OMG!!! soda in my macbook pro

[Minhoca]

well....i'm doomed...

I was turning on my macbook pro....it just was making the booting sound when i accedentaly drop a glass of soda in the keyboard....The mac just turned off....I'm turned it around and I waited till i dont see any soda in it...I tried to turn in on but after making the boot sound it just turn it self off....1 hour after I took his battery off and put it over a towel.....with the vent exit poiting down..

Will my macbook pro die? Or there's still a chance that hes ok?

P.S.- My parents are going to kill me.....

[BklynKid]

P.S.- My parents are going to kill me.....

As they should...

[Techguy172]

There's a small chance but you may have killed it by trying to turn it on again but here's what you can do clean the keyboard open it up and get rid of all the soda you can then let it dry for 2 days at least.

[Zawamura]

As you tried to turn it on so soon after you poured the soda into the omputer it has probably fried.

[ivan1234]

just buy another mbp, your parents don't have to know :D

[JSchwage]

...which is one of the many reasons I fly by the rule of "don't eat or drink while using the computer".

[sushi]

...which is one of the many reasons I fly by the rule of "don't eat or drink while using the computer".
Sage advice indeed.

Accidents can and do happen.

[::Lisa::]

...which is one of the many reasons I fly by the rule of "don't eat or drink while using the computer".Me too, after doing the exact same thing and completely breaking one of my past laptops. I do not allow any liquids of any kind anywhere near now.

As for you laptop, you shouldn't of tried to turn it on again. As you said you spilt liquid on your keyboard first reactions would be to turn it upside down with it open to allow the liquid to come out and not go further inside the actual computer parts and put it somewhere warmish (like linen closet, boiler house etc) and to dry for a few days. If after a few days it's still not working then I guess it'd be broken, or take it in and see what is and if it can be fixed. Good luck.

[clayj]

This is not directed at the OP, but at everyone who uses computers (which, if you're reading this, includes you):

KEEP ALL BEVERAGES, INCLUDING WATER, AWAY FROM YOUR COMPUTER COMPONENTS. LIQUID + ELECTRONICS = BAD!

If you must drink something near your computer, do what I do: Drink from a bottle with a resealable cap or lid. Yes, it looks funny to see me unscrewing the cap off my soda bottle, taking a sip, and then putting the cap back on... and I'm sure I waste a lot of time each day doing this.

But despite the fact that I drop a bottle or knock one over every so often, I've never suffered an actual spill.

Not to mention, keeping a lid on your beverages reduces the chances of something getting in them (germs, dust, etc.).

[djinn]

I drink sodas at my computer but they sit on my keyboard tray while the laptop sits on the upper desk part.

That sucks about your laptop. What kind did you have?

[aaron.lee2006]

I drink coffee and soda all the time when I'm using my MBP. However, at home I use and external keyboard, mouse and monitor and my MBP is far away from any of it. The odd time when I'm in class I have a coffee and use my MBP but I'm extremely careful around it, I spilled some coke on my first MBP but it just needed a keyboard repair, luckily the keyboard was already broken so Apple replaced it anyway. They've had to send me 3 other MBPs since because of hardware failures not caused by me. It really sucks that this happened to you. You're gonna have to tell your parents eventually. Good Luck!
:apple:<3

[sushi]

If you must drink something near your computer, do what I do: Drink from a bottle with a resealable cap or lid. Yes, it looks funny to see me unscrewing the cap off my soda bottle, taking a sip, and then putting the cap back on... and I'm sure I waste a lot of time each day doing this.
I do exactly the same thing.

It amazes me that so many folks have their cup of coffee right by their keyboard. Of course I warn them about it. After doing so, all they want is for me to go away. Then after they spill something on the keyboard, they have the gall to looked surprised. Dummies.

[soupyjnr]

They've had to send me 3 other MBPs since because of hardware failures not caused by me. :apple:<3

Im getting a MacBook soon and I was debating on whether or not to get AppleCare - its confirmed, Im getting it!!

[soupyjnr]

...which is one of the many reasons I fly by the rule of "don't eat or drink while using the computer".

Although your right, you remind me of my ICT teacher! Thats all you ever get out of him...

