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Salad oil spilled on MacBook touchpad

Gunes66

Gunes66

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 14, 2022
41
3
Hello friends, while I was eating salad at the computer, a few big drops accidentally fell on the Trackpad. I wiped it with a napkin, they went inside, I guess, a little bit of them too. Does it create a problem? I intervened quickly, and I doubt it might be in it. Olive oil. I don't think it will be a problem. What do you think?
 

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I don't think you can do much other than replace the trackpad, so probably just wait and see if it actually becomes a problem.
You could take off the back cover (usually need a special pentalobe screwdriver and sometimes a suction cup) and check there is actually not more than "a little bit" inside. It is going to be hard to see, though. I suspect any acid (vinegar, lemon) in the salad dressing will be more of a problem than the oil.
 
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That spot is not sealed so fluids can get in, but the high viscosity of the oil will slow that down and even if it were a couple drops of water it won't just start flowing through the gap freely, since it's a tiny gap. I would not open up the device since you can't get to this spot anyways without removing a bunch of hardware, you run the risk of doing damage just with the disassembly process. I would honestly assume it's fine and not worry about it. If you do this more often you might want to get Applecare+, then you really don't have to care anymore. I have AC+ just for the peace of mind that the worst case repair cost will be really low even if i fall with the Mac in the shower. But really, just put the food further away from the Mac and use a wireless mouse and keyboard if you must use it.
 
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wilberforce said:
I don't think you can do much other than replace the trackpad, so probably just wait and see if it actually becomes a problem.
You could take off the back cover (usually need a special pentalobe screwdriver and sometimes a suction cup) and check there is actually not more than "a little bit" inside. It is going to be hard to see, though. I suspect any acid (vinegar, lemon) in the salad dressing will be more of a problem than the oil.
Click to expand...
okkibs said:
That spot is not sealed so fluids can get in, but the high viscosity of the oil will slow that down and even if it were a couple drops of water it won't just start flowing through the gap freely, since it's a tiny gap. I would not open up the device since you can't get to this spot anyways without removing a bunch of hardware, you run the risk of doing damage just with the disassembly process. I would honestly assume it's fine and not worry about it. If you do this more often you might want to get Applecare+, then you really don't have to care anymore. I have AC+ just for the peace of mind that the worst case repair cost will be really low even if i fall with the Mac in the shower. But really, just put the food further away from the Mac and use a wireless mouse and keyboard if you must use it.
Click to expand...
In short, you say it's okay. Can I think of that?
 
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Oil is nonconductive, and there are NO moving parts in that area. The "click" on the trackpad is software generated (shut down the laptop and try to click; it won't!) so don't worry too much.

Just be more careful in the future as next time it could be orange juice.
 
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My educated and experienced answer is
who knows?
try and find out!

I sweat and the affects my MacBook Air 2010 trackpad
while the MacBook 2012 can take some liquid
while nothing goes near the MBA2020M1!
 
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I had a friend who spilled a beer in his macbook. We took it apart and doused it in denatured alcohol. The speaker fried, but all the beer disappeared. This was a plastic '06 black macbook, so it was a bit... less sophisticated, but if you start to have problems, you may look for denatured alcohol as a last ditch effort.
 
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It should be completely fine, but if things take a turn for the worse, you can always get a Magic Trackpad and pair it to the laptop. I'm pretty sure that one is salad-oil resistant. :p
 
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So, of course, when we say salad oil, there is tomato juice, salad juice, parsley juice, less lemon and olive oil.

My computer is working as normal now. According to me, I removed 70-80% of the flowing fluid. But if it is in it, will it break my computer?

I saw on some forums that those who spilled sugary cola and sugary drinks did not have a problem. I want to feel good too

But it's always on my mind. What time is it at night, I can't sleep.
It could have been worse. This is how I amuse myself
 
if liquid has got through the gap of the touch pad then over time the liquid will affect the performing function of the touchpad. How long that time takes is anyone's guess. The oil will eventually dry out but once it does, how it will affect the touchpad no one will know until it eventually dries out. You've either got to play the waiting game to see if the touchpad starts to give any problems or you have to go piece of mind and pay to get it repaired (the oil cleaned off)
 
Next time a liquid gets in the trackpad, turn the machine off immediately, flip it upside down with the lid open, lay the keyboard and trackpad on a piece of cloth.
You can beat do this in the edge of a table, but the keyboard and trackpad on the cloth and have the screen „hanging“ off the side.
Before all that you can also try to stick an edge of the napkin into the trackpad to try and drain it. But make sure NO piece of the napkin gets caught in it or it might get stuck permanently.

In this case nothing much should happen however, the salad oil isn’t conductive but maybe the oil and sugar will make the trackpad „sticky“, or non-clicky for some time.
 
Gunes66 said:
So, of course, when we say salad oil, there is tomato juice, salad juice, parsley juice, less lemon and olive oil.

My computer is working as normal now. According to me, I removed 70-80% of the flowing fluid. But if it is in it, will it break my computer?

I saw on some forums that those who spilled sugary cola and sugary drinks did not have a problem. I want to feel good too

But it's always on my mind. What time is it at night, I can't sleep.
It could have been worse. This is how I amuse myself
Click to expand...
It likely won’t break your trackpad or anything else.
I once had something it seemed stuck unter the trackpad, when pressing and clicking it felt like a piece of a dry leave. It bothered me, but I couldn’t do anything about it. It went away with time.
 
While some might qualify this as intention of attempted hummus-ide 😁, by your description it will be fine.
 
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Ekran Resmi 2023-02-28 ÖÖ 2.34.48.png


I mean, I put tissue paper in here. It was sucking at first, but now there is no smell or liquid. It spilled over that side of the pink ring. I don't think it will go all the way to the very back. What do you think when yousee this photo?
 
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