What to do if you spill liquid on your laptop

Losing a laptop to a spilt glass of wine can be a very frustrating experience, particularly when said wine is of the cheap Rosé variant, as was the embarrasing case with this writer's late laptop. Well, one group of kindly DIY technology authors have assigned their noggins to the problem, and have created a post with an accompanying video which shows exactly what to do if you accidentally spill some red on your keyboard. Apparently, the best policy is to act fast -- just like the pretty, pretty, pretty good salt and club soda solution for carpet and upholstery spills -- by pouring off the excess liquid onto a towel, opening up the laptop, washing it under tap water, rinsing it under distilled water, and then leaving it out to dry. A quick reassemble later and the laptop should be back in working condition: but for how long? Also, if you do watch the video after the break, bear in mind that the music track is a loud variant of "Kung Fu Fighting," which seems to have been chosen purely for the line "and they did it with expert timing." Sigh.

[mark burban @ Mar 20th 2007 9:30PM]

I recently spilt beer on my macbook pro.. managed not to break it by following similiar advice, except for getting beer that was INSIDE the LCD screen. See the damageHere
Note: amazing this stain has now faded away about 90%.. :)

[Veritas II @ Mar 20th 2007 9:42PM]

The Link Monster ate your link.

[mark burban @ Mar 20th 2007 9:48PM]

ohh it did too.. let's try again..

http://giveaphuk.wordpress.com/2007/03/10/beer-computers-never-mix/

[RijilV @ Mar 20th 2007 9:47PM]

I dunno, my notebook has drainage holes in case this happens....mmmmm thinkpad...

[Paris K @ Mar 20th 2007 9:50PM]

This advice applies to all electronics. Open, rinse with water and let it dry fast by letting it open. If you can't unscrew it then brake it open. Unless it dries fast it probably won't work again.

[James Scott @ Mar 20th 2007 9:54PM]

I've done this before.

I was visiting my parents to house sit the day before they left to take my sister to a far away land for premed.

I spilled just about an entire beer on it and it sat for a minute before I noticed.

I tore it down and rinsed it with an alcohol based VCR head cleaner. I used a hot air blower to speed up the evaporation of the left over solution that would be under the surface mount stuff.

Just used tap water on the keyboard. Rinsed it off and used a ceramic heater to dry it off over an hour or two.

5 years home electronics repair paid off! Laptop was alive and kicking.

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Mar 20th 2007 10:03PM]

If you had bought an Itronix brand laptop to begin with this would not have been a problem. They are the same company that makes the Hummer line of notebooks. (itronix.com)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTfrtZkHa50
http://www.hummerlaptops.com/

There's another video out there of some one taking a shower with their Itronix laptop (I cant find). An Airforce biggie also said his kids like to take his Itronix to the pool and watch dvd's under water.

http://www.washingtontechnology.com/print/18_23/22917-1.html

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Mar 20th 2007 11:06PM]

http://www.gd-computing.com/upload/videos/Storm-Warning_GoBook-XR-1_2.wmv

[Joe Smith @ Mar 20th 2007 10:21PM]

why is it that i read somewhere that if your cellphone gets water spilled on it, you should dip it in a bucket of alcohol? according to my source, the alcohol is hydrophilic and will suck out the water, and it will dry much faster than the water.

[Joe @ Mar 20th 2007 10:31PM]

Happened to me with a rum & Coke but outcome was not good. Laptop immediately had that burned electronics smell. Once open, sooty black traces could be seen all over the systemboard. At least the HDD was OK and I was able to recover all my data. Good excuse to get a new lappy!

[Johnny @ Mar 20th 2007 10:59PM]

OK so did you refill said wine? And how did you keep track of all the little screws?

Where did I leave my Bordeaux

[mark burban @ Mar 21st 2007 3:02AM]

best way to keep track of little screws is to use a pillbox.. i have one, which has about 30 compartments (one for every day of the weeks) so i put them in there, a section at a time.

[Chris @ Mar 20th 2007 11:08PM]

the distilled water step is important too, especially if you have "hard water" where you live. the minerals in the tap water will stay on the board and corrode it over time.

wusses though, did it with a laptop with a broken lcd.

[bob @ Mar 20th 2007 11:17PM]

har har har, curb your enthusiasm

[rod @ Mar 20th 2007 11:48PM]

Buy a ThinkPad.
Enough said.

[John Doe @ Mar 21st 2007 12:07AM]

Rod you are a tard. The mobo in a Thinkpad is just as susceptible to liquids as any other mobo on the damn market. I own a T40 and an X31. I also do warrantee repair work on Thinkpads off and on. I can tell you right now there is no magic with their components. The ONLY thing ThinkPads have going for this is their internal frame, which makes then fairly fall resistant. But for liquids? They are fucking full of electronics.
And NO laptop, other then ruggedized laptops designed for wet environments, is going to fair any better then any other laptop out there.