[4God]

Well, I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news but I think you might as well go ahead and get some jelly because it's probably
99678

[jdee2wheels]

I bought a powerbook on craigslist for $40 from a women who spilled a whole can of coke on it.

When I got it it wasn't really working at all, it would turn on for a few seconds and then die. I took the whole thing apart and there was sticky coke residue everywhere. I cleaned everything with rubbing alcohol and got to boot from an external drive. The internal hard drive was shot and the keys were sticky, but after replacing the hard drive and keyboard the thing is as good as new. Best $40 I ever spent!

I think you'd be surprised who resilient the logic board is. If it's not working there is a good chance that some of the dried up sticky soda is messing up a connection on the logic board. If you clean everything up, it might just work again.

That being said, macbook pros are a bit of a pain to take apart but you probably have nothing to loose at this point.

[LinuXtreme]

Ouch! Sorry to hear about that. Potential spills are one reason I got an iSkin keyboard cover for my Macbook (especially after my sister spilled tea on her laptop keyboard). It's not perfect protection (liquid can theoretically still get under the edge of the cover though mine fits pretty tight on the edges) but I feel that some protection is better than none.

[Shotglass]

Hot chocolate here. Instantly turned it off, took out the battery. Total cost 2315€.

[Yell0w]

i'm about to get a macbook pro, and was wondering if you guys would recommend this (http://www.shieldzone.com/laptops/) to be used as protection.

[///alpinepower]

i'd warned all of you not to do that: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=399635

[anirban]

Im getting a MacBook soon and I was debating on whether or not to get AppleCare - its confirmed, Im getting it!!


AppleCare would not cover this type of damage anyways.

[bigbadnewill]

I really don't want to sound awful...but why do people turn things back on after a spillage occurs?

Surely if it makes sense to turn it off first time because it's wet you must know that it isn't going to dry in 30seconds!

But as mentioned, leave it for a few weeks, in a warm dry area and perhaps then give it a final try.

Sorry dude, just bad luck i guess. Time to start earning some more money to replace it :eek:

[LinuXtreme]

i'm about to get a macbook pro, and was wondering if you guys would recommend this (http://www.shieldzone.com/laptops/) to be used as protection.

The InvisibleShield won't do much to keep spills from ruining any laptop because the keyboard (the most vulnerable spot for spills) is still exposed.

As far as offering protection for the rest of the computer, I'd imagine that the InvisibleShield would help keep the MB/MBP from getting scratched or dented as easily.

[janey]

I took the whole thing apart and there was sticky coke residue everywhere. I cleaned everything with rubbing alcohol...
Yup. It's bad enough to spill water on a laptop, worse to spill something that leaves nasty sticky residue like coffee or coke. You need to clean it off before doing anything more.

Methinks you've (the OP) damaged it probably beyond repair because you turned it on so fast after the spill. But it's worth a try to clean everything off (i mean at this point, your warranty is moot so you might as well crack it open) and leaving it drying for a week or so. I'd think the best idea now is to go shopping for a new laptop. If the MBP ends up working, you could probably sell it, otherwise...consider it a very expensive mistake.


That being said, I never have any qualms about open drinks near computers :( The only thing that would get wet is the mouse/keyboard or display, and all of those are easily cleanable or replaceable - I don't like trusting other people so basically if I can't cause a mess, there's not much of a chance anyone else using my desktops can either. With my laptop I leave open drinks next to it often, but that's something I'm trying to cut down on for other reasons..

[letswastetime]

i had spilled water on my macbook a little over a month ago and it got mostly just on the screen so it wasnt too bad. i ended up just shutting it off, taking the battery out, and tilting it upside down. i just left it like that for a few days and thankfully almost everything went away.

check out the thread about it, theres pictures and many people posted suggestion that might help:
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=408146

i feel for you!! good luck with everything!

[aiterum]

AppleCare would not cover this type of damage anyways.

applecare is only an extended version of the original warranty that comes with the machine when you buy it originally. It doesn't cover things like accidental damage that is done to your computer (such as spilling something on it, or dropping it).

unless you really want to be sure when it comes to hardware failure, there really isn't a good reason to buy applecare (when factored in the price that it costs to get it, in my opinion)

[fabian9]

The InvisibleShield won't do much to keep spills from ruining any laptop because the keyboard (the most vulnerable spot for spills) is still exposed.

