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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 5)
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jjpink
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Dec 11, 2011, 05:48 AM
 
I accidentally knocked off a glass of water that was on the table near my sleeping 2 month old (arg!!) MacBook Pro. I think some of the water got in from the left hand side ports and maybe from under the the MBP. I immediately lept to get a towel and then (stupid me) wanted to see if it was working/find out what to do I so I didn't immediately shut it down, I used it for a few minutes, then shut it down then put it on again. The fan was incredibly loud and it was slow to log in so I shut it down and have left it off for 3 days in an A position with the central heating on in the flat.

It took me a while to find the right screwdriver to take off the back but I bought a set yesterday that managed it, to my dismay I discovered there is a tiny bit of what looks like green fluff (but I'm pretty sure it's not!)/ spider webbinging on a teeny bit of the logic board. Does anyone know what this is actually called? The rest of it looks so beautiful . My bf says that that webbing stuff may not even be from the water but from humidity.

I put the MBP on now (after 3 days) to back up my work, it works fine, there's no fan like before and it was fine logging in. I'm scared that something goes wrong in a few months though... Should I take it to an Authorised Apple Repair centre? I'm hoping and praying the water sensors didn't get hit so I haven't lost nearly 3 years of Apple Care... I was thinking to try and get the webbing stuff cleaned off the logic board (there's maybe a few mm of it) and wanted them to check whether the sensors had changed colour, but will they have to flag it on their system? I don't know what to do, please help.

I've had Apple laptops for ten years and this is the first time I have ever had an accident with one (they usually just break on me), I'm very sad. I'm a college kid so money isn't plentiful.

edit: I've used the Keyboard Viewer (now, 3 days later) to see whether all the keys work (they do) and plugged in the charger to see whether that works and it's fine, the light is bright as well not dim.
     
Waragainstsleep
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Dec 11, 2011, 10:04 AM
 
The webbing is corrosion. You can clean it off gently with rubbing alcohol and cue tips/cotton buds.

Apple stores will flag the water damage against the serial number, AASPs might or might not. They usually know to check for other signs of water too. Any staining on the bottom plate, battery or in the ports is a giveaway.
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
jamievenna
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Dec 13, 2011, 09:16 AM
 
Sadly, no luck. Though if the keyboard itself is what's shorted/broken, I'd still have to replace it in order to reset the SMC, right?
     
deepspace
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Dec 22, 2011, 11:40 AM
 
one hell of a tragedy, already second mac getting wet.
first one was this summer (macbook) with shampagne, brought it to apple reseller, got fixed- new keyboard.
Now was the good wine with MBP (bougth this summer), turned it off, but didnt remove the battery cause didnt have any thoughts and tools for that. Tried to turn it on in the morning, nothing. well, brought it to apple reseller, hopefully not the logicboard,
...
     
labeeb
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Jan 2, 2012, 04:37 PM
 
guys don't get scared. i kinda was today after spilling sprite all over my mac keyboard.

I go to mac, try to make an "excuse" about it, but they catch it and said they checked the litmus paper. It showed its water damage and they cannot do anything but repair, costing 129.99$ + 40$ charge. so around 170$ total.


so then i was like wtf. spent all this money for a mac, and now they aren't helping. i know its my fault, but like come on. why design this laptop in such a way where when something like this happens, it ruins everything.


so i looked up on youtube how you can prop the keys. Easily possible. Be careful, very fragile. (I'm 18 so its not too difficult. Horrible with computer parts, first time trying. so its possible...)

I started taking off each row,
my mom used the windex and cleaned each key,
i put them back in.

after a good 30 mins its all practically fixed. ( note: i left the sprite to dry, so you can remove the sticky parts).

its a little off than the beginning. btu 500x better than the stickiness.

fully functional, and we cleaned around the whole laptop too so it looks new

good luck guys.
     
JshLnsctt
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Jan 6, 2012, 11:24 PM
 
I'm new to Mac, just purchased a 2010 edition Pro off off eBay with water damage. The seller told me that the laptop will sometimes boot on, but not every time that he has attempted it. I am certified to work on Windows machines and have repaired countless numbers, though have never worked on or even owned a Mac before this one. My simple question is, with the fact the computer is still partially functioning, if I take it apart carefully and dry everything/look over everything, is there a possibility that I can salvage the current logic board without having to replace it? Why would it only sometimes work? I have generally known water damaged machines to either function or not plain and simple.
     
