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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > OMG!! I spilled water/beer/liquid on my Mac Notebook

OMG!! I spilled water/beer/liquid on my Mac Notebook (Page 3)
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greykid62
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Jun 21, 2010, 08:20 PM
 
Ok, so I know I sound irresponsible and I shouldn't have let this happen, but I'm just worried about my Macbook. Today I tripped and spilled some juice I was carrying onto my white 13" Macbook. It didn't do much and the movie I was watching on it continued to play although I'm pretty sure I saw the screen flicker for a split second. I got scared so I shut it down and tried to get the juice out with a towel, but that wasn't really invasive enough. Eventually I just decided to leave it closed upside down on my counter. to try and get as much juice as I could to drain out of the keyboard area. Around an hour later I came back and was curious so I turned it back on and everything seemed to be in working order (except a few keys were sticky ...from the sugar I assume) But then after around 15 minutes I tried typing in stuff and the "o" key and the space bar didn't work. After that I turned it off again. I'm not sure if I busted the keyboard up for good or if this is just temporary so I'm really worried. Should I just wait a few more days? Also the computer is pretty old so I definitely can't even consider using the Apple Store Warrantee
     
SierraDragon
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Jun 22, 2010, 03:37 PM
 
If you peruse this thread you will find plenty of relevant commentary. Basic rule is immediately turn it upside down, remove power/battery immediately and let dry fully, at least several days but possibly much longer depending on ambient humidity. Then someone with appropriate skills can disassemble and clean IF the circuitry was not fried before power was cut.

I am typing this on a MBP with fully dried hot chocolate in the innards, using an external keyboard and external DVD drive due to the damage to keys and drive slot. Some day I will disassemble and try to clean when I have time and lots of patience.
     
TooManyMacs
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Jun 22, 2010, 05:05 PM
 
yikes, let us know how this works out. i am perpetually horrified of this happening to me
     
rob91
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Jun 25, 2010, 01:18 PM
 
Spilled an ice tea lemonade on my macbook. It was on at the time, with the top shut, but liquid still got inside. I turned it off and let it dry overnight (reading here made me realize I should wait longer, as well as disconnect the battery), but today it is not working. The lights still show up when the charger is plugged in, as well as one on the front of the book. When I press the button on the bottom to check the battery I get one green light (low charge) but even though it's been charging for some time now it doesn't seem to be picking up a charge.

I'll be taking it to the apple store soon, just wanted to get a general idea of what might be wrong with it. I'm hoping the fact that the lights still work means it's not completely fried.
     
Shafeeqah
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Jun 27, 2010, 10:36 AM
 
I spilt water on my MacBook Pro while it was on then I put it upside down for a couple of days with the lid off to dry but I didn't take the battery out. So I tried turning it on just now, and it works. The screen is fine, the trackpad is fine but my keyboard doesn't work! So I can't login cause I can't type in my password. Plus I tried charging it but that didn't work either. There wasn't a green or red light. Help!
     
turtle777
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Jun 27, 2010, 11:00 AM
 
Seems like you turned your MBP into a Mac mini.

-t
     
msdavamarie
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Jul 7, 2010, 11:48 PM
 
So, 5 days ago I spilt plain green tea on my Macbook. It shut off instantly and I cleaned the water off and let it dry. Right now I plugged it in and turned it on and I could hear it working but the screen didn't come on. I didn't spill the tea on the screen, just the keyboard. Any advice? Should I just leave it plugged in. The green light was on, on the battery cable. I hope it isn't ruined. All the other threads I have read say that if its not a sticky sugary substance they usually survive, but when the screen didn't come on my heart dropped. Should I let it charge maybe?? AHH!
     
Big Mac
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Jul 8, 2010, 07:36 AM
 
Sounds bad, my friend. Sounds like something shorted out the connection to the screen. Next time get laptop insurance that covers accidental damage.

Btw, in case it crosses your mind, Apple is known to use engineering tricks to detect whether things like water damage have occurred to hardware.