As far as offering protection for the rest of the computer, I'd imagine that the InvisibleShield would help keep the MB/MBP from getting scratched or dented as easily.

Hi LinuXtreme,

I have the invisible shield for both my ipod and my macbook. it looks good and protects it, not from spillage though. also, on the palm rest, mouse button and touch pad mine started to turn blue so i took it off and im getting it replaced. and on the touchpad it does take a little while to get used to because it's less sensitive with the rubber skin.

[MacDude415]

I just try to drink far enough away that the spill will go somewhere else, because I know I will spill at some point. It can spill anywhere, I don't care, just not here.

[Fuzzy14]

I had a mate (a real mate, not just made up for the purposes of this forum) who woke up after a night on the bevvy to find that he'd peed on his Amiga. He let it dry out for a couple of days (near-ish but not on a direct source of heat like a radiator) and it worked fine.

My other mate in work washed his USB flash stick at the weekend and it still works.

So let it dry out, clean up any stickyness and you never know you might have got lucky!

[clayj]

I had a mate (a real mate, not just made up for the purposes of this forum) who woke up after a night on the bevvy to find that he'd peed on his Amiga.He's lucky he didn't electrocute himself, taking a whiz on a device that's plugged into the wall for power.

http://pics.livejournal.com/eideteker/pic/0003bssg

[Fuzzy14]

Lucky the Amiga had it's on/off switch on that enormous brick of a power supply. Ah, good ol' days. Why don't they make computers you can pee on anymore??? :D

[skyrider007]

sorry to hear, hope you'll get a suitable replacement! :)

[RHD]

I don't know if it's still the case but years ago lighting consoles for Rock and Roll shows used to have beer channels built in so that when the roadies knocked their beers into the sliders it drained away harmlessly.
Fine in a big desk however, not possible in a laptop. Keep the drinks away from the electronics.

[heatmiser]

I don't know if it's still the case but years ago lighting consoles for Rock and Roll shows used to have beer channels built in so that when the roadies knocked their beers into the sliders it drained away harmlessly.
Fine in a big desk however, not possible in a laptop.

Thinkpads actually have drainage channels in the keyboard designed to vent away small spills.

[bmwpowere36m3]

I also spilled water all over my keyboard within the first month of owning it. As soon as I spilled it, I turned off the computer, flipped it around, and removed the battery, let it dry like that over night and started it up the next morning, all was good except the keyboard was fryed, so I ended up replacing the keyboard myself.

[harcosparky]

...which is one of the many reasons I fly by the rule of "don't eat or drink while using the computer".

Two of my children spilled soda in the keyboards of their Powermac's.

Well in each case I made them wait a week before I ' had the time ' to go get a new keyboard. They now follow the " NO FOOD OR DRINK " in the computer room rule. They set up a table outside the door for their drinks!

I am just glad they did not have MBP's! :eek:

[Martin C]

Turning it on so soon after you spilled soda on it was not a good idea. It might be fried (http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/7353/img4138po8.jpg).

[TimJim]

I have a question.

If you do spill something, the best thing to do is turn it upside down, remove the battery, and let it air dry for a week? Is there anything else you can do?

[peterjeter26]

the same thing happened to my macbook, i took out the battery dried it and then kept the charger in for about 2 days to try and burn out all the liquids, turns out it WORKS!!!!!!! its fine battery is better than ever. sometimes with apple products the charger can dry up the whole thing. and if your battery does work still after that you can order a new one off apple.

[zepharus]

[QUOTE=

P.S.- My parents are going to kill me.....[/QUOTE]

If I was your parent i would choke the life from your body! Wait... if I was your parent you wouldnt have a MBP....

[MBHockey]

Hopefully your dad was smart enough to cover it in homeowner's/renter's insurance.

[JDR]

I've had some close calls with my iBook...mainly water on the display (that could drip down) or water on the keyboard. Thankfully, the electronics weren't damaged in any of the cases.

Hoping the best for you mate.

-JDR

[Csmitte]

well....i'm doomed...

