[cmc253]

So today I was in bed, watching an episode of friday night lights on my mac book pro, when i shifted, wires moved and my full class of water spilled right onto my baby. The screen turned black and the computer made some funny noises. I tipped it, and water came out. I left it like this until nothing else came out. I unplugged it and then took out the battery and started to blow dry the computer, then realized it might not be the best of ideas. So no, its standing, kind of like a book, on my floor with a fan on it. Is there any hope of me getting my computer back, or is it dead forever. Im a terribly broke college student with 200 dollars to my name, so any help and advice would be GREATLY appreciated!

[peeb]

OK, first off, don't panic. You've done the right thing so far.
To recap:
1. Unplug it.
2. Remove the battery.
3. Get as much water as you can out by wiping it down.
4. The blow dryer is a very good idea.
Next steps.
You need to get the book as dry as you possibly can before you plug it in again. This could take 2-3 days. Don't rush it. The good news is that if it was just water, you stand a good chance of getting your machine back. Even if not, you stand a good chance of being able to salvage the drive and contents.
However, the situation is pretty serious and you need to be careful and take it a step at a time.
If you've got as much liquid as you can out of the machine, I would leave it in a warm, dry place, and blow dry it with the hairdryer or a fan or something.
Search on these forums for more specific tips - there are a lot of posts on this topic.
Good luck.

[Cold Warrior]

Including this one here

http://forums.macnn.com/69/mac-noteb...er-on-macbook/

[cmc253]

im sorry i started a completely new thread, i just panicked and wanted to find advice as soon as possible, and didnt want to waste time searching. ive gone through a bunch of the other threads, and i have a few questions...
1. the water spilled kind of along the back of the keyboard area-ish. is this worse than other places? Im not really sure where my logic board is, but with my luck, its exactly there
2. was the blow dryer a bad thing? should i keep that up?
3. I already had previous damage to the casing of the computer. I just havnt sent it in for repair because i couldnt be at school without a computer (ha, look at the situation im in now!) From what im reading though, someone taking apart my computer would probably be good for it. is there any chance i could send it in for the casing repair, and no one would notice that theres water damage and in the process of taking it apart, dried things up? (hey, a girl can dream cant she?(
4. last question, whats the best position for the computer to be standing in. ive heard upside down, but i really dont get what that means

[peeb]

Originally Posted by cmc253 

im sorry i started a completely new thread, i just panicked and wanted to find advice as soon as possible, and didnt want to waste time searching.

Don't worry about it - it's a stressful thing - searching these forums will provide the answers to most these questions though.

Originally Posted by cmc253 

ive gone through a bunch of the other threads, and i have a few questions...
1. the water spilled kind of along the back of the keyboard area-ish. is this worse than other places? Im not really sure where my logic board is, but with my luck, its exactly there

The logic board pretty much fills the entire area beneath the keyboard.

Originally Posted by cmc253 

2. was the blow dryer a bad thing? should i keep that up?

As long as you don't bake the thing, the blow drier is a great idea. Keep it up.

Originally Posted by cmc253 

3. I already had previous damage to the casing of the computer. I just havnt sent it in for repair because i couldnt be at school without a computer (ha, look at the situation im in now!) From what im reading though, someone taking apart my computer would probably be good for it.

It may well help to take it apart to vent and dry it further. You do risk further damage if you don't know what you're doing though.

Originally Posted by cmc253 

is there any chance i could send it in for the casing repair, and no one would notice that theres water damage and in the process of taking it apart, dried things up?

No.

Originally Posted by cmc253 

4. last question, whats the best position for the computer to be standing in. ive heard upside down, but i really dont get what that means

It's hard to say - you want to get the maximum ventilation and airflow. It probably doesn't matter that much - I think 'upside down' means with the keyboard facing down, so that any fluid that got in that way could drip out that way too.

[MacNNUK]

Lesson learnt ?

Always keep liquids at arms length from computers etc, why compromise £100's if not £1,000's of equipment for pennies worth of drink ?

Whilst working with electronic equipment, I always kept drinks on the floor, in a safe area.

Just not worth the risk.

