The presence of water inside a membrane switch can affect its mechanical operation or electrical functionality, or both.

This practice establishes a procedure to verify the ability of a membrane switch to resist the entry of liquid into itself or a finished product, or both. It is useful in identifying design deficiencies.

Hosedown testing may be destructive, therefore any samples tested should be considered unfit for future use.

1.1 This practice establishes procedures for the hosedown of a membrane switch to verify adequate protection from ingress of water from a high-volume water spray.

1.2 This practice can also be used to verify the ability of a membrane switch or graphics layer to act as a liquid seal for a finished product.

1.3 Additional test methods or practices can be incorporated to investigate specific results or capabilities.

1.4 This practice is a modification of NEMA Publication Number 250-1991 Section 6.7 which is a test for hosedown of a finished product housing.