"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." TJ
     
Kermit
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Jul 22, 2010, 10:10 AM
 
Here's my story:

We had a party, and my girlfriend was looking at the available music on my late 2008 macbook when she knocked over a beer onto the keyboard. We were very quick to pull it away, turn it upside down, power it off and remove the battery. There wasn't that much liquid, so I was quite confident there wasn't much damage. To be safe I let it rest on a towel, keyboard downwards, for two days and then upright for another day in a hot place. I turned it on and it booted like normal. I tried all keys and they all worked. Phew!

I thought I'd use the computer for a while to get it hot, to get any remaining moisture out. After a while, 20 minutes or so, I noticed all keys began to appear in caps. Also, the keys F4, 4, r, f, v didn't respond. I thought I might have been to quick turning it on, so I powered it off and let it sit for another two days. Next time I pressed the power button.. it was dead.

This was about 1 week ago. I tried daily to push / hold / hammer the power button to no avail. My girlfriend, feeling a bit guilty, tried too, but it was dead. Today she tried again, and gave the keyboard a good beating (can't hurt right?). No response, so she turned and walked away - and suddenly heard the mac startup sound

So, now it boots up - the same keys that didn't work last time are still not working, but the stuck shift key got unstuck after about an hour. I tried everything else on it, and everything works except for F4, 4, r, f and v keys. At the moment I'm solving this by using an external keyboard or the built in on-screen-keyboard. Hoping that the last keys will surrender and start working again soon too.

Just to let you know - don't give up, it can spring back to life one day
     
jmt311
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Jul 31, 2010, 09:17 AM
 
My daughter spilled water on her laptop new macbook 13" never told me anyway My question is has anyone had theirs repaired? I would like to know is a logic board only or do they come back with other repairs needed? I can pick up a new board for $500 but didn't want to find out the srceen also goes when this happens.

Any help would be great.
John
     
AKcrab
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Jul 31, 2010, 02:37 PM
 
The problem is.. You won't know what else got fried until you can get the machine to boot.
     
adrianp
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Aug 1, 2010, 01:06 PM
 
A friend of mine split water in her MBP, this happens about 2 months ago, and here is what is happening:

Seems the KeyBoard is the only part affected I can use the laptop with a USB kb.

when I start the MBP up it makes me select my hard drive before going into the log in screen.

It has a stuck shift (or alt) key (when you type is display a symbol instead of the actual key, and in a HD that has windows the f4 key close the program like if you press alt-f4)

I manage to put the Logic Board in another MBP (with same specs) and I got same behavior in the other MBP.

There is some small visible corrosion in the logic board (no sure what I can use: perhaps 91% isopropyl alcohol?).

ideas?
     
ENG2010
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Aug 5, 2010, 02:30 PM
 
Can't say myself...GL

I was hoping someone could guide me with my spill...
-- I spilt about a sip of Green Tea (8-12 drops) and immediately turned my MBP off and upside down, after which I proceeded to dry the liquid.
--After intense fanning for a couple minutes I couldn't wait any longer so I turned it on.
--Everything is working (it boots properly, the display is normal, the trackpad and every single key works fine)

Heres my problem...
For the first time ever I decided to lift one of the keys out to assess the damage. When I turn on the keyboard light I can see a lot tiny white bubbles shining through the white mat. Are those pockets of liquid that need drying or is that what it is supposed to look like?
Would appreciate some advice,
Thanks,
E.G.
     
rachaelee
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Aug 13, 2010, 01:14 AM
 
I tripped and spilled water on my Macbook Pro 13". It didn't seem like that much water when I cleaned it off so I assumed it was fine and noticed that it was low on battery so I plugged it into my charger while it was sleep. 3 hours later, I tried to turn it on and the little light at the bottom indicated it was on, but the screen was blank. My sister called this "the blank screen of doom", but I still turned it over and since I have the model where you can't take the battery out, left it on top of my fridge where there's a lot of ventilation. Please tell me if it's going to be alright! All advice greatly appreciated
     
josephsalsbury
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Aug 17, 2010, 05:25 AM
 