I was turning on my macbook pro....it just was making the booting sound when i accedentaly drop a glass of soda in the keyboard....The mac just turned off....I'm turned it around and I waited till i dont see any soda in it...I tried to turn in on but after making the boot sound it just turn it self off....1 hour after I took his battery off and put it over a towel.....with the vent exit poiting down..

Will my macbook pro die? Or there's still a chance that hes ok?

P.S.- My parents are going to kill me.....

DUDE you have to be careful I have a 1.5 FT circumference that no liquids go past..., remove the upper keyboard dry it out for at least two days, and get some Q-tips and some good grade alcohol, and get to work getting that crap out of your machine...

good luck...

Cheers!

[Steel Wheels]

I've had a few close calls with dog drool and my macbook pro. Our vizsla slobbers like mad after she drinks water.

For some reason she always gets the urge to run to me when she has two big shoe laces hanging from her jowls. A few time she's laid those big drool strings right across my MBP. Luckily it's thick enough so it doesn't seep down into anything.

[T-Stex]

I have a question.

If you do spill something, the best thing to do is turn it upside down, remove the battery, and let it air dry for a week? Is there anything else you can do?

That's really it. The most important thing is to get it turned off (and battery removed) immediately. That will lessen the chance of permanent damage. After that, like you said, leave it somewhere to dry for a while (the longer the better). Places like above a radiator, away from direct heat, work well. If you've got access to the innards, you can wash away any residue with rubbing alcohol. Again, make sure that has time to evaporate and dry before doing anything.

[Minhoca]

Story Update: Well I'm typing now from my MacSoda Pro xD, It's actualy working expect on thing....The mac operative system....I'm now using windows in boot camp...I searched the net and i found that when mac dont open and restart, it's a hardware problem....well.....It's my laptop sound...it doesn´t work at all.....

Does anyone know how much it's going to clean and replace the sound if it's realy damaged??

[RHD]

Story Update: Well I'm typing now from my MacSoda Pro xD, It's actualy working expect on thing....The mac operative system....I'm now using windows in boot camp...I searched the net and i found that when mac dont open and restart, it's a hardware problem....well.....It's my laptop sound...it doesn´t work at all.....

Does anyone know how much it's going to clean and replace the sound if it's realy damaged??

Weird!

Don't see why Windows would work and Mac OS not.

If I were you I'd make some calls to some local Mac places who do repairs, or your Apple store, and ask how much it would cost for them to look at it and try and sneak it down there without your parents finding out.

[Adokimus]

well....i'm doomed...

I was turning on my macbook pro....it just was making the booting sound when i accedentaly drop a glass of soda in the keyboard....The mac just turned off....I'm turned it around and I waited till i dont see any soda in it...I tried to turn in on but after making the boot sound it just turn it self off....1 hour after I took his battery off and put it over a towel.....with the vent exit poiting down..

Will my macbook pro die? Or there's still a chance that hes ok?

P.S.- My parents are going to kill me.....


Not to be hard on you, when you must still be freaking out, but you did so many things wrong here.

(1) You didn't save up the money yourself. Look on the bright side, now when you save up 3,000 clams through your own hard work, you might be more careful around it, which brings us to 2;
(2) You weren't careful around your parents investment. Yes, accidents do happen, which is why you shouldn't have been drinking by it in the first place. Other posters have had good comments about only drinking beverages with caps, or keeping the beverage on a lower level of their desk like the keyboard tray. My gf doesn't understand when I ask her not to drink/eat around my lappy at all, but I also haven't had to call in any warranties.
(3) You turned it right back on. I get that you're a kid, but you ought to be smart enough to think it just might be a bad idea to try turning the computer back on right after you just poured it full of soda. I mean, really? How long do you believe evaporation takes?

I haven't read the entire thread, but yes, your folks will probably kill you (rightfully so). While the MBP is likely out of commission, there is hope. As the person with the $40 craigslist powerbook did, you might be able to clean it and replace the keyboard. You should probably cut some lawns and save up to have a computer repair shop do this. If it's still busted, then you should save up $3,000 and buy the next one yourself. There is no "shield" you would be able to buy that would protect your MBP like paying for it yourself will.

