I accidentally dropped my 3DS and it got soaked in water. What's worse is that it was on, but didn't short out before I turned it off. I cleaned the outside as best as I could and took the game cartridge and SD card out, so the only thing I have to worry about is water inside the system. I turned it back on a bit later after I cleaned the outside and definitely could tell that there was water inside it. The touch screen and most of the buttons didn't respond so I had to force shut it that time.
It's been a few hours after I dropped it and let it dry hopefully. I checked the game and SD card slots to see if the inside of them were still wet, but saw that they were dry. There was still some water in between the circle pad, so I might have to wait for a little longer. I can't tell if anything else inside is still wet, so turning it on might possibly further the damage if it's not already done for sure. The 3D depth slider now is harder to move since the water washed away the oil that made it slide easily. I don't know if the touch screen still works or not which could probably make everything that much harder.
Is there anything that can help it or is water damage permanent? If it dries completely, would it be safe to turn it back on and get it to run safely and normally? The game cartridge and SD card is probably fine, so I don't need to worry about those. I'm close to broke and Nintendo might not be able to help since this was caused by water damage, so I'm not gonna be able to play for a long time if this gets done for. Is there anything I could do?
It's been a few more hours later so I checked it again. I can still power it on and the buttons still work. Sadly the one thing I didn't want to have trouble with is the only trouble I'm having: the touch screen. First, it tried to display the screen, but it had lower brightness and higher contrast. After a few seconds, it probably gave up and went black, but the backlight was still on and it can still respond to touches. I can pretty much do everything but know what's on the bottom screen.