I’ve been reading with my Kindle in the tub since about 2 weeks after I got it.
My “plan” for protecting it, was Not Dropping It.
Which may sound like I am being sarcastic, but the hilarity comes from the fact that before I started decluttering I had a large collection of favorite books that bloomed outward from being dropped in the tub. I did actually damage one Kindle by getting water on the bottom of the screen. The kindle continued to work but you couldn’t read the last two lines on each page. Despite the fact that I’ve spent hours trying to pick out a waterproof case for my phone, just because I’m me, not because I plan to take the kids to the water park and want to take pictures.
So delayed realization. Me. Not. Dropping. It.
Especially when the solution is in my kitchen.
Well heck, I might have to actually scrub my bathtub and sit in the bath.
I have been doing this for awhile, but with my tablet to watch TV in the tub, much less high brow than reading, but it works great and the touch screen dose fine to navigate to a show at least.
Oh and if your really paranoid roll the zip top down 3 times and parking tape it closed, rolling it makes it water tight and is how the pro water tight bags you buy work.
I put my phone in a ziplock in my running belt if rain is a threat on race day as well! Also for trips to the beach, sometimes wrapping it in a papertowel to help keep it from steaming.
I’ve used a zipbloc for my phone while out in the sprinkler with the kids (no matter how hard i try i always end up wet lol) and the touch screen works great still. The other day i was lamenting the fact i couldn’t read my kindle in the bath, don’t know why i didn’t think of this! thanks for the reminder!
Putting a desicant packet in with the Kindle might be a good idea also.
ROFL! Great tip, but the warnings were so amusing! 😀
after a week at the beach with an iPhone out almost all the time for one reason or another, I assure you the touchscreen on the apple products is virtually in compromised by the baggy trick. I primarily use it when walking around if it might rain….
That said, it would sometimes get steamy inside the bag and we’ve all heard horror stories of iPhones that stop working when exposed to steam, so all I can say for sure is that mine made it through. 😉
Sounds like a great idea for taking to a pool, too. And thanks for the humor!! I think you covered everything. 🙂
Thanks for making me laugh! *grins*
I do the same thing when I am using it while in the kitchen. I, often times, email recipes to my kindle email address and use that as my cookbook. 😀
Great idea!
If you do get the bath toys with the holes in the bottom you can super glue the hole to keep them clean.
Good idea!
I do the same thing for my kindle, phone, & the kids android when we go to the lake or water park. I found that the Ziploc doesn’t stay water tight during a full day though, so i sealed my electronics in FoodSaver bags. I figured out that you shouldn’t vacuum seal it though, the suction pulls the bag so tight that it’s always pushing the power button! Also in my experience touch screens work fine & you can still use the phone, but the camera gets really blurry!
That’s what I do with my cell phone, so I can use it as a radio (I Heart Radio) in the shower. Also in the pool, when I’m on my floating chair.
Ziploc worked for kindle fire HD in the bathtub and waiting for the bus in rainy, windy Seattle. Also when coughs and sneezes strike.
I did that when I would cut my boys hair–that way I wasn’t dealing with hair all over the iPad afterwards!
I use my Galaxy tablet in the tub with a gallon bag, all the time, and it works great.
And it should go without saying, but do not try to charge a Kindle/iPad while in the bath. As reported in our local newspaper, a man was just electrocuted when his iPad slipped in the water.
I will write this and Murphy will probably come visit… for years I have just read my Kindle in the tub without any sort of safety net. No plastic cover, just Kindle in my hands. That said, I try not to rest it on the side of the tub when putting it down, but rather on the toilet top or on the floor away from the tub so as to not grab for the razor or soap and accidentally knock it off the edge.
I do this with my cell phone/kindle at the pool/beach, That way they don’t get wet when grabbing things out of my bag
You just saved me $200. I was going to buy a new water resistant Nook. I like this idea better! I love my old one… so lightweight, can turn pages by swiping or using buttons…battery lasts forever. Thank you!
Oh, Dana, sometimes you just make my heart sing! And I don’t even have a Kindle…and am too old to comfortably read in the bath tub. But I love your spirit and your sense of humor. This is a wonderful example of the Container Concept, too, if you really think about it.