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HELP! Spilled drink on iBook

wordmunger

wordmunger

macrumors 603
Original poster
Sep 3, 2003
5,124
3
North Carolina
My son just spilled an entire can of soda on my iBook keyboard!!!!

Any suggestions for what to do? Should I take it apart? Try and dry off the insides? Wash with something? Any help greatly appreciated. I'm moving on to search Apple Forums now.
 
Take the battery out and trun it upside down immediately.

Remove the keyboard, start wiping things down, and hopefully it didn't get past your AirPort area.

Good luck, Wordmunger!
 
Yep, I removed the battery first thing. I've taken the keyboard, airport card, and memory stick out, and cleaned everything I could see with Q-tips. There really wasn't much soda at all when I got down to the level of the memory stick. Maybe things will be okay.

Should I try to open things up any more? I'm assuming I should wait at least 24 hours before I try to start it up.
 
wordmunger said:
Yep, I removed the battery first thing. I've taken the keyboard, airport card, and memory stick out, and cleaned everything I could see with Q-tips. There really wasn't much soda at all when I got down to the level of the memory stick. Maybe things will be okay.

Should I try to open things up any more? I'm assuming I should wait at least 24 hours before I try to start it up.
Click to expand...

I'd rinse the keyboard with some isopropyl alcohol (light grade - 30%) to get the sticky sugary stuff out, and maybe take a hair dryer to it for a while, or put it over onf of your floor AC vents (AC air is dehumidified).

Sounds like you'll be OK! :D
 
iGary said:
I'd rinse the keyboard with some isopropyl alcohol (light grade - 30%) to get the sticky sugary stuff out, and maybe take a hair dryer to it for a while, or put it over onf of your floor AC vents (AC air is dehumidified).

Sounds like you'll be OK! :D
Click to expand...

Good idea.

Next question: What should my 13-year-old's penance be?

case 1: the computer recovers, but the boy still needs a lesson.

case 2: the computer is dead, and the boy definitely needs a lesson.
 
No isopropyl alcohol

I don't have any isopropyl alcohol, but I do have ethyl alcohol. Will that work?

edit: I also have all kinds of hard liquor: rum, vodka, scotch. Somehow I don't think that's a very good idea ;)

... well, maybe for the owner, but not for the computer, eh?
 
Time to whip out the old belt and teach him a lesson. :D

Just kidding. Mistakes happen. Just don't give him an allowence, sweets, games, videos, CDs, and whatever else you buy him on a regular basis any more for a few months. Limit the TV and computer usage.
 
wordmunger said:
I don't have any isopropyl alcohol, but I do have ethyl alcohol. Will that work?

edit: I also have all kinds of hard liquor: rum, vodka, scotch. Somehow I don't think that's a very good idea ;)

... well, maybe for the owner, but not for the computer, eh?
Click to expand...

It will work, but try not to get it on the keys - it may take of the letters. :eek:

As far as your 13-year-old, just tell em' no food or drink around the computer ever - if you catch him doing it again, suspend computer priveleges. ;)

I've been lucky. Almost spilled coffee and water onto my iBook several times.

EDIT - If he killed the iBook, definitely kill him. :p
 
bodeh6 said:
Time to whip out the old belt and teach him a lesson. :D

Just kidding. Mistakes happen. Just don't give him an allowence, sweets, games, videos, CDs, and whatever else you buy him on a regular basis any more for a few months. Limit the TV and computer usage.
Click to expand...


You are harsh :eek: Just ban him from soda (assuming that he drinks it alot.) That would hurt :rolleyes:
 
iGary said:
I'd rinse the keyboard with some isopropyl alcohol (light grade - 30%) to get the sticky sugary stuff out, and maybe take a hair dryer to it for a while, or put it over onf of your floor AC vents (AC air is dehumidified).

Sounds like you'll be OK! :D
Click to expand...


Since it's an iBook, its really easy to pop off all the keys and give 'em a good bath and clean the keyboard back thingiee.

Good luck with it!

It seems to be "spilled drink on laptop" week here at MR.. I hope I'm not next!

*strokes iSkin lovingly*
How I love you, keyboard protector...

AH! MAPLE SYRUP within a 10'foot radius of my PB.


I hope the iBook gets better!! :)
 
bodeh6 said:
Time to whip out the old belt and teach him a lesson. :D

Just kidding. Mistakes happen. Just don't give him an allowence, sweets, games, videos, CDs, and whatever else you buy him on a regular basis any more for a few months. Limit the TV and computer usage.
Click to expand...
I agree. If I ever lost something or broke anything my mom would just say, "Easy come, easy go." *sniff* That was a sure sign that things wouldn't be coming so easily to me for awhile. :eek:
 
He needs to be Banned from the Server of Life which we all reside on.

Son - Kicked by Admin
 
Okay, I got the isopropyl and gave the keyboard a good bath. We'll let everything dry overnight and see what happens in the morning. Great tip on drying on the a/c register, iGary!

Also, thanks for all the discipline tips, everyone! Keep 'em coming!
 
Go to the nearest ocean, and let your kid drift away on a makeshift raft until he learned his lesson, and after he learned the lesson, he can spend the rest of his life becoming a pirate.

Seriously though, if he didnt brake it, I would just limit food and drink around the valuables. It was an accident, and accidents happen. So no real harsh punishment.

If he brakes it though, find some way for him to help work part of it off. Working the whole thing off might take forever for a kid, so as long as he spend enough time working for the message to be extra clear.
 
wordmunger said:
Okay, I got the isopropyl and gave the keyboard a good bath. We'll let everything dry overnight and see what happens in the morning. Great tip on drying on the a/c register, iGary!

Also, thanks for all the discipline tips, everyone! Keep 'em coming!
Click to expand...

I lived on a boat for 11 years. I'm great at drying things out. ;)

Good luck! :D
 
how do you take the keyboard off the ibook? can you take the powerbook's off?
 
zeeko said:
how do you take the keyboard off the ibook? can you take the powerbook's off?
Click to expand...
the iBook has little... things.. that let them come off. Little door handles, up on the function keys.

PowerBook's doesn't come off so easily. I don't think it's user do able.
 
Wordmunger, please let us know how the clean-up went! I've had to clean up a 12" PB before that was drenched by a 32oz water bottle; some of my friends don't understand basic concepts of locating items on their desks (i.e. computers elevated, food & drink somewhere lower). It wasn't too difficult to get that computer running again; honestly, it was just more of waiting for it to dry out. I'd like to hear if you can get the iBook back into shape.

And if not, this thread should turn into a "How To Bury My Child Alive" thread :p
 
Fingers crossed that that iBook survives. I did something similar myself with my Sony Vaio. A mug a tea tipped into the keyboard. Took the whole thing as quickly as possible into the bath where it was stripped down and drained then painstakingly cleaned and reassembled. Sadly, it did not recover. The liqid had gotten itself into the case and all over the main circuit board. Thankfully the Hard Disk escaped. Vaio was replaced with Powerbook. Expensive accident - yes. Regrets - no. If the iBook is dead though, don't forget to check out your insurance policies though. I had an accidental damage listed as a risk on my household contents policy so my insurers helped me out a little bit on the replacement. They provided cash to the value of an equivalent vaio minus the policy excess, I topped this up to get the Powerbook. I now scream whenever I see any liquid within a 3ft radius of the PB.
 
So far, no luck. I'm now working on disassembling the whole thing. This will allow me to get at the HD and recover the data. I'll also clean everything up and put it back together to see if it works.

Curse Apple for using so many different screw sizes. I'm now off to Radio shack to get a slightly smaller screwdriver.
 
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