An IP rating is an international standardised test to describe how dust and waterproof a piece of equipment is.

The numbers indicate the dust ingress/resistance and the second number refers to its water-resistance / repellant. The number scale from 1 to 8, 8 being of the highest protection and 1 the lowest.

Some examples:

Commercial TV IP20

Notebook IP21

Submersible in water items end with a 7 or 8. Splash proof ends with a 5. Water tends to do more damage to electronics than dust (in small amounts) which is why we have focused on the last number but dust can also short out electrical equipment so ensure items remain clean and free of dust.

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