[xfesty]

Howdy,

I did a stupid thing and accidentally spilt a glass of coke into my 15" Albook last night. I turned it off immediately, and drained it whilst it was upside down; fortunately, it still seems to work fine.

The keys are now all sticky, though. I work upstairs from an Apple retailer, and they said the only way to clean the keyboard was to take it apart, and that they've never been able to get the 15" Albook back together properly again. I've also got a backlit keyboard, and they said cleaning it is virtually impossible.

There must be some way to do this, though. Any clues? Has anybody taken apart & put together an Albook successfully before? Any tips on cleaning the keyboard (can it be done without even taking my Albook apart), and what/how should I clean it?

Cheers

[Xestrel]

Originally posted by xfesty:
Howdy,

I did a stupid thing and accidentally spilt a glass of coke into my 15" Albook last night. I turned it off immediately, and drained it whilst it was upside down; fortunately, it still seems to work fine.

The keys are now all sticky, though. I work upstairs from an Apple retailer, and they said the only way to clean the keyboard was to take it apart, and that they've never been able to get the 15" Albook back together properly again. I've also got a backlit keyboard, and they said cleaning it is virtually impossible.

There must be some way to do this, though. Any clues? Has anybody taken apart & put together an Albook successfully before? Any tips on cleaning the keyboard (can it be done without even taking my Albook apart), and what/how should I clean it?

Cheers

If all you end up with is a sticky keyboard, replace the keyboard and count yourself lucky. I did the same thing with a pismo, and while I did disassemble the machine and clean all affected components off (with 100% pure ethyl alcohol), I gave up on the keyboard. This kind of disassembly almost certainly voids warranty, and given the way Apple is constructing its laptops these days (cramming lots of stuff into a small space), I don't recommend it to faint of heart.

[The Placid Casual]

Get a can of 'contact cleaner'... should be available from most electronics stores (at least it is in the UK...)

It will spray on, get the coke into a suspension and then evaporate. All without causing further damage.

Oh and make an offering on the alter of the 'God of the Apple powerbook' in thanks that you still have a working machine... I have seen some real horror stories involving soda and laptops.

[xfesty]

Sigh, a keyboard's probably going to cost me a bundle though, right?

I probably do need to clean everything with ethyl; motherboard, other components, etc. This stuff won't corode or have bad effects when in contact with anything internal, will it?

And I'm not so sure about opening this AlBook; again, heard that you can't get them together properly again. :-(

[Xestrel]

Originally posted by xfesty:
Sigh, a keyboard's probably going to cost me a bundle though, right?

I probably do need to clean everything with ethyl; motherboard, other components, etc. This stuff won't corode or have bad effects when in contact with anything internal, will it?

And I'm not so sure about opening this AlBook; again, heard that you can't get them together properly again. :-(

Coke can corrode, so I wouldn't assume that it'll be okay without cleaning. Contact cleaner might work - the only problem with keyboards is that they often have lots of little moving parts that aren't well ventilated. Or at least, that was the case with the pismo. I'm not sure what the keyboards ar elike on the AlBook. New keyboard is <$100

-xest

[tooki]

The AlBook keyboard is basically built the same as the Pismo keyboard.

tooki

[RooneyX]

Love it when people do dumbass things. Remember what mother said, keep drinks away from electricals.

[JHromadka]

Originally posted by RooneyX:
Love it when people do dumbass things. Remember what mother said, keep drinks away from electricals.

That's not cool. Accidents happen. Hey it happened to me with my TiBook when I spilled some beer on it! I used a fan to dry it out and a wet cloth on the kb.

[RooneyX]

Originally posted by JHromadka:
That's not cool. Accidents happen. Hey it happened to me with my TiBook when I spilled some beer on it! I used a fan to dry it out and a wet cloth on the kb.

A cousin of mine has so much marijuana between his keys whenever he types the fonts turn out green.

[vmarks]

FIRST OFF:

The AlBook keyboard is actually screwed into the top cover of the laptop. You have to remove Esc and F1 and F12 and Eject to get at the screws to remove it, I believe.

Then you have to remove the whole keyboard and it won't take ethyl to clean it, use distilled water. Follow with compressed air.

Let dry for a few days unless you've got a dehumidifier running in which case overnight will do.

SECOND OFF:

Lots of people spill liquids by accident. That a computer be nearby is a casualty, but does not imply gross stupidity.

There's no need to add insult to the injury. Ok? Thanks RooneyX.

[rag on a muffin]

this happened to me, my friend knocked a drink off a desk into my ibook's track-pad. the button stayed stuck down for 2 seconds before it popped up again. this majorly sucked. i took my chances and sprayed if with compressed rubbing alcohol from the underneath from the battery tray. this fixed it luckily.

[MacNStein]

Originally posted by vmarks:
FIRST OFF:

The AlBook keyboard is actually screwed into the top cover of the laptop. You have to remove Esc and F1 and F12 and Eject to get at the screws to remove it, I believe.

Then you have to remove the whole keyboard and it won't take ethyl to clean it, use distilled water. Follow with compressed air.

Let dry for a few days unless you've got a dehumidifier running in which case overnight will do.

SECOND OFF:

Lots of people spill liquids by accident. That a computer be nearby is a casualty, but does not imply gross stupidity.

There's no need to add insult to the injury. Ok? Thanks RooneyX.

it's worse than that. you have to take the top case off the PB, there are about 12 little bitty screws holding the KB in place. I know, I replaced one just this morning.

[RooneyX]

Originally posted by vmarks:
FIRST OFF:


Lots of people spill liquids by accident. That a computer be nearby is a casualty, but does not imply gross stupidity.

There's no need to add insult to the injury. Ok? Thanks RooneyX.

I dont get people on internet forums who cant take an obvious laugh and a joke and come off all self-important. You're moderating, chill out and read between the lines.

[MacNStein]

Originally posted by RooneyX:
I dont get people on internet forums who cant take an obvious laugh and a joke and come off all self-important. You're moderating, chill out and read between the lines.

Still doesn't keep you from sounding like arrogant jerk who has never had an accident.

[inigopete]

we've all had accidents, some of us have been lucky to have inexpensive ones.

The first step is to remove the keyboard. I've never done this with an AlBook, because the TiBook and clamshell iBook ones were always v straighforward. As they're basically contacts and springs, spraying with contact cleaner, soaking in water or even washing in a dishwasher should suffice to get the gunk out! Please do not take this as law, however, especially if the keyboard involves pretty illuminated bits - I have no experience with an AlBook.

Good luck though, I'm also thankful things weren't worse for you.


: P

[JHromadka]

Originally posted by RooneyX:
I dont get ... internet forums .... cant .... come off ... self...

See, I can read between the lines!

[RooneyX]

Originally posted by JHromadka:
See, I can read between the lines!

Dirty blaggard.

[jessejlt]

"Spill" a glass of soapy water on it