An iPhone 5 is displayed in an Apple store in central Sydney shortly after going on sale to the public. Reuters/Tim Wimborne
According to a SquareTrade Device Danger Zone survey published Tuesday, 69 percent of US iPhone accidents are caused by their owners. This includes 5 percent of owners who have put their device in the washing machine, 9 percent who have dropped an iPhone down the toilet and 6 percent who claim to have driven away in their car forgetting that their phone was still sitting on the roof.
Around the home, 21 percent of accidents happened in the kitchen, closely followed by the living room with 18 percent, while the bedroom was relatively safe, being the scene for only 8 percent of accidents.
Of liquids accidentally spilled onto iPhones water was top with 43 percent followed by soda (19 percent), beer (12 percent) and tea and coffee (also 12 percent).
In September, SquareTrade also published figures that show that owners are 10 times more likely to break an iPhone than lose it or have it stolen and suggested Americans have spent $5.9 billion repairing damaged iPhones since 2007.
The report also claimed that 30 percent of owners had experienced accidental damage over the past 12 months and that 17 percent of owners had already damaged an iPhone more than once. Not surprisingly, 11 percent of respondents admitted taping up their iPhone and 11 percent continued to use their phone despite a cracked screen.