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Is this possibly the worst thing I could have done?

R

revalationist

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 2, 2011
75
0
So. Spilled about 1/3 of a small cup of whisky onto my MacBook's keyboard. I immediately held down the power and did the cold boot thing, wiped it up and put it upside down and left it for a while.
Then, I plugged in the adaptor, light was on, so tried turning on the machine. The power light flashed for a second, then went out and now it won't turn on at all.

I know this was a stupid thing to do, but is there still any hope?
 
revalationist said:
So. Spilled about 1/3 of a small cup of whisky onto my MacBook's keyboard. I immediately held down the power and did the cold boot thing, wiped it up and put it upside down and left it for a while.
Then, I plugged in the adaptor, light was on, so tried turning on the machine. The power light flashed for a second, then went out and now it won't turn on at all.

I know this was a stupid thing to do, but is there still any hope?
Click to expand...

Well, how long was the "while"?
 
RKO said:
Yeah it needed to be dried out totally before starting it up. Even though you powered it down straight away, damage may have already resulted. You can try drying it out by putting it into a cloth bag and submersing it into uncooked rice for a few days. As for hope, nobody knows but try that first and see what happens.
Click to expand...

I will try that, but I'm assuming that if t doesn't turn on full stop, the damage is done. As I said, it was about 1/3 of a 7-10 cm cup of whisky. I really dont want to take it to the genius bar, because last time this happened, the queue was colossal and it took over 3 weeks and I didn't have it on holiday, but I will take it t the genius bar if it's needed. Will post back with results of cloth and rice bag.
 
Not to bring you hope ... Or for that matter take it away either, just thinking ... Whisky is very sticky (or can be), it's possible the power button got stuck and it turned itself off ... And now it's maybe just stuck ...

That's of course a big maybe ... Maybe some contact spray can help? Problem is getting it in between the keys properly maybe.

My sympathies ...
 
RKO said:
Yeah it needed to be dried out totally before starting it up. Even though you powered it down straight away, damage may have already resulted. You can try drying it out by putting it into a cloth bag and submersing it into uncooked rice for a few days. As for hope, nobody knows but try that first and see what happens.
Click to expand...

Couldnt find a bag, will a pillowcase work?
 
^ i would have thought so.

And can you not make an appointment at the genius bar so you dont have to wait?
 
revalationist said:
So. Spilled about 1/3 of a small cup of whisky onto my MacBook's keyboard. I immediately held down the power and did the cold boot thing, wiped it up and put it upside down and left it for a while.
Then, I plugged in the adaptor, light was on, so tried turning on the machine. The power light flashed for a second, then went out and now it won't turn on at all.

I know this was a stupid thing to do, but is there still any hope?
Click to expand...

In the scale of life there are likely worse things you could have done but yeah, unfortunately i think this is pretty bad..

Leave it off for longer or take it to the apple store and pay up..
 
RKO said:
Yes a pillow case will work. Put it inside, submerse in the rice, forget it for a few days and go enjoy your time with your family. Deal with the Genius Bar later if all fails.
Click to expand...

How much rice, and should I have the lid closed or open?
 
RKO said:
Lid open and facing downwards inside the pillow case and in as much rice as possible that you have on hand. If you don't have a large container to seal it all in, use a large plastic bag that you can tie everything up in.
Click to expand...

That seems extremely unnecessary, why would he keep it open?
 
If this happened to me I would take it entirely apart, then rinse down spots that were covered with 95% isopropyl or distilled water. First I would get a strong light and magnifying spectacles/glass and examine it.
 
mac jones said:
If this happened to me I would take it entirely apart, then rinse down spots that were covered with 95% isopropyl or distilled water. First I would get a strong light and magnifying spectacles/glass and examine it.
Click to expand...

I have a warranty; wouldn't taking it apart void it?
 
Serelus said:
Lol closed, and he already said submerge, meaning like dipping it under water, instead the water is rice.
Click to expand...

Closed is pointless. The liquid entered via keyboard, so logic dictates it can leave the same way. The more surface area covered the better.
 
revalationist said:
I have a warranty; wouldn't taking it apart void it?
Click to expand...
Not any more than pouring whiskey into it. :)
I'm pretty sure Apple's limited warranty excludes all kinds of whiskey. Except single malts of course. Anything from Speyside is perfectly OK. My personal favorite for spilling in my Mac is Balvenie 30.

I've recently had the pleasure of recovering a MacBook my girlfriend spilled water in and a Blackberry that she dropped in the toilet. Twice. (Yeah, don't ask).

In all three cases I put the powered-down devices in an oven at the lowest possible setting for about four hours. In our case that meant about 140 degrees F on a thermometer in the oven. I pulled the batteries on the Blackberries but that won't be an option for you.

All devices worked when we powered them back up. The rice solution work also, but takes significantly longer. Note: While higher temperatures may accelerate the process, they also run the risk of incinerating your device. Not a huge loss if it's a Blackberry but you probably want to avoid melting your Mac.
 
Man, we see like 2 of these types of threads a week. Scary, sure hope it never happens to me : (
 
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