Originally Posted by rachaelee View Post
I tripped and spilled water on my Macbook Pro 13". It didn't seem like that much water when I cleaned it off so I assumed it was fine and noticed that it was low on battery so I plugged it into my charger while it was sleep. 3 hours later, I tried to turn it on and the little light at the bottom indicated it was on, but the screen was blank. My sister called this "the blank screen of doom", but I still turned it over and since I have the model where you can't take the battery out, left it on top of my fridge where there's a lot of ventilation. Please tell me if it's going to be alright! All advice greatly appreciated
Exactly the same happened to me 2 nights ago; got the 'blank screen of doom' and the sleep light was on. I have just left it out to dry, as I'm too scared to try and turn it back on :/ ... I don't know what I am going to do if it doesn't work because I don't have any insurance on the computer. Ughhhh
     
mrslkm
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Sep 3, 2010, 01:13 PM
 
Hi guys. Yesterday night I came across to this forum. Now everything is ok but I wanted to share this. Actually, I think it's a unique one. I hope me spilling a full glass of water on to my unibody aluminum macbook will be the last one for all of us...
Ok so I was playing Sims 3 on the floor, lying. I put the glass of water between me and my macbook. I think you can all imagine the scene.
I don't remember what caused me to push the whole glass on to the computer, but right at that second when the glass
fell down on to the trackpad and water started to span to the qwerty row on the keyboard, I immediately pressed and held the
power button and also right at that second i turned the computer upside-down. As I cleaned and dried the wet face with a dry towel in the same position,
I plugged the battery out, and the rams also... And i put the computer on to my sofa when keeping the same position.
I saw some drops under the battery as well as under the rams. This really freaked me out. So I also dried them out with a cotton-ear-thing very carefully.
Following these, in to a pillow i laid down a thin layer of dry rice and put the computer on to it in the same position again and with the windows open I waited for 6 hours.
Then, to be sure if the computer has dried out completely i closed the shell and waited for 2-3 minutes if the water still evaporates on to the screen.
When I made myself sure about it, to end the pain, which was eating and biting my heart thinking if my computer was alive ( D, I turned the computer on.
After I checked camera, bluetooth, mic, airport, backlit-keyboard, cd-driver, screen and charge mechanism I turned it off again. Hopefully everything was ok.
Now I'm writing this post on it. I hope this can give some hope to some . Maybe it was because of me being quick, maybe because of rice or just because of luck... I don't know... But hey I'm happy like a freak right now!

PS: (Sorry if i have a bad grammar and voc.)
     
fridayevening88
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Sep 28, 2010, 05:27 AM
 
Hi people. So I am another unlucky victim of spilling a liquid over my MBP.
So I spilled half a cup of green tea while I was getting ready for school. The computer immediately shut down on it's own and i freaked out obviously. I unplugged my cables and immediately wipe the excess liquid away. Having done so, I stupidly reboot it straight away to check whether it's still working. To my surprise, it actually turned out fine. Except for my keyboard backlight which seems to have some keys poorly dim. I checked out this forum after doing so and realized I have to let it dry out for a few days. Can anyone advise me on what I can do? The sudden shutting down definitely freaked me out but it seemed fine for the moment.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Sep 28, 2010, 05:34 AM
 
Let it dry out for a few days.
     
ghporter
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Sep 28, 2010, 09:09 AM
 
Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot View Post
Let it dry out for a few days.
...with the battery out, of course. A little liquid can cause a LOT of trouble if it seeps into "the wrong places," so keep the computer unplugged, without a battery, and preferably open and upside down so what liquid is left will settle onto the surface you have the keyboard on.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
fridayevening88
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Sep 28, 2010, 11:41 AM
 
Originally Posted by ghporter View Post
...with the battery out, of course. A little liquid can cause a LOT of trouble if it seeps into "the wrong places," so keep the computer unplugged, without a battery, and preferably open and upside down so what liquid is left will settle onto the surface you have the keyboard on.
Thanks guys for the reply. But mine is a unibody MBP so I can't remove my battery, of course unless I unscrewed it. Any other ways???
     
alexandriamp
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Sep 30, 2010, 08:28 PM
 
Today a very small--maybe a couple of tablespoons max--amount of EmergenC spilled onto my macbook pro. Most of it landed on a couple of keys, then some on my mouse pad, and i guess a very small amount MAY have gotten in between the keys. The computer didn't turn off, and I figured it was fine. None really got in that I noticed. But right away the pad stopped working and my mouse freaked out.

I plugged in a mouse right after and it worked fine. Then I decided to try to restart my computer and the mouse pad started working fine again, until I came back from class a few hours later and the mouse was non-functioning once again.

