We all like to enjoy our favorite beverage while we are working on the computer, but sometimes we get a little clumsy and spill. Hopefully it was not too close to the computer.If you spill on your Home PCs keyboard or mouse it is easy to replace and not very expensive if it goes bad.
But what if that spill is on a laptop? Laptops are unique because everything is build into that little box. The Screen, Keyboard, Memory and CPU can all be damaged by spilling liquid. The cost to replace it is pretty substantial.
I have some tips for you if this happens to your laptop.
How to Dry it off
Before we start the biggest tip I can give you is, don't let it sit for days, the longer it sits, the longer the corrosion can set in and really cause permanent damage.
Step 1
Immediately turn off the computer and disconnect the power source. Remove all of the easily removable parts that you can such as the power cord, battery, USB drives, etc.
Step 2
Get that thing dried off as quickly and the best you can. Lay down a towel and turn the laptop upside down and try to drain any extra liquid. Turn it from end to end trying to drain out any other big amounts of liquid.
Use a soft cloth such as a t-shirt, and mop up any extra liquid. Dry all of the now open compartments. The faster you can do this, the better.
Dry out the Battery Compartment and the battery connectors.
Step 3
Remove the CD Drive. There is usually a screw on the bottom of the laptop, near the rear of the CD drive. Remove that screw, pop open your CD drive with the end of a paper clip, carefully pull out the CD drive. Dry off the open drive, and the bay where it came from.
Step 4
Open the ram compartment on the bottom of the computer. It usually has two screws and is a small little compartment lid. Dry off that area. Be careful, the RAM is static sensitive. If there is liquid, carefully remove the Memory from the slots and dry off with your dry soft cotton cloth.
Step 5
Open the Hard drive door, usually on the bottom, front or side of the laptop. Usually has a drum looking icon. Unscrew the two screws, and remove the hard drive from the laptop. Be careful not to bang the hard drive around, it is sensitive. Dry off any contacts and the open bay where the hard drive sits.
Optional Keyboard Removal:
The damage is usually to the keyboard, and if it is a bad spill it can get into the main electronics of the laptop and it probably will not turn on at all, or the lights may go on but it will not boot.
Sometimes removing the keyboard, and drying under it really helps to, because under the keyboard is the CPU, RAM and other stuff that does not like liquid! Removing the keyboard is a bit more advanced and should only be done if you feel comfortable doing so.
To remove the keyboard, you need to remove the top plate that usually has the power button. It is that strip up above the keyboard, near the screen. On the bottom, there are usually 2 - 4 retainer screws holding it on. They might be inside the batter compartment. Once those are unscrewed, this is the tricky part.
Turn the laptop over, carefully, slowly pry up the power strip just below the LCD screen. There is usually a small indent on the left or right of the strip, or sometimes it is right above the keys, and you carefully (did I mention be careful) to gently pop up the strip. Be careful, there might be some cables connected to it.
There should be a few screws holding the keyboard down. Unscrew those at the top of the keyboard. If the keyboard does not come up easily, then you might have a screw or two at the bottom of the laptop that holds the center of the keyboard down.
Once the keyboard is free, there is a cable connector. It is a little tricky to undo, but usually you flip up the little connector, and it releases the ribbon cable. Now dry it all off, as best as you can. Reverse the process to reassemble.
Final Steps:
Use a blow dryer on the lowest setting or no heat at all, and dry off the computer as best you can. After all of this, leave all of the parts off, and let the computer sit in a nice dry room temperature for at least 24-48 hours before trying to turn it back on. The longer the better, I have even heard a week, but I think that might be a bit much.
Turning it back on too fast after this will cause more problems, it needs to dry thoroughly and there are a lots of cracks and crevices for liquid to hide.
Other Tips:
Water is not as bad all by itself. Liquid such as alcohol, juice or caffeine will tend to damage things worse. When cleaning up substances other than water, rubbing alcohol works pretty well to clean up the gook and gunk that make be on the computer, and even work if the connectors are starting to corrode a little.
The key to reviving a drown computer is to get it dried off as FAST as possible, and that includes the insides. Laptops are very difficult to disassemble and reassemble. If these basic tips do not work, I highly recommend taking this to a professional and get it cleaned up.
Remember, don't let it sit for days, the longer it sits, the longer the corrosion can set in and really cause permanent damage.
I have had good luck reviving computers from spills. Not all can be saved, but it is worth the effort.
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