[Tom @ Mar 20th 2007 11:57PM]

nah guys, the most important thing to do is to remove all sources of power from it: its when it shorts out that it's damaged.

Trust me, i've spilled shit all over my remotes, all you do is pop the batteries out real quick and wait for it to dry completely, pop the batteries back in, and you have a functioning yet sticky remote. The same probably applies for laptops, but popping them open real quick to remove all those little batteries is probably easier said than done.

[Khaytsus @ Mar 21st 2007 11:49AM]

Why is this ranked up? This is the dumbest comment ever. Sticky remotes are okay, and laptops have "lots of little batteries."

Reboot your brain.

[John Doe @ Mar 21st 2007 12:02AM]

Ran across a Dell warrantee job where I was there to replace the video card. this was last fall. It was pretty damn obvious someone spilled something inside the laptop. *sniff...sniff* Definitely a wine of some sort. Upon replacing the video card the system still was twitchy as hell. I took apart the system down to the motherboard. The only word that came to mind at the time was DAAAAAAMN. You are computing with that thing? You're braver then I thought. The entire bottom half of the mobo was a complete and total mess. Unfortunately the guy didn't have extended care that covers bonehead mistakes and he would have to pay out of pocket for that repair. Never did find out if he decided to do it. His wife was at home at the time and we couldn't get a hold of him.

[Ben @ Mar 21st 2007 12:35AM]

First and best thing to do is immediately power down to avoid a short out in the mobo. then drain it and open it up to commence the cleaning. The problem i've noticed is keyboard keys getting stuck if it was a sticky liquid...then you've got a pain on your hands trying to clean out each keypad.

[Mac Diva @ Mar 21st 2007 1:12AM]

The simple wipe off did not work with flavored water spilled on the keyboard of PowerBook G4. The stuff was too sticky, ended up with literally sticky keys. Ended up replacing the keyboard. On the bright side, there is a waterproof barrier between Mac keyboards and other components, so nothing else was harmed.

[Michael Geary @ Mar 21st 2007 2:06AM]

John Doe, check your information before you call people names.

The ThinkPad T60 *is* different. It has water channels in the keyboard that lead to drain holes in the bottom of the case.

Not the same as your T40 and X31, and not the same as most other notebooks.

[Manuel @ Mar 21st 2007 2:49AM]

I think disconnect/remove batteries is the first thing you must do isn't that right?

[DS @ Mar 21st 2007 3:11AM]

I'm not absolutely sure, but I think you can still do electrical damage to the laptop even if you pop out those batteries because of the multitude of capacitors on all the devices and the motherboard... of course, these will discharge quickly, mostly because they are so small. Anywho, the intuitive thing to do seems to be to tip that sucker over to drain the juices, hopefully WHILE you are pulling that battery out/off. Correct me if i'm wrong...

[Gary @ Mar 21st 2007 3:25AM]

I saw this and went straight out to buy a keyboard protector for my new XPS M1210.

[Adam B. @ Mar 21st 2007 4:28AM]

I dropped my cell phone in the toilet (before I used the toilet luckily). I quickly powered it off, pulled out the battery, dried it and found that a compressed air can helped to get out a lot of the water that got inside the phone, and the rest must've dried while I dried off the battery, as the phone only acted weird when I first powered it up, but has been fine since.

[Ken Wind @ Mar 21st 2007 7:10AM]

Besides the Thinkpad there are other notebook manufacturers with "spill-proof" keyboards such as Asus (V series). It is a feature most commonly found in business class notebooks.

[Ford Mustang @ Mar 21st 2007 7:18AM]

Drink it off.

[Tony C @ Mar 21st 2007 7:18AM]

And whatever you do, use some common sense and DO NOT attempt to use a blow dryer (maybe if it has a "no heat" setting) to speed up the process of drying off the notebook.

I remember one particular idiot at an old job that almost completely melted his keyboard, just about every keycap turning into a tiny little curled potato chip. News flash! Plastic melts when exposed to extreme heat! =) LOL

[Joe Smetona @ Mar 21st 2007 8:04AM]

I have some suggestions on what I would do, but like the other responders, nothing is guaranteed 100%. You can try these after the fact, but the suggestions may also help someone with future spills. Please read through completely before beginning.

First, immediately unplug the AC adapter and immediately remove the battery.

Then remove all plug in components such as the hard drive, CD/DVD drive, Floppy Drive, etc.

Try and drain the liquid by gently turning the laptop on the closest side to the spill. I would avoid turning it completely upside down as this could increase the exposure to the liquid.