SO half an hour ago I turned off my computer again and it is upside-down on my bed... should I worry????

Thanks
     
fridayevening88
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Oct 5, 2010, 02:34 PM
 
Hi people. It's me again. So my Mac turned out fine after a few days of drying. But now I can't toe anything on my keyboard except for a few keys. Am I screwed? ;((((
     
dsl571
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Nov 11, 2010, 10:52 PM
 
Water was spilled on the key board and the computer shut off immediately. I have the back open and hoping it will dry out. I have two MacBook Pro 13" computers. Can I take the Hard Drive out of the wet one and put in the dry one? Will the Hard Drive have to be formatted or will it work? I have school work on the damaged one and desperate!
     
Cold Warrior  (op)
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Nov 11, 2010, 11:29 PM
 
It's unlikely your hard drive is wet or damaged. Make sure it's dry and it'll probably work just fine in your other macbook pro.
     
Lifeatthezoo
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Nov 12, 2010, 06:19 AM
 
I just spilled an entire 32ml of water on my new macbook pro. I got it on rice with a fan blowing on it and I'm going to leave it for about 3 days. Wish me hella luck.

Just as a tip: my mom spilled wine on her macbook pro. Of course, Apple Care doesn't protect against crap; however, they told her if she would have spilled water, let it dry, and come in to the apple store they wouldn't have been able to tell it was water damage because the water had evaporated.

Stupidly, I forgot that tip and called apple support so they now have it on file. Well, let's just hope my mac is magical. Any other drying out advice? I heard not to apply heat, aka a hairdryer. And let it sit in a V.
     
DoubleDouble
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Nov 13, 2010, 10:47 PM
 
I'm a college student and I went back to my dorm today from a shower and my laptop was drenched in water. My roommate wasn't there and I have no idea who did it. My macbook-pro was on but it shut off and now it wont turn on. I removed the cover and I'm letting it dry. Someone told me i should take out the battery but then I heard that if I do the warranty is void. What does that mean? Also, what are the chances that if the computer dries it will work again? How much on average would the repair cost? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
     
l008com
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Nov 13, 2010, 11:19 PM
 
I've replaced many mac keyboard that died from spill damage over the years, but I have yet to repair any unibody macs with spill damage. I've had a few calls but once I tell them the cost of the new case, and the cost of labor... I don't know what they do, but they don't have me replace the keyboard. The one downside to this great design is it is extremely spill-unfriendly.
     
Dustyv
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Nov 15, 2010, 08:25 PM
 
This is everything you shouldn't do when you get your laptop wet.. I came home from the bar with a girlfriend and had my laptop on my end table with a glass of water next to it... Its gets rough and i throw her against the headboard and her arm hits the glass of full water dumping it all over the keyboard.. I only notice cause the music shuts off. I jump off the bed and see it is shutting down, the floor is also soaked and I have no idea how much got into laptop.. I try to turn it on and it fires up... I immediatly turn it off and fold it like an A over a pillow... I leave it like that for an hour and have to know if it works.. turn it on again..Concept of time is totally. I think its good enough to plug in and sit on table.... I try to turn it on 12 hours later and it fires up and then just stops working... Guessing it is probably done?

I have two weeks left on warranty and I am thinking of disassembling the computer and replacing Liquid submersion indicators.. I have done this with a blackberry before and it worked out for me.. What are your guys thoughts? Is there anything else I should be looking for when i dissemble?


Thanks
     
l008com
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Nov 15, 2010, 09:08 PM
 
Originally Posted by Dustyv View Post
I have two weeks left on warranty and I am thinking of disassembling the computer and replacing Liquid submersion indicators.. I have done this with a blackberry before and it worked out for me.. What are your guys thoughts? Is there anything else I should be looking for when i dissemble?
That's probably a good idea if you like being a douche bag.
     
ghporter
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Nov 15, 2010, 09:48 PM
 
You'll find that this forum doesn't take well to what we'll gently call "cheating."

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
Dustyv
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Nov 16, 2010, 08:55 PM
 
@1008com, how does that make me a douche bag? If this was three years ago you would've recommended that I just send it in and hope for the the best.. Its not my fault you dont get laid.