Waragainstsleep
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Jan 6, 2012, 11:54 PM
 
Theres a chance it'll come back to life. Of course that means there is a chance it will get worse too.

Make sure you get a service manual or check out the ifixit.com guides. These machines are built rather differently from most PC laptops which you can usually work out as you go along without the need for a manual.
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
JshLnsctt
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Jan 7, 2012, 12:43 AM
 
Would my best bet be to disassemble it and remove the heatsink setup as soon as I get it to let it dry out, or is there a better process when it comes to Macbooks? It is the Macbook Pro 13.3" 2010 model.
     
Waragainstsleep
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Jan 7, 2012, 01:36 PM
 
Yes, its probably best to open it up and inspect it, see if you can see any corrosion and if you can, clean it up with alcohol. Take ESD precautions too, those parts are sensitive. Then it won't take too long to dry out. Rebuild and test. Cross your fingers.
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
JshLnsctt
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Jan 7, 2012, 01:44 PM
 
Is there a specific brand or percent of alcohol that has been found to work best? Thanks again for your help
     
Waragainstsleep
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Jan 7, 2012, 02:51 PM
 
You just want something that isn't too corrosive and will evaporate nice and quick. I guess stronger is better but any old off the shelf rubbing alcohols should be fine.
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
ghporter
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Jan 7, 2012, 08:42 PM
 
70% isopropyl alcohol takes way too long to evaporate by itself. You want 91% or more; these nearly pure alcohols will dissolve a lot of water and evaporate it fairly quickly. You should be able to find 91% at a well stocked drug store or even a good grocer with a large pharmacy and over-the-counter section.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
Paigeee
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Jan 15, 2012, 04:42 PM
 
Okay, so I have a 13" Macbook and I accidentally spilled some milk on the keyboard. I immediately wiped it down and turned it off after about a minute (Nothing seemed to be wrong with the screen so I didn't think much was wrong at first). Now, none of the keys are working properly. The mousepad keeps bringing up a drop down menu (although not all the time) and I currently have a secondary keyboard attached and everything is working right. It registers that I'm clicking some of the keys, but nothing comes up (it makes the error noise). The only things I've gotten to work are the power, zero, and comma (not even eject or escape). Please help!
     
johnsou
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Jan 17, 2012, 11:35 PM
 
Did you try a external keyboard? If it works this might be the option you may have to live with..
     
hutchiaj
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Feb 10, 2012, 01:15 PM
 
Yesterday evening I spilt quite a large amount of ribena on my two month old Macbook Pro...it spilt all over the top left hand corner and the laptop turned itself off. I wiped all that I could see off with a clean tea towel and then searched for a screw driver small enough to get the back of the laptop off, which I couldn't find.

I set it upside down on a towel and let the drips fall out for ten minutes. On my dads advice I then took it to the Mac shop in town to the genius bar. I hairdryer'd it for a bit too and tried to turn it on, it turned on to the apple and then nothing happened so I shut it off again. Once there I had to make an appointment with the genius bar and wait an agonising hour in Starbucks.

When I finally did get seen the man took my laptop and cleaned and dried it. He came back and told me that I had spilled it all over the most important part (league board, leader board or something like this?) and it had corroded. In two hours! So he removed the corrosion and miraculously everything was absolutely fine. It charged and turned on and my keyboard was fine! The only one issue was that the light on the charger wasn't coming on but I counted myself extremely lucky.

However, I unplugged it and wrapped it in a towel overnight and set it by the radiator just to fix any last problems. This morning when I turned it on my keys were a bit sticky in the top left but otherwise fine. The USB port was fine but the charging port and the thunderbolt port weren't working. Five minutes later and my thunderbolt started working. But now it's been the whole day and it still wont charge!! I used a teeny tiny bit of white spirit on a cotton bud and wiped it carefully but to no avail.

Any tips? Have I maybe damaged the charger as opposed to the port? I just dont understand because it was working fine last night?
( Last edited by hutchiaj; Feb 10, 2012 at 01:22 PM. )
     
Waragainstsleep
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Feb 10, 2012, 01:57 PM
 
Liquid spill damage can get progressively worse even after you clean it up. I've cleaned many many computers, sometimes you clean them up and they go from dead to fine and last for years, sometimes you clean them and they go from slightly faulty to completely dead and never work again.

Ribena is probably one of the worst things you can spill on a computer because of the sugar content. Sugar is a good conductor of electricity in solution or dry and it will short out connections very efficiently.

