What would you do if your H.T. drops into WATER?
The "First Aid" you administer at the time of the incident can save you money!
  If an antenna was on the radio. remove it and submerge it in water
until you are done working on the radio and the battery pack.
  If it fell into SALT WATER, the faster you disconnect the battery pack
and get the SALT WATER out, the better, and the quicker you rinse the
SALT WATER out of the radio and battery pack and replace it with fresh
water the less damage will result!
First the battery pack:
I don't know how well sealed the various brands of battery packs are, but
if the (very conductive) SALT WATER gets in, you need to get it out, by
replacing it with fresh water.  If you don't remove it the electroplating
that will take place in the pack before the battery is run down will make
a real mess of things.  If some SALT WATER gets in the pack, and won't shake
out and you can't fill it with fresh water (by submerging it in a bucket
or something, add a teaspoon of dish washing detergent, to improve the
"wetting action") you might need to take it apart or remove one cover,
and rinse it out under running tap water many times.
Now the Radio itself:
  The easiest way to clean out the H.T. itself is to remove the back and
rinse it out under a running stream of water.  Repeatedly drain and
re-fill the entire unit a lot of times.  Remember the H.T. has a little
battery in it, to maintain the channel memories when the battery pack is
removed.  The quicker you get the SALT WATER out the better the chances
are that the wires will be still be on the lithium cell or nicad pack,
but expect the memory to be wiped out.  Dry it as discussed below.
Remember to thoroughly clean the radio's back, it's belt clip, and the
antenna before you put them back on the radio.
  Removing the fresh water may be easer than replacing the (highly
conductive) SALT WATER with (slightly conductive) fresh water.   Simply
gently heat the pack to about 120øf with the opening (if any) (like the
charging connector on battery packs) down (on some toweling) and
periodically pick it up and shake it to "sling" the water out through the
cracks or the charging hole. 
You can use a hair drier set on its coolest warming setting or a
household vacuum cleaner (with the dust etc. blown out of the hose) set
on exhaust, the motor will eventually heat up and worm the air passing
through it. - no oven!
Once dried you can test it, first on receive, if the speaker is
distorted, plug in an external one or try an earpiece.
  Some brands of radios have plastic loudspeaker cones (usually mylar)
others are paper, both can be adversely affected by water immersion, and
both types can survive a "Hosing off."  The little speakers can be
removed from old (lightning damaged) cordless 'phones for nothing and are
found at surplus outlets (local and mail order) for 75› or a dollar, usually.
  Whether you take your radio straight to a local service center or try
to control the damage yourself, the "First Aid" you administer at the
time of the incident can save you money in the long run!

                            Ron ka4inm@qsl.net