Then open the case (note: screws are sometimes hidden under rubber bumpers on the display frame and rubber foot pads on the bottom of the case). Also, store the screws and parts you remove in covered containers to avoid losing them.

Get a large (11 0z.) can of CRC QD Electronic Cleaner #05102 (usually available at major auto parts stores such as AutoZone, Advance, Pep Boys, Napa, etc.) see

http://www.crcindustries.com/auto/content/prod_detail_print.aspx?PN=05102

for photo and information.

** IMPORTANT: THIS CLEANER IS FLAMMABLE AND SHOULD ALWAYS BE USED OUTDOORS WITH GOOD VENTILATION...AND NEVER INDOORS. READ ALL LABEL CAUTIONS AND WARNINGS **

Insert the spray tube into the nozzle and wash down the affected areas of the disassembled laptop thoroughly. You may want to repeat the washing several times and let it dry in between. Then let it dry completely for several hours. Note you may have to spray switches and connectors to completely remove the contamination. All residue should be completely removed after spraying.

In summary:
Don't substitute the cleaning spray. Other cleaning sprays may contain chlorinated solvents and cause damage to the plastic parts. Try to just spray the areas that are affected. Avoid spraying mechanical assemblies (like DVD CD and Floppy Drive mechanisms) with this cleaner, it will dissolve and remove the oil and grease required for their lubrication.

Good Luck,
Joe

[Rick Lyon @ Mar 21st 2007 9:45AM]

Wow, PCs take forever to boot up.

[Tom @ Mar 21st 2007 3:30PM]

Explain to me where I went wrong.
How are electronics damaged? Not because of the liquid getting it messy, but because of the current arcing across the motherboard. Remove the source of the current, and you remove the arcing, preventing the damage. Without power, most liquids will do absolutely nothing to silicon boards.

You can always clean it up after, but the most important thing is to stop the arcing.

[Dave Nicholson @ Mar 21st 2007 12:43PM]

Yep - been there done that - grande latte all over my Powerbook a couple of years ago. Whipped out the power cord and battery, turned it upside down to drain and then had to spend 2 hours going all over town to get the wretched hex screwdriver for the hex screws that Apple in their wisdom decided to use to bolt the thing together.

I was sure it was going to be toast by the time I got it opened up and dried out, but it powered up first time, and has been working great for the last 2 years.

It did smell of coffee every time it warmed up for several months afterwards though...

[rod @ Mar 21st 2007 1:38PM]

Well John Doe,
Looks like someone replied to your comment already.
Just stay anonymous so as to save the embarrassment and humiliation. And what is a "tard?" Is that like a word you folks use in the ghetto?

[Fezzasus @ Mar 21st 2007 3:06PM]

I threw up on my iBook. It was mostly liquid and followed a huge night. I fell asleep and left it, in the morning I turned it on to see a black screen and hear cracking noises. A few restarts and most of the vomit was (i assume) burnt off and the screen came on.

[Dan Armstrong @ Mar 21st 2007 3:31PM]

My neighbour spilted a full glass of red wine on my 3 day old MacBook Pro. ALLL OVER it. Screen, keyboard, both speakers. I quickly turned it upside down, pulled the battery out. Drained it. Used electronics cleaner and alcohol on it. Removed all the keys, cleaned them. It worked fine. Fortuantly I had a dead pixel and Apple exchange that unit the next week. Great sucess! I wouldnt want a whined spilled $3000 notebook. But i was scared.

[ChunkAhoy @ Mar 21st 2007 5:03PM]

What kind of wine was this ?

[Chad LaFarge @ Mar 21st 2007 6:16PM]

Wash with Water first to wash away the bad stuff (water is cheap). Then rinse with Isopropyl Alcohol. The (more expensive) alcohol displaces the water, flushing it off the item being cleaned, then evaporates very quickly (compared to water) and completely.

[Juaquin @ Mar 22nd 2007 12:02AM]

The most important thing is to cut all power (and turn it off in the process). DO NOT do a nice shut down, save your work, etc - a hard shut down and a possibly corrupted drive is better than no computer at all. What causes damage is short circuits, so if there's no electricity to short, you're safe. That said, there ARE some capacitors and such, so your next action is to quickly dry it off, pull it apart, remove any batteries you can get to and let capacitors drain themselves for a few minutes, rinse everything, and let dry. With any luck nothing was seriously harmed before power was cut, and you should be good to go.

[shredthegnar @ Mar 22nd 2007 3:53AM]

My room mate recently bought a mackbook pro, It's his pride and joy. (a very anal person when sober) He got wasted and "crazy karl" came out. After running in traffic and avoiding those who were looking out for him, I finally left him in a drunken slouch seemingly passed out on the couch. The next morning he was in his bed but his brand new week old mackbook pro was the focal point of some foul vomit, along with the couch. It works still, but it got in the ports and everything. Just remember, before you get wasted, put your computer somewhere safe. True story, no lie!