Cheating? Ppl do this with their phone all the time. Sorry I am going to reduce your dividend in apple by .00000001%... Wait, you probably dont even only apple stock, just every product they ever made..
     
l008com
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Nov 16, 2010, 09:16 PM
 
Originally Posted by Dustyv View Post
@1008com, how does that make me a douche bag? If this was three years ago you would've recommended that I just send it in and hope for the the best.. Its not my fault you dont get laid.

Cheating? Ppl do this with their phone all the time. Sorry I am going to reduce your dividend in apple by .00000001%... Wait, you probably dont even only apple stock, just every product they ever made..
So how do you not get that you're a douche bag?
     
ghporter
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Nov 16, 2010, 09:35 PM
 
The fact that more people engage in cheating does not lessen that these acts are cheating. Fraud, whether isolated or en masse, is still fraud.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
l008com
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Nov 16, 2010, 09:39 PM
 
Originally Posted by Dustyv View Post
Sorry I am going to reduce your dividend in apple by .00000001%... Wait, you probably dont even only apple stock, just every product they ever made..
Also, for the douche-bag record, i own Apple stock, AND Apple stock doesn't pay dividends. But I know, details like that aren't important to douche bags like you.
     
turtle1000
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Jan 2, 2011, 05:41 PM
 
Hello--

Last night I spilled some tea w/ honey on the lower right quadrant of my MBP (aluminum, three years old last month). I was a splash of less than a quarter cup, and I wiped off most of it. However, some must have gotten in, since I did get a few drips (out of the ports, I think--I was kind of frantic). I flipped it over immediately; it took about five minutes for me to realize I ought to shut it off.

I've read this thread and am following the relevant advice, but what I'm posting about is this: In those minutes before I shut it off, I was holding it upside down, sucking what I could out of the ports a la a snakebite in a western. The computer was getting a bit jostled, as I kept lifting it up to see if it was dying on me, and after a few couple of minutes, the screen sort of faded to a light blue, then came back, faded again. This freaked me out, and I set the computer on my lap to shut it down. When I had set it on its bottom, the screen calmed down and was normal. I happened to be working on word doc, and I hit some of the lower right keys to see if they worked, and they worked fine. Track pad worked fine; I shut the computer off via the apple menu... Everything was normal, but I didn't want to screw with it or push my luck, so I shut it down, flipped it back over, popped the battery out, and it's been sitting by a fan since then.

Has anyone seen this blue fade thing? Could it have been from jostling the computer upside down perhaps? For future reference, was shutting it down via the apple menu a bad idea compared to just holding the power button? I couldn't tell which would be worse, and I guess I was taught that holding the power button was generally not a good thing to do, and since I was frantic, I went with what I thought was safe... Finally, I'm still wondering how bad it could be if nothing frizzled or quit on me in the few minutes during/after the spill--is that just wishful thinking, or what? Anyway, I'm leaving it off until tomorrow (at least--longer if I can handle the suspense).

Any thoughts / advice would of course be appreciated; reading the thread has taken care of most of my worries, but it bothers me that no one has mentioned this blue screen fade thing...
     
Waragainstsleep
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Jan 2, 2011, 07:45 PM
 
Sorry to hear about your mishap.

If I were you I'd take the bottom panel off and have a good look. Its worth cleaning off any residue if you find any. Take care doing this on the logic board, its susceptible to static shock so use the least fluffy cloth or tissue you can. Dampen it too but don't soak it.
When you say 'bottom right quadrant', are you talking about right of the trackpad? If you spilled there and got drips out the ports, you really must open it up and have a look around. Clean up any residue before it has a chance to stain or corrode. Examine the logic board wherever you find moisture or residue. Look out for any scorch marks on or around the components and connectors. In one corner you will see a large-ish gold coloured ribbon cable connector. If there is any moisture or residue anywhere near it, disconnect it and give it a good careful clean, again static is an issue. If you want to use something like a cotton bud (I think they are called Q-tips in the states right?), roll it around on a radiator or something well earthed to discharge anything from the cotton. Then dampen it. Check inside the connector to make sure there is no moisture. It is very important that you connect this one the correct way up. There are two "V" or possibly "U" shaped marks on one side of the connector for exactly this reason. If you connect it the wrong way up, you will burn out your logic board within 10 minutes of booting. Its a massive design flaw imho.

