What Can I do If I Spilled Water On My Laptop?

So you just spilled some water on your new laptop. Before we go any further, you need to do a few things right now.

If your laptop is still on, turn it off, and unplug it. If your computer has a removable battery, take it out. Any removable components should be separated from the body of the computer. Make sure you do this immediately and quickly because time is of the essence.

Once you’ve done that, come back here and we can continue…

For being one of our most prized and important possessions, our laptops are in constant peril. It seems we always have a glass of water or a cup of tea looming dangerously over our keyboards. So if you’ve spilled onto your laptop, and watched in panic as it slowly sunk into your keyboard, fret not, we’re here to help.

What You Need To Do Now

 

Step 1: Power Down – If you haven’t already, turn your computer off and unplug it. If you have a removable battery, take it out. This will help limit any further damage. 

Step 2: Remove Components – Remove and disconnect any extra components from the body of the computer. That means unplugging an external mouse or keyboard, USB sticks, or extra SD cards. 

Step 3: Drain Excess Liquid – Turn your computer upside down, and let any excess water drain out. Open it as wide as it will go (without breaking it), and prop-up the laptop upside down on top of a towel.

Step 4: Dry Off – After you’ve drained off the excess liquid, take a towel and dry off the outside of your computer, also dry off the components you removed. If you want to be really thorough, and are concerned about liquid in the inner components you may want to remove those as well. Take a screwdriver and remove any covers to inspect the inner components, but be mindful of voiding any warranty you might have. 

Step 5: Air Dry – After ensuring that you’ve removed as much of the liquid as possible from all components, set them out to dry. Leave all components separated and the body of the computer out in a dry place for two or three days to fully dry. Using a fan will expedite this process. 

Step 6: Cross Your Fingers – Once you’ve given everything time to dry out, it’s time to reassemble, put the battery back in, power on, and cross your fingers. Ideally, it turns on and everything works as it should. If it doesn’t work, take it to a repair center as soon as possible.

Step 7: Swing By Comp-Pros – If you did spill water on your laptop, the best solution is to bring it into a professional repair center. There is a chance you’ve put your computer at risk for corrosion. Corrosion in a laptop is the buildup of rust on the electronics reacting with water in the air. If you’re concerned about corrosion, our experts will open your device to thoroughly inspect your computer for signs of corrosion and professionally apply a solution designed to remove any corrosive buildup. To prevent corrosion ensure your electronics are stored in a cool and dry environment, limiting moisture exposure. 

There is a possibility that you cannot take apart your computer, especially if you have something like a Macbook Pro. If that’s the case time remains of the essence. You should still turn the computer upside down to drain out any excess liquid. However, after you do that, you should bring it to a repair shop as soon as possible.

What Not To Do

You’ve probably heard about the rice remedy for water damaged electronics. However, for a laptop with liquid damage, this isn’t a viable option, and can actually do more harm than good.

Rice will only absorb water, and won’t be useful if you’ve spilled anything else. Additionally, rice doesn’t absorb enough water to dry the inner components of your computer. Finally, rice contains tiny particles that can get inside your machine, and actually do more damage to your computer.

Don’t blowdry your components either. I know we said time is of the essence, and something like a blow dryer seems like a logical solution. Don’t do it! A blow dryer can cause static damage to the CPU or motherboard.

Our entire livelihoods can be dependent on our laptop. They’re expensive, fragile, and we use them everyday. Hopefully, you manage to keep liquid out of your computer. However, if you did spill something make sure to follow the instructions in this blog post to avoid unsalvageable damage to your laptop. If you’re in the LA area, and you followed all of these steps, and you find that your computer still isn’t working, bring it by Comp-Pros. We will inspect your laptop and meticulously remove any signs of corrosion or water damage. We’re the computer experts and pride ourselves on our computer repair skills, Mac or PC, we do it all.