Sorry for the lecture, sorry for the shat luck.

-Ado

[ktbubster]

If I were you I would bring it in to a repair place and see what they have to say. You may still want to open it up and clean the logic board and other components with rubbing alcohol because there is probably residue all over the insides you can't see or won't notice until things start to corrode or die over time. The sooner you do this the better.

Speakers don't cost too much to replace if you do it yourself, unless it is a logic board problem. Once again open it up and give it a good clean and that may end up solving some problems where extra gunk built up too. You computer may work for now, but time may make it worse.

Other then that, if that doesn't get things working... back to the repair shop to see what exactly needs to be fixed, but cleaning the whole thing may help. At this point you really don't have much to lose unless you want to run windows forever on a computer that could die at any moment. Very bad idea. The longer you run it without being clean the worse it will be.

[-::ubermann::-]

you should have waited a few days before turning it on

[marman6]

I spilled a full glass of tea (sweetened with 100% grape juice) on my Macbook keyboard. Immediately I turned it over, to my horror as tea was draining from every orifice. I beat on the back, shook it, dried the keyboard with a hairdryer as I was still holding it upside down, then removed the battery, all within a matter of 3-4 minutes. Immediately I opened the yellow pages of my phone book, found a "Mac Man", called and took it too him with my car flashers on. It cost me $250.00 for his efforts, but it is up and "running". I lost the ability to use my DVD drive (although he felt it could be replaced) as well as the ability to be portable and use the battery. So, be persistent...beat it, dry it and act quickly. I learned this from dropping my Palm Pilot (with my life on it) in the toilet. DONT GIVE UP.

[jw12345678]

Glad to hear its working again... well mostly at least. When I did it I took the laptop battery off, took the laptop apart, poured the liquid out, and hair-dried it. Was back up and running once i was confident it was completely dry. Cleaning the insides with alcohol soaked cloth sounds like a good idea too though!

As for the speaker.....one of mine needed doing and I was charged about £60 if I remember correctly, although this was an older macbook pro. You will probably find your warranty is all buggered up so you might want to get the part yourself and see if it is doable at home. On the other hand if apple replace it- have seen the water damage and charge you for the repair, and then if it is all working properly again they will reset the warranty. In other words, if it is all working when they return it to you and find no other problems relating to the water damage then you are still covered for things like recalls, screen hinges etc.

Good luck!

[fehhkk]

The unibody has holes all over the keyboard, so you probably shorted the entired motherboard if you dropped a glassful.

Since you have nothing to lose, learn on how to tear apart the whole thing. Open the case, take the hard drive, memory, logic board completely apart, clean it with isopropyl alcohol, and let it dry for a few days.

[phineas]

well....i'm doomed...

I was turning on my macbook pro....it just was making the booting sound when i accedentaly drop a glass of soda in the keyboard....The mac just turned off....I'm turned it around and I waited till i dont see any soda in it...I tried to turn in on but after making the boot sound it just turn it self off....1 hour after I took his battery off and put it over a towel.....with the vent exit poiting down..

Will my macbook pro die? Or there's still a chance that hes ok?

P.S.- My parents are going to kill me.....

If you bought it with your money, your screwed, if they bought it your screwed, and if it was theres and you fried, maybe the local recruiters office for the military can hide you for a 6 year hitch:D

[MrPeanut]

well....i'm doomed...

I was turning on my macbook pro....it just was making the booting sound when i accedentaly drop a glass of soda in the keyboard....The mac just turned off....I'm turned it around and I waited till i dont see any soda in it...I tried to turn in on but after making the boot sound it just turn it self off....1 hour after I took his battery off and put it over a towel.....with the vent exit poiting down..

Will my macbook pro die? Or there's still a chance that hes ok?

P.S.- My parents are going to kill me.....
You shouldn't have turned it on, i know its an awful thing to say but i think its your own stupid fault that your macbook is now probably broken. I'd take it into your nearest apple store and get it repaired.

[kellen]

You guys realize this is over a year old thread?

[kryptonianjorel]

I bought a powerbook on craigslist for $40 from a women who spilled a whole can of coke on it.