[Fred @ Mar 22nd 2007 1:03PM]

When my 4 yr old spilled my 44oz Mt. Dew into my VAIO, I drained it ASAP, removed the battery, then waited fir it to dry out to no avail.

I threw it in a storage shed hoping to salvage some parts later. During the summer the unit had completely dried out. To my surprise it fired up and runs fine.

Some of the keys still make a 'crunch' sound, but that beats buying a new laptop

[James @ Mar 22nd 2007 1:32PM]

Joe's (very verbose) post should get a star, if they do that here. Excellent advice.

I have a Dell laptop that my (1-yr-old) daughter spilled like 3 drops of water out of a sippy cup onto. I didn't think much of it since it was closed at a the time, but the spill was near the hinges. I meant to pull the plug, but got distracted for a few minutes by my dogs, and by the time I got back to it, the power was out. For the next few months, it wouldn't even turn on. I knew it shouldn't be hard to clean it back up, but I didn't have time to get to it. Last week, I took *everything* apart (even pulled the motherboard out of the housing), and lo and behold, there's a tiny bit of white mineral deposit on the edge of the board, right where the water spilled. Some *very* careful toothbrush work, and she started up like nothing had even happened.

Only thing I could add is this: go to your manufacturer's support web site and see if they have any sort of maintenance instructions. For all their problems, Dell has an excellent information repository, if you can find it. My Inspiron 8200 had very detailed instructions for removing *everything*, without which I think I would have had trouble "drilling down" far enough to clean it thoroughly.

[Gary @ Mar 24th 2007 11:57AM]

裝的回去才有鬼勒。這是一大挑戰，他一定是做過筆電的人。

[unsmileyface @ Mar 30th 2007 7:21PM]

ok i fucked up,i usually run a cooling system for my 25% overclocked amd,i have 2 gig of "superam" so its usually ok,well one night my cooling systewm breaks down and its kept in a draw so i had totake it out and keep it on the floor with the top open untill i can fix the water cooling system,anyway im running it as usual speaking to my gf on webcam and hosting on the 2 hi spec games on the on my toolbar below and suddenly ......bang! i spill a quarter of white lightening (shitty cider) and now mypc wont work,i have dissembled it and cleaned the part of my motherboard where it spilt and the rest and it looks pretty good to me shiny and all ,no fuses blown but it still wont turn on,i managed to get the ffans working for a while and the computer powered up but nothing on the screen(no signal,check signal cable etc)but then i cleaned it with alcohol and it did nothnig and then i sprayed WD40 on it anndf then it wouldnt even turn on,its in about 35 different parts atm and my 3 graphics cards are very sad,if anybody ccould help(opr come and fix this shit)it would be greatly appriciated


//BeN

[Karely @ Apr 16th 2007 6:36PM]

I spilt lemonade on my laptop last night, i dried the lemonade really fast and then put it upside down and blowdried it..But it won't turn on now. Help pleasee

[Joe Smetona @ Apr 24th 2007 8:51PM]

See "Joe Smetona" general reply (March 21) on page 2 of this blog.

Lemonade is acidic and will conduct electricity.. Try to remove all traces of the lemonade before powering the unit up to prevent shorting sensitive components.

[Tony @ Apr 23rd 2007 7:36PM]

I need help. My kid spilled his milk in my laptop. It was one of those 399 Toshiba laptops from Circuit City's Black Friday sale in 05. I let everything sit, dried it out but now when I reboot, the monitor is very, very dim. You can barely see the windows desktop, but everything is clear. Anyone have a suggestion? Thanks

[Joe Smetona @ Apr 24th 2007 8:51PM]

See "Joe Smetona" general reply (March 21) on page 2 of this blog.

Try to remove all traces of the milk residue before powering the unit up to prevent shorting sensitive components. The inverter circuitry used to create the high voltage for the fluorescent bulb appears to be compromised by the contaminants. Try using the spray mentioned in my previous reply to completely clean the milk residue.

[rob @ Apr 25th 2007 12:56PM]

i spilled gizz on mine

[nacitko @ Jun 4th 2007 1:39AM]

Hi, I spilt wine over my notebook = asus m6n. did some tilting, drying but forgot to remove the batery for some 15 minutes.

The second they, I disassembled it and dry cleaned the parts.
First, it would not power on. but after several tries it switched on.
I have 2 problems:
1 - notebook will not shut down, but after windows SHUT DOWN the machine restarts
2 - when I do hard shut down, computer shuts down but system fun comes on and won't stop. I have to uplug notebook and remove batery.

Anybody has any suggestion where the bits of wine could be left and how to get rid of it?

thanx a lot
george