Passport got washed in washing machine

ahfat41

I washed my son backpack although I checked the pockets there was a hidden pocket with his money belt and passport in it and it got washed. The fact that it was in a money belt the pages are only humid. His personal details are not damaged and his contact details written in biro are not smudged. I think the pages will dried ok but might not be flat but am concerned whether any chips have damaged by water and whether they could still be read at the barrier. He is due to travel in two weeks time so do not have time to get a replacement one if necessary. Has it happened to anybody? Thanks

phatbear

He should be fine in extremis it just means he may not be able to use e-gates if his chip isnt working and some further checks may be required, i would suggest ensuring he has his driving licence with him too.

jimi_man

Hi. It won’t be a problem. As stated he just might not be able to use the eGates that’s all, but he’ll still be able to get in and out of the country. And he won’t need a driving licence either, they are of limited use at the border. 

He’ll be fine. 

ahfat41

Thanks very reassuring response he did say to me the worse that could happen he will not be able to use E gate. Passport was only renewed last year.

jimi_man

Ah so it’s a blue one. Then that might actually work in the eGates. They are a little more resilient and the photo page is polycarbonate so hopefully won’t be damaged and the MRZ will be perfectly readable. Worth trying anyway. 

prowla

The e-gates have to be working anyway...

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/birmingham-airport-live-passport-e-27005428

eDicky

ahfat41 said:

Has it happened to anybody?

Yes, I got my passport wet about fifteen years ago, I forget how, and all the pages were warped when it dried out, but otherwise undamaged. It was never a problem during extensive travel.

TELLIT01

prowla said:

The e-gates have to be working anyway...

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/birmingham-airport-live-passport-e-27005428

There's a difference between E-gates working and them successfully reading a passport that's been in a washing machine.

tightauldgit

Not a passport but i washed (and dried) my wallet with my credit cards a while back and while the cards came out looking like quavers they all still worked when used so it seems that the chips are pretty resilient to water and heat damage. 

In any case if the passport doesnt work in the egates then they can go to the desk and have it checked manually provided the passport isnt too damaged or illegible.

ahfat41

Happy to report the passport does not seem to have suffered any damage. You would not know it has been through the washing machine but it is the new blue one. The photo page is polycarbonate and looks fine. Just hoping it will go through gate.

NoodleDoodleMan

When I saw the title I was half expecting one of those old school homework excuses - "the dog ate my jotter" type stories

Interesting to note that modern passports are resilient to mishaps.

Back in the day it would have emerged from the washing machine as paper mache.