If you are quite adventurous with electronics, it wouldn't hurt to take the logic board out and check the top side as well as the rest of the case. These can be a pain in the ass if you aren't used to doing them though. You end up with loads of cables all of which desperately want to get stuck under the board when you put it back in. The service manual is a massive help if you haven't done one before. Maybe check iFixit.

As for the blue fade, it sounds a little like what happens when you connect or disconnect an external display. I have seen damaged unibody MBPs do this sometimes. Its not a cause for concern unless it keeps happening. Its basically the GPU resetting itself.

If you do any cleaning, give it more time to dry out before booting. Best of luck.
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
goddessdragonness
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Jan 3, 2011, 04:36 AM
 
Hi, so I've read this forum and seen some people ask about an issue similar to mine, but nobody has given them any response, nor have those posters followed up with what happened.

I accidentally spilled a glass of water on my mid-2009 Macbook Pro (left side, where charger plugs in) while it was plugged in and in sleep mode (but open, because I just plugged it in to recharge the battery and was about to wake it up). I have been tired and on cold meds, so thinking clearly was not something that came easily to me. I picked up my laptop, wiped it with a towel, and noticed that the little blue light was flashing, as if it were still in sleep mode. I stupidly left it plugged in and tried to power it up. It started to chime, but the screen never lit up and it never powered up (the little blue light stopped flashing). It had also been low on power, so continued to try to dry it, and thought maybe it needed juice (my kids have spilled things on it before and I never had any issues). The charging cable lights green like it's charging but the MBP is unresponsive. Then it dawned on me I may be shorting it, and so I unplugged it. All of this took about 10 minutes, I think.

Then I turned it upside-down (like an A) and called my husband (who was at work) and a geek friend, who both are smarter at this sort of thing than I. They told me to take out the battery and let it sit in dry rice for 24 hours minimum.

What I'm worried about is that my stupidity in handling the issue at the beginning may have killed it forever. Has anyone had this happen and their MBP revived? Or am I SOL? And, please, I don't want any Captain Hindsight telling me what I should have done.
( Last edited by goddessdragonness; Jan 3, 2011 at 05:08 AM. Reason: Added more details.)
     
goddessdragonness
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Jan 3, 2011, 04:37 AM
 
Oh, where the water fell was the left-hand side, but I'm pretty sure it sloshed everywhere because I'd moved it so much.
     
Waragainstsleep
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Jan 3, 2011, 09:02 AM
 
The truth is, you may never know for sure unless you get it working again.

I have seen machines go pop straight away from liquid, I've seen them take days or even weeks to fail before too. Sometimes they die completely, sometimes they just develop a fault. Older style MacBooks for example tend to get the sleep light on solid and never get any further.
Its still worth cleaning it up. I have seen residue or corrosion short a couple of internal contacts and when cleaned the unit comes back to life. This doesn't seem to happen as often as it used to though.
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
seanc
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Jan 3, 2011, 11:33 AM
 
There's a lot to be said for cleaning the machine up and trying again.

I had a dead Thinkpad T61, coffee had been spilled onto a table and it had seeped in through the vents on the side.
When I was disassembling it, everything looked squeeky clean until I got to the back of the board where I could see dried coffee covering a few chips.
After cleaning thoroughly with rubbing alcohol, the laptop booted right up.
     
goddessdragonness
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Jan 3, 2011, 12:38 PM
 
Thanks. I'll let it stay in the rice bed a few days and then go over it with a Q-tip and some rubbing alcohol. I took a look at the motherboard this morning and it looked like there was some corrosion on the part close to where the charger connects.
     
turtle1000
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Jan 3, 2011, 04:47 PM
 
Update--I opened up my MBP today and everything looked dry inside. Booted it and everything seems to be working fine, but for sticky backslash key!

Lesson learned! Thank you Waragainstsleep & the collective wisdom of this thread!
     
riogranderift
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Jan 6, 2011, 04:01 PM
 
I spilled a beer on my early 2009 aluminum macbook. I turned it off immediately, but didn't take the battery out. The next day, my babysitter turned the macbook on. It worked for a few minutes, but the keyboard went dead, followed by the screen going blank. It will not start up.