The MacBook Pro has a separate Magsafe board which is a small and fairly cheap part. If you are very lucky, this is the only thing you need to replace on it. If not, its the main logic board which has failed and you are looking at a hefty repair bill. Should still be cheaper than a new MBP though. Its working checking your home insurance to see if its covered.
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
pd1
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Feb 15, 2012, 07:54 PM
 
Like others my macbook suffered some water damage...my daughter toweled it off and turned it upside down. It would not start so we took it to the Apple store that quoted $750 to get it fixed. We decided to open up the back. The inside of the bottom rubber cover was wet so we left it open to dry. After about 1 week it still won't start. I got another quote for $600 but that's still a little steep for me. I would try the rubbing alcohol trick but know nothing about what the logic board even looks like...

While searching I have seen some sites on ebay where they fix your logic board rather than replace it. Does anyone have experience with these sites?

Thanks.
     
Waragainstsleep
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Feb 15, 2012, 07:59 PM
 
There is at least one with what sounds like a scientifically sound process. Didn't work for a MacBook Air we tried it on though.
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
nmatheis
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Feb 17, 2012, 04:49 PM
 
My daughter spilled unsweetened tea on the front left side of the upper case and keyboard of our 2007 MacBook Pro (A1226). I wasn't home, and she kept it powered on. Now, it acts as if the Opt key is stuck - special characters + boot disk choice at startup. Bluetooth keyboard is fine. Everything else seems fine so far.

I tried taking off the Opt key and cleaning the mechanisms with Isopropyl alcohol, but that didn't fix the problem.

What are my options now?

Take upper case and keyboard off MBP and soak in alcohol? Replace keyboard? Replace upper case? Replace both?

Thanks for any help!
     
Waragainstsleep
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Mar 2, 2012, 07:24 AM
 
Originally Posted by nmatheis View Post
My daughter spilled unsweetened tea on the front left side of the upper case and keyboard of our 2007 MacBook Pro (A1226). I wasn't home, and she kept it powered on. Now, it acts as if the Opt key is stuck - special characters + boot disk choice at startup. Bluetooth keyboard is fine. Everything else seems fine so far.

I tried taking off the Opt key and cleaning the mechanisms with Isopropyl alcohol, but that didn't fix the problem.

What are my options now?

Take upper case and keyboard off MBP and soak in alcohol? Replace keyboard? Replace upper case? Replace both?

Thanks for any help!
Its probably the keyboard. It could be the upper case but its probably the keyboard. Only way to be sure is to swap one out. Keyboard is cheaper if you DIY. Make sure to get the right one, they look the same but the
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
laptopd00d
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Mar 20, 2012, 05:38 PM
 
I used to work in a repair shop that only did laptops. We found over the years that the worst thing to do after a spill was "dry out the laptop". Once liquid gets inside your laptop, it never completely dries out. Turning it on its side just moves the liquid to one side or another in the laptop. liquids leave a layer of crud on everything it touches. Even worse is beer, wine, soda and other sugary stuff, as the liquid dries up some, but leaves all the sugar residue.

Even if the laptop dries out enough overnight to work, that leftover crud on the board starts to corrode, and eventually short circuits something. I've seen machines that worked for a month or 2 after a liquid spill. They would suddenly fail to turn on one day. When we got them apart the residue had already corroded enough that it could not be repaired, meaning a several hundred dollar motherboard replacement.

Here is a good picture of a Mac that has had liquid spilled into in the past and was let get corroded on the system board to show why it needs to be cleaned not dried: http://www.myservice.com/blog/wp-con...ro-Liquid1.jpg

We always had the best success with liquid if a laptop was immediately powered down and the battery removed (to prevent corrosion from the DC power that is in circulation even when the laptop is off). We then disassembled and cleaned up everything. Most machines that we got within a day or 2 of a spill were fixable with just a keyboard replacement and an hour or 2 of labor to clean it up.

Especially on these Apple products, where parts are insanely expensive, why would any of you just turn it off and "hope" that it will "dry?" Isn't it worth a few hours of labor for a professional to disassemble and clean your laptop? I wouldn't gamble on possibly having to replace a $1000 to $3000 computer (or $500 logic board) because i don't have the know-how to properly open up and clean my machine. If you can't afford a tech then at least find a way to take it apart yourself and check it out inside. For apple laptops, there are great guides to disassembling them at iFixit: The free repair manual. The hardest part is getting an appropriate tool kit that works with the tiny screws in laptops.