[Railroader]

People always look at me "funny" when I ask them not to place a drink on the same table as my computers. I ask them in the best way I know how, as politely as possible, and when they give me the "look", I then ask them, "why did you just give me 'that look'?". A reply I have heard tooooooo often "What's a drink of water going to do to your computer?".



Seriously, people. WATER and ELECTRICITY do NOT mix.

[Andhee]

But distilled water and electricity do (well, they do nothing together) - In response to railroader. Its water that get stuck in components that could be a massive problem depending on how much went into the laptop and how long it took you to react to tip the laptop upside down.

After reading this thread, I just got a drink and had it away from my computer instead of sitting down next to it, because I don't want to ruin my computer!

[MacosNerd]

I really don't think it matters that the water is distilled or not. The water is going to cause short circuits regardless if its distilled or not.

I never have liquid near my laptop and like RR I politely ask people to keep their drinks away from my laptop.

[lisa_is_not_mac]

My friend did the same thing as you are doing and it worked, so keep up the good work

[peeb]

Originally Posted by MacosNerd 

I really don't think it matters that the water is distilled or not. The water is going to cause short circuits regardless if its distilled or not.

I never have liquid near my laptop and like RR I politely ask people to keep their drinks away from my laptop.

It does matter. While both will cause shorts, non-distilled water can leave salts and minerals that can cause permanent problems when it evaporates.

[Andhee]

I think I'm right in saying distilled water doesnt cause short circuits? Cos it's got no ions in it or something (chemistry knowledge coming in handy here..), so there is nothing there for current to flow.

[MacNNUK]

Looks like you've now got a good Aqua Mac...see Aqua Wiki !

And Google..

[peeb]

Originally Posted by Andhee 

I think I'm right in saying distilled water doesnt cause short circuits? Cos it's got no ions in it or something (chemistry knowledge coming in handy here..), so there is nothing there for current to flow.

It's possible that that would be true if it was 100% pure, but no commercial distilled water will be safe to immerse your laptop in.

[MarkLT1]

Originally Posted by Andhee 

I think I'm right in saying distilled water doesnt cause short circuits? Cos it's got no ions in it or something (chemistry knowledge coming in handy here..), so there is nothing there for current to flow.

I am not positive this is correct. It is true that it is not the water itself that conducts electricity. It is the ions in the water (minerals etc..). Water that has been distilled, has been boiled and the steam is condensed into pure water. That being said, I am not sure if there is any chance of ions remaining in the water.

Deionized water, on the other hand, uses a physical process to trap and remove any ions from the water (minterals etc..). A fully de-ionized water is actually a very resistive material. Properly deionized water has on the order of thousands of times the resistivity of your average unfiltered tap water.

The problem, however, is that it only takes a few ions to conduct electricity through water. So even if the water was deionized, it very well may have picked up ions from its container, or even ions that are sitting on the computer itself.

[MarkLT1]

Originally Posted by peeb 

It's possible that that would be true if it was 100% pure, but no commercial distilled water will be safe to immerse your laptop in.

But a high end, commercial deionized water, that has been tested for resistivity, and is in a proper container would be OK. In fact, in some (rare) cases, this is exactly what is used as a direct-contact coolant for high voltage circuits.

[peeb]

Mark, I agree with you in theory, but in practice there is no type of water that it is a good idea to pour into your laptop.

[Andhee]

Lol yeah, just dont go putting water in your mac and youll be alright, unless you happen to live by/work in some hi-tech lab where perfectly ionised water in ideal conditions is possible, in which case, go for soaking your mac with loads of the stuff!

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by Andhee 

But distilled water and electricity do (well, they do nothing together) - In response to railroader. Its water that get stuck in components that could be a massive problem depending on how much went into the laptop and how long it took you to react to tip the laptop upside down.

After reading this thread, I just got a drink and had it away from my computer instead of sitting down next to it, because I don't want to ruin my computer!

Oh yeah, cause so many people are drinking distilled water...

[DCJ001]

The Dumbest Thing I've Ever Done: Corona Meets MacBook

[SVass]

I assure you that triple distilled, deionized water will dissolve dirt, grease, and other contaminants that have found their way into your computer. Normal air pressure changes cause air movement carrying these contaminants. So just relax and let it dry for a few days and pray that nothing bad happened. sam