Trying to gauge the money and hassle of taking it/sending it to Apple to see whether it can be repaired or whether to suck it up and just purchase a new macbook.

Also, my assumption is that I can recover data from the hardrive. Correct? Please?

Thanks,
riogranderift
     
Waragainstsleep
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Jan 6, 2011, 09:07 PM
 
Rio, you are most likely correct. I'd wager you'll have no issue recovering your data. As for repair, you will probably need a logic board to fix the MacBook. This is usually much cheaper than buying a whole new one, though obviously a new one will be a better machine. If you are on a budget, you should still follow my previous advice to clean up your MacBook if possible though it seems likely to me that a component will have failed on the board.
If you hate taking computers to bits or simply aren't short of a few quid then either pay for the repair or get the new one. If it only gets light use, then the repair is probably your better option. A new one isn't going to be twice as good but will likely cost at least twice as much. Thats assuming you take it to an Apple store. If you have to go to an AASP some of them may well still be charging way more than Apple.

Turtle, you are most welcome.
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
goddessdragonness
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Jan 19, 2011, 08:27 PM
 
So I wanted to follow up with everyone: I let my MBP sit on rice in a closet for two weeks. I took it out, went over some corroded-looking spots with a Q-tip and rubbing alcohol, put it back together, and plugged it in. It now runs like new! As an aside, when my two-year-old popped off a key, this experience led me to not panic as much and I was able to put back in said detached key.

Thanks, everyone!
     
randomname
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Feb 16, 2011, 03:42 PM
 
I am an idiot with computers so I have no clue what I am doing and am panicking..

Last night I spilled a small amount of chocolate milk on the upper part of my macbook pro's keyboard (the part with the play/pause, volume control, and brightness buttons. I immediately flipped it upside down and tried drying it off with a towel. The screen was flickering so I panicked. About 2 or 3 mins after the indecent i turned it off. I left it upside down for about 4-5 hours. Then I closed it and put it on my desk for another 8 or so hours while i was sleeping. its 2 in the afternoon now and i just turned it back on. Everything seems to be working normally but I am really afraid I messed something up with it. Its pretty new still and as a poor college kid who has their whole life in this computer, I'm afraid I permanently messed something up or that it'll have a shorter lifetime now. Help?

Any advice? Can I replace it with apple care or something?
     
eriklyon
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Feb 17, 2011, 09:23 PM
 
So I was being a moron and carrying my unibody (i think that's what it is called) macbook pro from my study to my kitchen table while holding a small tumbler of scotch in my left hand when my girlfriend knocked into me and a little of the scotch landed on the right side of my keyboard. I turned it off, whipped the keyboard off with a paper towel and laid it upside down. STUPIDLY I tried turning it on the next day. it turns on and after a minute blue screen and shes gone! I think i killed it, it wont take a charge and the battery is dead.

I took it to the apple store and was honest. he said that the amount of the spill was as small as i said and that it did no leak to the bottom. He said he would transfer my HD if i brought an external in and that most likely if I sent it in they would 1210 it ($1210 liquid damage repair.) I asked if the sensors may not have gone off and he said it doesn't matter they will see residue. I asked if i should open it and q-tip it clean. he said he cant hear that question, i asked again and he said he wouldn't. he asked if i have renters insurance (i do, Allstate). he said to claim it if i can.

My question to you.......do i send it in, pull it apart first, and is there ANYTHING i can do? and if i claim it how do i go about that to get the most i can?

Thanks

PS I DID READ OLD COMMENTS, i know randos comign in asking the same Q over over gets old, i just am looking for advise on the next step once shes gone.
     
Waragainstsleep
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Feb 18, 2011, 10:18 AM
 
Random, liquid damage is NOT covered by Applecare. You might be able to find someone who can open it up and clean it off for a smallish charge, but don't take it to Apple or an AASP or they might report the incident and your Applecare will be less than useless. If it can be cleaned up so there is no sign of liquid, you will be fine to get Applecare repairs later on if needed, if there is unremovable residue or one of the liquid sensors is triggered, then again, your Applecare is basically gone. If you clean it, make sure it doesn't smell of chocolate milk. Or rancid chocolate milk.

