Fermometer busted

My roomie put a wet towel around my fermometer, now each of the bars has a white stripe on the bottom and it doesnt seem to be going away. Is it ruined?

If it's what I think it is, it's just yeast collecting in the grooves. Your batch isn't ruined, it's doing what it's suppose to do.

Yeast? But the fermometer is on the outside of the carboy.

I've heard if you get those guys wet enough that they will pull in the moisture. When that happens they usually end up ruined. Its never happened to me so I am only parroting what I've read.

I ruined all mine this summer when I had to use a swamp bucket. It was either that or know how exactly hot my beer was fermenting... the bucket won. They're only a couple bucks a piece so I figure I'll just need to buy new ones once it cools down.

I had the same thing happen to mine after I put my fermentor in a bath tub filled with water. The little color stripes turned gray and looked ruined. I transfered the beer a couple weeks ago and figured I'd just buy a new fermometer. Just took a look at it after seeing this thread. I still have a couple spots that look grey, but most of it is back to normal. It looks like it's reading the temperature correctly, so I guess it'll be ok.
Put your fermentor somewhere dry for a while and it may fix it. Worst case they don't cost much to replace.

Terje