To summarize for do-it-yourself liquid spill repair:
1 - Immediately remove the battery.
2 - Pull out all removable items - On most laptops this means the the hard drive, CD drive, all covers for ram. Open the CD drive and see if any liquid got inside too!
3 - Pull the keyboard out
4 - Clean anything you can see that got in there with alcohol / qtip.
5 - After you have cleaned it do not reassemble it yet!. Put it in a warm dry place for a day or 2 to try and get any remaining residue dried off.
6 - Reassemble it and test.

Feedback? let me know!
( Last edited by laptopd00d; Mar 20, 2012 at 07:34 PM. Reason: add info)
     
Big Mac
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Mar 21, 2012, 08:38 AM
 
Great info!

"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." TJ
     
hellotin
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Apr 12, 2012, 07:00 PM
 
About a week ago water got into my laptop (spilled in my bag) so I put it in rice for a few days. Now, it works but only when it's plugged into the charger (constant green light, never orange/red). Then, a few moments later the fan starts running and is really loud and at the same time my computer starts to slow down... A LOT- opening a folder even lags.

Is there any hope besides an changing out the logic board? However, I wouldn't do that- I would rather buy a new MacBook Pro, and hopefully there's a refresh soon! But for the meanwhile I need something portable...

Would you think that an attempt to take out and clean the logic board would do me any good? I'm only asking because I have time to spare because I have to go out and buy the special screwdrivers sometime this week. I saw a bit of residue just above where the battery connects to the logic board and cleaned it up with alcohol and a microfiber swab, but that did nothing.

I also tested out my sister's MBP's battery and it's not my battery.

Please let me know your thoughts, and please let there be a MacBook pro savior! I'm a broke college kid... sigh.

Thank you!
     
keylita
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Apr 13, 2012, 09:01 PM
 
the same thing happened to me just two days ago...
I was trying to put in my friends earring back in and she left a bottle of alcohol right next to my computer. (I was doing homework) when all of a sudden it was knocked over onto my keyboard. I freaked out and immediately disconnected the charger, when the computer turned off. I took out the battery, and dried out as much alcohol as I could. I turned it upside down and just freaked out as I saw that more alcohol kept coming out. I put a fan directly on it for two days. (TODAY) I turned it on and it took quite a while to start up, but luckily it works. Here and there I have a capital letter mainly on the M and N but it's nothing I can't deal with.
I much rather have a working computer than NOT at all...

Never again will I have liquids near my MAC!
     
SierraDragon
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Apr 14, 2012, 08:11 PM
 
Years ago I spilled hot chocolate into my 2006 MBP, dried it out, and it has only kinda worked since then with external keyboard and mouse. Last week I sent my new MBP in for warranty repair of a bad hinge, and since then I have been using the old flaky hot-chocalate MBP.

I set it up for closed "clamshell" operation with an external display for the first time, and no more flakiness. Whatever circuits clamshell operation shuts down are the right ones because now it works fine as a desktop box.
     
KEIKULLBERG
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Jun 8, 2012, 12:11 PM
 
Hello everyone,
I had my macbook pro outside listening to music and long story short, i was gone while it was open outside and it started drizzling for about 15 min. When I was listening to music it eventually died so it powered off before it started raining which helps the water damage. I brought it inside, wipped it down and put rice on the keyboard which i wrapped saran wrap around. I have yet to try to turn it on or plug it in. i need some advice on what to do next. I took off the back of my macbook pro after i took the saran wrap off becasue i figured taking the back off would be more efficient and there was no water damage it looked like. I need some specioal screwdrivers to take most of it apart but i got the back off and i am just letting it sit.. Any advice on what i should do next? wait a few days to try turning it back on so it can dry? put it in rice? take evrything apart? blowdry it? Thanks so much for advice!!!
     
HDRG
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Jun 11, 2012, 05:21 PM
 
Rice does work in some situations, but not all the time. Sounds to me like you might have something deeper here.
     
Triqii101
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Jun 28, 2012, 11:48 AM
 
Hello,

Reading all these stories really scares me, as this is my story:

