How To Fix If You Spilled Water On Your Laptop? Tips To Recover!
Topic: How To Fix If You Spilled Water On Your Laptop?
How To Fix If You Spilled Water On Your Laptop? Tips To Recover!
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Have you spilled water on your laptop, soda, or coffee: don’t panic, do this
You watch in horror as coffee spills all over your laptop. Once you get over the initial shock, you try to turn it back on. You didn’t realize the damage that the water spilled on the laptop had already done. AND GUESS WHAT? The dreaded error message stares you in the face.
How to fix it if you spilled water on the laptop?
In case you start to think that this is the end of the world, stop right there. In the words of Joe Silverman, owner of New York Computer Help, “First of all, don’t panic.”
Why do I say this?
Because I have been there. And trust me when I say, It’s not the end of your laptop yet. If you know what to do and act quickly, spilling a drink on your laptop doesn’t have to be a ticket to replacement.
The Good News is that if you have spilled a small amount of liquid on your laptop, there is still hope.
With that said, let me get one thing out there. If you drop your laptop into a pool or say a tub full of water, DON’T HOPE. In other words, your laptop is toast.
Now let’s take a deep breath and move on to Storing Your Laptop. Time is of the essence. And frankly, you have nothing to lose.
Did you know that Sewelltech research states that around 60% of all computer-related accidents result from spills, and 40% are coffee spills?
Keep calm and read this detailed step-by-step guide on how to save your laptop from accidental WATER, COFFEE, or SODA spills.
This article WILL HELP save your laptop from eternal damnation.
Safety first – turn it off right now
It’s a no-brainer.
Wet and Electronics don’t mix. If this happens, the liquid will destroy the internal hardware and cause a serious electrical shock.
Now let’s hope you’re not reading all of this on the wet laptop. It will be a bad idea.
I can’t stress this enough. First of all, make sure your hands are completely dry before putting your laptop away.
Here’s what to do: Unplug the power cord. Then press and hold the power button for a couple of seconds until it turns off.
Do this now, if you don’t want to fry the internals. Don’t bother saving your work, close it as soon as possible. Otherwise, it’s GAME OVER.
Okay, are you done with that?
You are now safe from shock. Finally, go ahead and remove any external devices that are connected to USB drives, mice, cables, etc. Also, open and remove anything that can be easily removed: this includes the battery, RAM, hard drive, or SSD.
Once you’ve nailed the first step – the laptop is powered off and the area is secure – you can dig a little deeper.
Turn Your Laptop Upside Down Let It Drain
This is important: Use a dry cloth and blot any excess water from the surface of the laptop: the keyboard, screen, vents, or ports.
A word of caution: use something soft and delicate, preferably a microfiber cloth, to soak up any excess water. Good old paper towels will work too.
DO NOT rub it aggressively or in circles. Now we don’t want to scratch the laptop, right? Try pressing the cloth lightly in a repetitive motion without rubbing.
Now here’s the next step: Lay a clean towel on a flat surface and place the laptop upside down in tent mode. Ideally, you should let the laptop sit for 24 to 48 hours.
In general, the longer you leave your laptop sitting around, the better.
Consider using compressed air to dry your laptop
But it doesn’t stop there.
This is the part where a quick spray with a can of compressed air will do wonders to help dry out the laptop.
Alternatively, you can also use the OLD OLD HAIRDRYER. However, make sure the dryer is on its coldest setting and use it at least 20cm above the laptop.
What if you spill something much more troublesome than water on your laptop, say coffee or soda?
The type of spill matters: water, coffee, or soft drinks
Now let’s say you’ve spilled the least corrosive liquid of all, also known as water, on your laptop.
The GOOD NEWS is that this doesn’t have to be a big deal. You see: the water can naturally evaporate without leaving a visible sticky residue.
However, the question is: What should you do if you spill a large CARAMEL FRAPPUCCINO (with extra whipped cream and syrup) on your beloved laptop?
Now the problem with these sugary drinks is that they often leave behind a residue when they dry. The larger the residual, the greater the risk.
Now I am not a chemistry expert to tell you what substance acts how in electronics. But in my experience, you don’t want to just let the liquid dry and think it will work.
Best Case Scenario;
Your keys will be sticky. Now you can easily correct this with a damp cloth or soft toothbrush.
If The Damp Cloth doesn’t get the job done, you can grab your favorite cleaning solution.
PLEASE NOTE: Do not use ammonia or alcohol-based cleaning solutions.
For those who like to DIY, use a cleaning solution that is half household white vinegar and half distilled water.
For a commercial cleaning solution, this is a great green option.
Worst of the case;
The internal components of your laptop can overheat and fail. Now is the time to SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP.
Did you know that it’s much easier and cheaper to just get a keyboard replacement? It is a job of five minutes maximum and you can do it yourself.
You will be glad to know that you can easily find the repair manual by searching for the make and model online. Fortunately, LaptopKeyboard.com covers most models.
Many Youtube videos will guide you through the whole process.
Your laptop is dry, now what?
Now that your laptop is clean and dry, you can do one of two things;
You can turn ON YOUR LAPTOP and see what happens OR you can PLAY SAFE and take it to an authorized repair shop for a thorough inspection.
Now I understand. You’ll probably want to give just by turning it on instead of spending your money.
But look at it this way: Sure you’ll lose a few bucks, but so will a new laptop and lost data recovery.
In my experience, you should still take it to a repair shop, just in case.
The truth is that something that your laptop works after drying does not mean that it is completely fixed. There could be underlying issues that could lead to more problems down the road and, frankly, more dollars spent.
That is all. Now that your laptop is up and running, take a few necessary precautions to make sure THIS IS THE LAST TIME IT HAPPENS.
What about the next time it happens?
There should NOT be the next time.
Here’s how you make sure there isn’t the next time:
Start by getting a SPILL-FREE SPOUT CUP. The next time you keep your coffee cup so close to your laptop, THINK TWICE.
That’s just for starters. Above all, consider investing in a waterproof laptop cover with ventilation holes, for example, a PLASTIC KEYBOARD and a waterproof laptop screen as well.
Did you take all the necessary measures but the coffee still spilled on your laptop?
This is where you make sure you’re regularly backing up your important data to an external hard drive or cloud storage like MyDrive or DropBox.
Putting It All Together
To conclude, it all adds up to this.
Coffee, water, or soda spills on your laptop aren’t a death sentence after all.
With these simple steps and a lot of PATIENCE, your laptop will be like new in no time.
Also, don’t just take my word for it. Follow these steps and see for yourself when you spill water, coffee, or soda on your laptop. How To Fix If You Spilled Water On Your Laptop?
Can you really afford not to?
If you found the article useful or have some stories to tell, please let us know in the comments below.
