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Putting macbook in a bucket of rice - no luck

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DadBod630

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Oct 13, 2015
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Hey all, I have a 2015 Macbook Pro and last week I was drunk and knocked a bottle of Maker's Mark on it. A substantial amount of liquor got into the computer and it promptly shut off and would not come back on. My roommate who is Asian (not that that really matters) has a giant bucket of rice and I heard that if you submerge your electronics in rice it pulls the liquid out. Well my macbook has been in there for 4 days and I pulled it out today and it still won't turn on. Does it need to be in the rice for longer?

Thanks, Jared
 
Rice can help with the moisture but it can't scrub the inside of the Macbook clean of the other stuff contained in the drink. Your computer needs to be cleaned.
 
Kate. said:
Rice can help with the moisture but it can't scrub the inside of the Macbook clean of the other stuff contained in the drink. Your computer needs to be cleaned.
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Like with scrubbing bubbles or?
 
DadBod630 said:
Like with scrubbing bubbles or?
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No, generic household cleaners won't do it, in fact they could make it worse.
If you don't know what you're doing, take it to a specialist, like a repair facility or something.

Have them take a look at it, and clean it out in a way that won't damage the electronics.
 
I doubt that it can be "cleaned". We've had a few phones over the years that got wet and shut off. Did the rice thing and it did allow the phones to turn on and "work" but the phones were not reliable. I recall two of the phones had minds of their own. One would randomly press keys (it had a physical keyboard), turn off on it's own, and so on.
 
DadBod630 said:
Hey all, I have a 2015 Macbook Pro and last week I was drunk and knocked a bottle of Maker's Mark on it. A substantial amount of liquor got into the computer and it promptly shut off and would not come back on. My roommate who is Asian (not that that really matters) has a giant bucket of rice and I heard that if you submerge your electronics in rice it pulls the liquid out. Well my macbook has been in there for 4 days and I pulled it out today and it still won't turn on. Does it need to be in the rice for longer?

Thanks, Jared
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I'd take it apart and lick off the motherboard! :eek:

You'll need a new top case and battery at least. You'll need to removed the board and clean both sides. Depending upon how much got in there, it might be salvageable.

Good luck!
 
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UPDATE: my buddy who is Asian took the MacBook and shipped it to his uncle in Hong Kong. He says his uncle does free computer repairs and will send it back fixed next month
 
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Remove power & battery asap.

Don't evan try & turn it on & get yourself a technicians manual & start pulling it down.

Clean & dry the parts.

Unless you have shorted it out & stuffed the mother board it should go back together working.

I have repaired a few. Mostly water never makers mark.

At least the parts will be clean. Lol.
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:D
 
DadBod630 said:
Hey all, I have a 2015 Macbook Pro and last week I was drunk and knocked a bottle of Maker's Mark on it. A substantial amount of liquor got into the computer and it promptly shut off and would not come back on.(1) My roommate who is Asian (not that that really matters)
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DadBod630 said:
UPDATE: (2) my buddy who is Asian took the MacBook and shipped it to his uncle in Hong Kong. He says his uncle does free computer repairs and will send it back fixed next month
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First time you said "not that it really matters" than you said it again. ??? :confused:

Rice fixes are really not scientific, but people swear by it. Some internet searches reveal that it does not work well in the long run.

https://www.gazelle.com/thehorn/2014/05/06/gazelles-guide-water-damage-truth-rice-galaxy-everything/
 
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Rice is amazing for removing water. It of course does nothing to remove everything else, and people don't really tend to drink de-ionized water regularly. :p
 
The rice trick is about the stupidest thing I've heard in all my years of computer support. The rice won't get to where the liquid is, and corrosion starts almost immediately. I have more than a few systems where I shook rice out of the optical drive and inside the chassis. If anything starts working again after the rice treatment it's because the liquid dried on it's own removing the short, not because the rice absorbed it.

But if it makes one feel good.....
 
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My room mate moved out and I have heard nothing from him or his uncle. If anyone knows how I can get my computer back I need help. Theres stuff on that computer that nobody needs to see. Does anyone know a lawyer in Hong kong?
 
DadBod630 said:
My room mate moved out and I have heard nothing from him or his uncle. If anyone knows how I can get my computer back I need help. Theres stuff on that computer that nobody needs to see. Does anyone know a lawyer in Hong kong?
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You're probably SOL. Not that it's a huge loss, the computer was likely a write off after the spill.

Just recover your important stuff from your time machine backup. If you don't have a backup, you've just learned a painful lesson. ALWAYS keep your computers backed up.
 
T5BRICK said:
You're probably SOL. Not that it's a huge loss, the computer was likely a write off after the spill.

Just recover your important stuff from your time machine backup. If you don't have a backup, you've just learned a painful lesson. ALWAYS keep your computers backed up.
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I would have sent the logic board in for repair.

Why do a write-off? Huge waste of money.
 
tubeexperience said:
I would have sent the logic board in for repair.

Why do a write-off? Huge waste of money.
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Because a circuit board that has been involved in a liquid spill is incredibly hard to fully repair. Often, the liquid causes corrosion that can't be seen immediately but shows up later and greatly reduces the life of the PCB. If you want a reliable computer, I wouldn't ever trust a component that has been subjected to a spill. There is no way to know when something will fail.

Or I posted this SPECIFICALLY because I wanted to argue with you about it.
 
T5BRICK said:
Because a circuit board that has been involved in a liquid spill is incredibly hard to fully repair. Often, the liquid causes corrosion that can't be seen immediately but shows up later and greatly reduces the life of the PCB. If you want a reliable computer, I wouldn't ever trust a component that has been subjected to a spill. There is no way to know when something will fail.

Or I posted this SPECIFICALLY because I wanted to argue with you about it.
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You do realize that Apple uses refurbished (aka failed, but reworked) logic boards for replacement parts, right?
 
tubeexperience said:
You do realize that Apple uses refurbished (aka failed, but reworked) logic boards for replacement parts, right?
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There is a huge difference between rework(remove and replace a failed component) and something like an extensive repair to a liquid damaged logic board.

If you think Apple is using parts that they KNOW have been subjected to liquid damage as "refurbished" parts, I'd tell you you're wrong. I work in a facility that manufactures electronics. The risks involved with using assemblies that are liquid damaged far outweigh the benefits. We've scrapped assemblies that cost thousands of dollars because no matter how you repair a product with that kind of damage, there is no guarantee that it will be reliable.

You go ahead and continue thinking what you think. I trust that Apple has consulted their team of engineers and lawyers on this one and is doing the right thing.
 
T5BRICK said:
There is a huge difference between rework(remove and replace a failed component) and something like an extensive repair to a liquid damaged logic board.

If you think Apple is using parts that they KNOW have been subjected to liquid damage as "refurbished" parts, I'd tell you you're wrong. I work in a facility that manufactures electronics. The risks involved with using assemblies that are liquid damaged far outweigh the benefits. We've scrapped assemblies that cost thousands of dollars because no matter how you repair a product with that kind of damage, there is no guarantee that it will be reliable.

You go ahead and continue thinking what you think. I trust that Apple has consulted their team of engineers and lawyers on this one and is doing the right thing.
Click to expand...

 
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