When I got it it wasn't really working at all, it would turn on for a few seconds and then die. I took the whole thing apart and there was sticky coke residue everywhere. I cleaned everything with rubbing alcohol and got to boot from an external drive. The internal hard drive was shot and the keys were sticky, but after replacing the hard drive and keyboard the thing is as good as new. Best $40 I ever spent!

I think you'd be surprised who resilient the logic board is. If it's not working there is a good chance that some of the dried up sticky soda is messing up a connection on the logic board. If you clean everything up, it might just work again.

That being said, macbook pros are a bit of a pain to take apart but you probably have nothing to loose at this point.

I've got a story similar to that. A few years ago, a friend of mine spilled root beer on his Dell...twice. Yes, twice. He did it on accident the first time, and when he went to show a friend how it happened, he forgot there was still root beer in the can, and did it again! He called me and asked if there was anything I could do, so I took the thing apart. In the end, it needed a new keyboard, battery, and hard drive.

So, take it apart, and clean everything up. i'm assumming that your liquid submersion dots are screwed, so I recommend soaking the motherboard, keyboard, and top+bottom case in the tub for a few hours (REMOVE THE CMOS BATTERY IF YOU DO THIS). The only things I wouldnt do this with is the DVD drive, hard drive, and battery (obviously not the screen). It will get the gunk loose, and will not damage your laptop. Water can only damage it if its turned on. Once you get the sugary goop out of EVERYTHING, Dry it as best you can yourself, then let it sit for a few days. If at all possible, use distilled water to prevent minerals, but its not necessary as long as you dry the computer well yourself.

I know that sounds crazy, but it works and is 100% safe to do, I promise!

Anyways, whats your problem? the sound doesn't work in OSX but in Windows, or doesn't work at all? or OSX doesn't boot? I had a hard time understanding what you were trying to say. If the laptop turns on, consider yourself very lucky. Now stop using it and clean it out.

If you don't know what you're doing, get someone who does!!!!

[daflake]

You guys realize this is over a year old thread?

LOL, just a little funny how people don't check the date. I also wonder why it was resurrected instead of starting a new thread?

[MrPeanut]

LOL, just a little funny how people don't check the date. I also wonder why it was resurrected instead of starting a new thread?
Maybe the guy was terrified at getting yelled at about not searching.....

[kryptonianjorel]

LOL, just a little funny how people don't check the date. I also wonder why it was resurrected instead of starting a new thread?

Maybe the guy was terrified at getting yelled at about not searching.....

Ya Know, keeping important stuff like this up to date allows us to yell at noobs for not searching when they flip out and do stupid **** to their MBPs

[mrsir2009]

I have an iMac thats off the ground =) I once spilt a thick smoothie all over the keyboard but I just rinsed it out under the tab and it worked just fine (and still does)

[Daniel L]

Don't you wish Apple would put http://www.pc.ibm.com/europe/engineered/en/keyboard.html?europe&cc=europe these in?

[mrsir2009]

No not really because it would make it a lot thicker for the rest of us who don't spill stuff on our macs lol... =(

[BittenApple]

Any sort of liquids and electronics don't mix. But at the very least you learned a very important lesson. Move on.

[hlysmksbtmn]

You might want to consider a thinkpad: http://www.pc.ibm.com/europe/engineered/en/keyboard.html?europe&cc=europe

This "feature" is awesome. I spilled soda while my thinkpad was on and it just drained right out through the bottom. I never even turned off the computer! Every laptop ought to have this feature!

[RHD]

You might want to consider a thinkpad: http://www.pc.ibm.com/europe/engineered/en/keyboard.html?europe&cc=europe

This "feature" is awesome. I spilled soda while my thinkpad was on and it just drained right out through the bottom. I never even turned off the computer! Every laptop ought to have this feature!

I don't know of they still do, but lighting desks for Rock and Roll concerts used to have beer channels built in so when the roadies knocked their beers over it was diverted away from anything important and out the bottom of the desk.

I always thought laptops should work the same way.

[daflake]

Maybe the guy was terrified at getting yelled at about not searching.....


Fair point... ;)

[Minimoose 360]

NEVER turn on your device right after you spill liquids on it first. Dry it out for a few days and THEN test it.

Just sayin'.

Glad to hear it's working again though.