I just don't buy that. All year round, when I water my phals, I wash the leaves down when I water, and I deliberately fill the crowns. What I notice is that none of my phals are capable of holding water in the crowns..

The only phals I lost to crown rot last winter were the ones in the garage where they got a bit too cold. Interestingly these were watered very careful so that the crowns DIDN'T get wet, which I found quite amusing.

I always water them with water that has been standing there so it is at the same temp, I never water with cold water, and I only water in the morning.

I can see that using cold water or wetting them in the evening when they are cooling might trigger a problem if the plant was already over stressed.

However, my opinion is that if getting the crown wet finishes your plant, then it was already in a bad state, and that was the final tinny shove that took it oeer the edge.
In the wild these plants get wetted all over by morning mists. I can't see getting the crown wet as a major risk.

But in nature, Phals typically grow epiphytically, with the crowns pointing down or sideways. Then, water never collects in the crowns. Also, in the tropics, the air is warm, and the rain is warm too. Our practice of potting them with crowns pointed upward is aesthetic, but not natural. Often the leaves grow in a way that permits water to drain. But sometimes it doesn't. If the water is warm, you can get away with it sitting there, but it's easy to avoid (especially if one has only a few plants) and then there is not the risk.