So, my son apparently put the garden hose in the external dryer vent. . . We found out a few hours later when we saw water on the floor.

I would imagine that only a few gallons of water were sprayed in and the dryer was NOT running during this time; however, clearly, we are worried that 1. our dryer will not work when we try it; 2. that someone will be electrocuted in the process of starting the dryer.

I unplugged the dryer, removed the vent tub, and placed the dryer on its back over night to drain it. Currently, I have a fan blowing in the back of the dryer (I have not opened the dryer).

Apart from getting a mega dryer for my dryer, what are my options?

Any help is appreciated.

Todd

Yes open it up so you can see what got wet.
Check inside the heater coil case for water, etc.

Spin the idler wheel, drum support wheels and motor armature.
If they do not turn easily use a drop of oil.
Do not go crazy with the oil as it will attract/hold lint.

Use a hair dryer on the motor especially the built in switches.
Heat them up and then let them cool down.
Do this several times.
With luck you will be able to evaporate out any water that got in there.

Wearing rubber boots should insulate you, just do not touch anything else when starting the unit up.
Odds are high that the unit is not an electrical hazard as long as it is properly wired. If there was a circuit path from power to the machines case/frame it should have blown the breaker as the current would go through your ground connection.

You can check this by measuring the voltage from a bare metal spot on the frame to the water pipes (if they are copper), should be 0 AC volts.