Even
if we know it's a bad idea, we will drink and work on the laptop
whenever the two things coincide. It is also, unfortunately, in our
nature to be clumsy the moment we let our guard down and spill the drink
on the laptop. The consequent panic is also natural, sadly. Here is a
list of things that you need to know and do if in case your laptop
suffers a spill-on.
Steps to Clean and Save Your Laptop
Shutting Down
Regardless
of the drink you spill, the first thing you need to do is shut your
laptop down. I would prefer a cold stop, which is pressing the power key
till the laptop shuts down. After that, remove the laptop battery and
A/C adapter attached to your laptop. If you have any external devices or
other cables attached to your laptop, take them out before you move
around. If we spill a drink on the laptop, we will naturally panic and
do something unnecessary. Don't get tangled in the wires when you're
getting up, you'll just add to the damage.
Draining the Liquid
After
you're sure the laptop is switched off and the battery and all the
devices are disconnected, turn your laptop upside down. Most laptops now
come with spill-proof keyboards so the liquid should just flow out of
the keyboard. Bear in mind, 'spill-proof' means the liquid won't reach
the internal components, and even that's not a guarantee. Depending on
the liquid, your laptop will suffer damage to the keys and internal
components.
If the liquid is something like water, you won't have
to face too much damage. Just keep the laptop inverted for as long as
possible (at least 6 hours), after which you can use something that can
absorb water to wipe the keyboard clean, like paper towels or Q-tips, as
long as it won't deposit lint into the keys.
If the liquid is
not water, there will be damage according to two things the liquid can
be. If it's sticky like soda, it will corrode the keys and internal
components over time. If it's hot like coffee, it will seep inside the
laptop, instantly damaging the laptop. Your first steps would still be
to shut down the laptop and invert it.
Wiping the Liquids
If
you spilled water, your laptop should be fine. All you need to do is
drain the water out, wipe the keys on the inside with a water absorbent
material that doesn't leave lint. Leave the laptop alone for at least 24
hours to completely dry out (6 hours to drain the water and 18 hours to
dry the laptop). Do not turn your laptop on before 24 hours, even if it
is important. Remember that electronics and water do not go hand in
hand, so you need to be sure all the water has dried off.
If you
have spilled soda or juice or coffee on your laptop, you need to do more
work as these liquids will do some real damage. First, you will drain
out the liquid from the laptop. Do not keep it there for too long. You
need to clean the sticky liquid off before it dries out too much. The
best stuff that you can use for cleaning is denatured alcohol. The
denatured alcohol makes sure all the liquid is cleaned off. Any sticky
liquid that remains on the keys or the components will slowly corrode
the surface, wearing down your laptop.
Dos and Don'ts
There are some tricks that you can use, to dry out your laptop faster and some mistakes that you need to avoid.
One trick that works is to drain off the liquid from the laptop
quickly, take a bag full of rice and stick the laptop in the bag. The
rice will absorb all the liquid that seeps out of the laptop, making
sure your laptop dries out as fast as possible.
When you dry out
your laptop, don't use a hair-dryer. The heat from the hair-dryer will
destroy your laptop in two ways; it will fry some components, leaving
them useless; it will only encourage the liquid to heat up and dig
deeper into the surface, speeding up the corrosion.
The best way
to dry out the laptop is place it in indirect heat or slightly away from
a direct heat source. The best spot is on a table or window sill just
out of the sunlight's reach. If the laptop comes in direct contact with a
heat source, it may melt some parts or make the liquid burrow deeper
into the surface.
Make sure, whatever you use to clean the laptop
(including your fingers) is lint free and static electricity free. You
may not feel the shock, but the parts of the laptop surely can.
Prevention
is the best cure, they say. Don't drink anything around your laptop if
you don't want to fry it up. If nothing works, you best go over to a
professional and hope your laptop isn't dead