I feel so stupid I was watching some series on my laptop and I spilt a little amount of energy drink on the right side of the keyboard. I immediately reacted and plugged out the power cable and turned the keyboard upside down and dried it of while holiding it upside down. I wasn't really thinking and I had not shut it of yet until like 1 or 2 minutes later :S.. I then tried to use the blow dryer to hopefully remove any unseen liquid. Also in the 1/2 minutes that it was still on it worked perfectly fine.. I stupidly tried all the keys in that time to see if they still worked.. I hadn't read anything on the internet and I was too stressed that it wasn't working anymore. I've only had the macbook for almost a year and I'm a poor student, so I won't be able to afford a new one. The keys were all still working at the time and the series I was watching was still playing and the sound was still perfectly fine as well... everything was still reacting the way it should be. When I shut it down I took the keys out in the area where it spilt. It was awful timing as I had to catch the train for a 4 hour trip and I had to take my laptop with me. In the 20 minutes that I had left till my train left I put it opened and upside down on a surface that let air through. There was not a drop of liquid that came out of the keyboard while it was upside down, is this a good sign? After the time passed I searched the problem on the internet which had the suggestions of immediately shutting it of and taking out the battery... I wanted to take the battery out, but it's not possible in this model Macbook pro A1286, as I don't have a screwdriver that small. I had no idea what else to do then letting it dry... So after the 20 mins I put it into a case with a heavy heart and took it with me to the station and in the train.. once I was settled in the train I immediately took it out of its case again, but was careful to NOT turn it on again.. 2 hours later I had to switch trains and had a delay so I was not able to take it out of its case again till like 40 mins later. the same thing happened at my next transition and even though no liquid came out while it was upside down I am a bit afraid the liquid moved along with all the moving around and it damaged even more parts. When I arrived I took it out immediately and opened it and let it dry, I'm now in the painful waiting stage of a couple of days before I will turn it on again... it sucks... do you think there is a chance of recovery for my so adored macbook Pro? ...and would the battery be terrible damaged cus I was unable to get it out? ... I'm bloody scared it will be dead .. or will die in the near future.
     
dennett
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Nov 24, 2012, 01:53 PM
 
My wife, with the help of our cat spilled a bunch of pepsi into her late '11 Macbook Air, any chance it'll survive? It's setting upside-down, she is beside herself with grief/anger, but life happens sometimes....
     
Waragainstsleep
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Nov 25, 2012, 12:21 PM
 
There's a chance. Not a great one, but a chance. It should really be disassembled and properly cleaned by a pro to maximise the chance.
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
dennett
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Dec 2, 2012, 08:56 AM
 
Update- My wife's '11, 13" Air was left sitting for 8 days open and upside-down, just tried to turn it on, but nothing, no sign of life. We hooked up the charger, it shows it's taking a charge, if that means anything. Anyone have further advice? If toast, will it be worth anything for parts? I think we'll take it into our local service center, Crywolf, and see what they have to say. We have several local Apple Stores, but I doubt the'll have any advice that'd be better than the service center, right?
     
Waragainstsleep
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Dec 3, 2012, 06:19 AM
 
Apple stores will generally refuse to repair water damaged machines as you can never be certain you've got all the affected parts. Other service may be more flexible. Taking a charge is a good sign. It implies the battery is ok and that the power system isn't completely shot.
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
Macbookpro2010
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Aug 10, 2014, 01:22 PM
 
My MacBook Pro 13 was left under a gap in the window. It rained.

The charger was on, and the laptop was closed, albeit in sleep mode. After I found out I opened up the laptop to turn it off and unplugged it from the charger. Actions since:

Dried with towel and left to dry for 12 hours upside down
Mistakenly tried to turn it on twice after 12 hours
Taken apart the back of the laptop

Used a small fan to dry the laptop for 24 hours
Checked under the optical drive - no water
Disconnected battery from logic board (not immediately, this was an afterthought)

It's been over 36 hours since it got damaged.

Pictures:

Initial water damage
http://i.imgur.com/zoItwEC.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/2c4m7DZ.jpg

Current water damage:
http://i.imgur.com/1vIWeBM.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/4ptxULu.jpg

Is there hope? Or does the fact that I tried twice to turn it on mean that it's most likely damaged irreparably?

I'm planning to get some isopropyl Alcohol (>91%) and clean out some of the corrosion. Any other tips would be welcome! Thank you.
     
Waragainstsleep
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Aug 16, 2014, 04:09 AM
 
There is always hope but thats some nasty damage there. You'll need to take the logic board out and give it a good clean. If possible you want a brush which is stiff but not too stiff to clean the affected areas while its submerged in alcohol. You want to scare away any corrosion that might be shorting out connections but you don't want to scrape off any of the laminates or surface mount components, tracks or connections. It can be fiddly and painstaking and time consuming, but its cheaper than a new machine or a logic board if it works.

Don't worry too much about the HDD or the ODD, jet worry about the logic board and the little DC board (those are cheap too on that model though). Thats the bit which costs the money.
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
 
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