Erik, if its completely dead, you may as well try and open it up and clean it off. If you are comfortable and patient working with fiddly electronics, this could be well worthwhile. If you are clumsy and impatient, you will likely destroy something else in the process so consider getting someone else to do it for you. These are not fun machines to disassemble for a first timer. Check ifixit for instructions. If you can clean off all signs of liquid and no sensors are tripped, then you can go back to Apple and have them repair it for free. Also make sure it doesn't smell of scotch.
If you can't clean yours up, then many AASPs or independent repair shops will automatically boost any repair quotes upwards if you tell them its an insurance job. If your insurance company wants to do an inspection, you might consider pouring a cheap bottle of scotch over the remains before sending it in, and claiming that it was a full bottle of Dalmore 40 year old. That should bump the claim up a bit. If you do that, use cheap blended malt as even an amateur will know the smell of a bourbon like JD or a grain whisky over a single malt.

I should add that all of the above advice is potentially morally, ethically and legally unsound and you follow it at your own risk.
( Last edited by Waragainstsleep; Feb 18, 2011 at 10:22 AM. Reason: Typo)
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
HeartMyMBP
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Feb 20, 2011, 06:15 PM
 
If you're extremely doubtful about the condition of your MacBook after spilling on it and you're sure that it's gone for good while waiting for it to dry, listen to my miracle story and I'm sure you'll feel more hopeful!

About 4 days ago, I spilled about three tbsp of water on my MacBook Pro. It went all the way across the top portion where the screen meets the keyboard, and some leaked into the top row of keys. I quickly jumped up and grabbed some paper towels to dry it off, but I didn't turn it off right away. The screen flickered blue a couple of times, and then the sound from the show I was watching stopped suddenly. The computer turned itself off. In a state of panic, I tried turning the computer back on (stupid). The keys lit up and it chimed like it was booting, but there was nothing on the screen. I held the power key and shut it down. I hastily got on the internet on my iPod Touch to find out what I should do. I turned my computer on its side and stood it up (like an open book) and water was slowly draining out of the disc drive. While I had it sitting like that, I was blow drying the keys on the cool, low setting for about ten minutes. After it appeared to stop draining, I took the back off and carefully dabbed at the droplets I saw on the battery and the hard drive. I didn't take that battery out because I don't have a tri-wing screwdriver. I took the blowdryer to the inner parts for about ten minutes. I put the back cover back on and then set it in an "A" shape over our vent, which was blowing slightly warm air. I left it there for 24 STRAIGHT HOURS. Then I took my computer and set it in my desk until today, three days later. I booted it up quite a while ago and everything's in absolutely perfect working order, no problems whatsoever.

Even though I was stupid and I booted my Mac right after spilling on it, I went above and beyond in taking care of it afterwards. If you're incredibly patient and vigilant in your care, your computer has a vastly higher chance of being just fine. Mine was, and yours can be too. Just don't be too hasty in checking to see if everything's okay, I had to fight myself for the past three days to just leave it be.

I hope this gives someone hope, even if they have the biggest doubts!!
     
candytuft
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Feb 26, 2011, 01:57 AM
 
Originally Posted by HeartMyMBP View Post
If you're extremely doubtful about the condition of your MacBook after spilling on it and you're sure that it's gone for good while waiting for it to dry, listen to my miracle story and I'm sure you'll feel more hopeful!

I hope this gives someone hope, even if they have the biggest doubts!!
Hi HeartMyMBP:
I spilled water on my macbook pro unibody 14hrs ago. After around 2 hrs of letting it stand in an open book position (after ofcourse blowdrying it for 5mins & attempting to remove the batt), i turned on my pro. The lcd has a bit of discoloration at lower part of the screen, kinda like a theatre/stage spotlight. So i turned it off again. After about 30mins in an open book position, i switched it on again, thankfully the discoloration is gone! I opened ms word, tested all the keys and the function keys. I opened itunes also to check on my sounds. Basically, keys & sounds are working, lcd looks fine. I turned it off again, just in case the thing is still wet inside. Did what you did re blowdrying the back and they keys (again). It's now in an A-position/upside down for about 10 hours already.

Do you think i should switch it on already? Last time i turned it on, it was okay already. Im just paranoid so it's still upside down until now.

Any help from you or any person here is very much appreciated thanks
     
 
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