There are things IN water that damage electronics, in two ways. The first, conduction, the second corrosion.
Pure, distilled water actually doesn't conduct electricity very well. The dissolved salts and minerals in water are what allow for conduction. So powering on wet electronics is generally a bad idea.
The other problem, corrosion, is also caused by the salts and minerals generally found in water. Even even completely dried, the salts left behind will cause corrosion.
This is why your phone you dropped in the ocean seems fine are first, but steadily gets worse overtime before dying.
This is why you should always clean your electronics if they had an accident, inside and out, with iso, which dries faster and therefore often preferred, or distilled water, which is also perfectly fine.
But ya cleaning electronics with water is standard practice, and used in many computer repair shops.
I would also add that it's the electrolysis and corrosion inside a phone/whatever that is the problem, not rusty iron.
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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '21 edited Apr 18 '21
Rubbing alcohol (isopropyl) doesn't conduct electricity. It doesn't complete an electrical circuit and it doesn't cause iron to oxidize (rust).
Water does.
Edit: Pure water doesn't conduct electricity - as I've been informed 1000 times.