"Alarms only" on BLU phone and issue with phone returning to Silent Mode

I found this problem ("alarms only" and returning to silent mode) happened after I got my phone slightly wet near a sandy lake. I suspected that after the phone dried, small grains of salt were inhibiting the volume button and power button. I took a cotton swab with a small amount of alcohol (70% or more) and dabbed the buttons letting a small amount of liquid go down into the crevice around the buttons. I then let the phone air-dry. This solved the issue rather quickly and returned full function to the phone.