What to do if I spill liquid over my laptop

You can also be interested in these:

How many times have you been in front of your laptop while enjoying a cup of tea, coffee, water or any other beverage at the same time? Normally, the fact that we are dealing with an electronic device is not reason enough to deny ourselves the right of having a hot or refreshing drink at any given time. Nonetheless, Liquid spills are a rather common occurrence and one that might bring serious consequences to your computer if not act upon it really quick. This doesn’t mean that if you pour water over your laptop, it will be irreparably damaged instantly. In this article, let’s examine what to do if you spill liquid over your laptop.

The type of the liquid, quantity and response time will be determinant factors in the effort to keep your computer safe after a liquid spill. Be it a few droplets or a spout, water, coffee or any sugary drink, there will be cases nothing will be possible to do to bring your computer back to life, not to mention spend a good money in technical support to assess what can be saved.

What to do if your laptop gets wet due to a liquid spill?

The first thing we can say is, no matter how big or small the spill is, don’t lose your head and focus on the problem. Your reaction time can make the difference between avoiding any issues at all or waiting until your computer dries completely and hope for the best.

A quick assessment on the damage can be objectively the best way to come up with a plan of action on the fly. If a few water drops have sprinkled out any nearby source reaching your computer, you can solve it by using a microfiber cloth. However, if the amount of liquid is more, you will need to perform more drastic measures. Take a dry absorbent paper towel wiping the areas that need more attention, for instance where you see water puddles forming.

Computer manufacturers are aware liquid spilling is a possibility and they normally protect the case of the laptop with gaskets and seals to prevent water entering from the top. If you see smoke coming out from your laptop or hear unusual noises after a liquid spill, it is likely your computer damaged beyond repair. In this case, it is also probable that you can still save the majority of the components, but you need to act fast. This is especially important because you might be able to repair it afterwards. You can follow the steps below in the event you have a liquid spill over your laptop.

Unplug the power cable

The first thing you need to do if you spilled your drink over your laptop is to pull out the plug of the power cord as fast as you can. Then, you need to turn off your computer, but for this, you won’t do it the traditional way how you would normally do through the software. Turn the laptop upside down, and remove the battery. We can’t stress enough the importance of performing this operation as fast as you can to avoid any further damage. Just keep your laptop upside down for now.

Needless to say, if you had connected peripherals to your laptop, these need to be disconnected as well, especially if there is any power bank attached. If you do this step quickly, the odds of having any damage to your laptop after spilling any liquid over it are reduced significantly. You have already passed the first barrier of protection, but of course, you have your laptop soaking wet right now, now you need to make sure to get rid of all that water.

The best position for your laptop

We already mentioned you need to turn your laptop upside down to remove the power components. To do this, first open the monitor screen lid of your laptop as much as you can. You will be able to do this more or less depending on your laptop model. It is unlikely you will be able to do so past or even close to the 180° mark. No matter the angle, place your computer on a towel having the “V” shape corner facing upwards, like the roof of an invisible house.

Place your laptop in an inverted V if you spilled liquid over it

The best way to remove liquid from inside an object is making it go back the path it gained access in the first place, so the best escape route for the liquid would be the keyboard. This way, we are not only taking the water out from the computer, we are also preventing further damage to occur.

If the temperature of the room you keep the laptop is not high enough you should take it to where it is as warm as possible. The recommendation is not to keep it in a humid place. You really need to be patient on this step, because you want to make sure your computer is 100% dry before plugging the power again.

Dry all you can manually to speed up the process

Liquids can take time to dry out completely. I could pass several days before you see any progress on this. You can do your part by drying all the surfaces you see wet with a soft paper towel. Just don’t put the laptop in upright position yet. For the rest of the process, it is important you just leave your computer be to allow it to dry completely before using it again.

If you spilled coffee or any other beverage that can leave residues after drying, or sticky surfaces due to the sugar added, the recommendation is to wait until the laptop dries up completely and then take it to a certified technician for him to have it professionally cleaned. That will eliminate all possible headaches in the future.

Myths and misconceptions

You will find all sort of recommendations online, like the infamous “put your laptop in a bag of rice overnight”. We strongly recommend not to do this, if you want to avoid having further issues on your computer down the road. Drying a wet laptop with rice is one of the biggest misconceptions ever invented.

It is true the rice absorbs moisture, and it is quite used in the food industry to naturally keep the humidity levels down from other ingredients. However, a laptop has a fairly large size compared with a grain of rice. It only takes a few grains of rice to clog vent ports, damage moving parts like fans or sticking to the internal components in a gooey mess after absorbing all the liquid they possibly can.

Another misconception is using a blower to accelerate the drying process. As a matter of fact, this method can do a lot more harm than good. Inside a laptop there are sensitive components that can withstand water or any other liquid without problems, but still be susceptible to temperature.

Likewise, please don’t put the laptop in the oven. The heat from this home appliance can easily melt plastic components and ultimately be worse than just a wet laptop computer. Finally, it is also advisable not to use pressurized air cans, majorly known as “air in a can” products, as this will only spread the liquid inside your laptop.