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Soaked MacBook Pro With No Explanation. Health Concerns?

B

beckfizzle

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 26, 2006
46
0
Denver, CO
Macrumors folks,

I've got a strange one here. Last night I woke up and noticed my screen had come on so I just closed the screen (not sure this has anything to do with it). Woke up that morning, went to work and came home. Ate some lunch, picked up the Macbook Pro and noticed a bunch of fluid under it. I immediately took the battery out and dried it best that I could. I opened the screen only to find it was completely wet on the screen and on top of the keyboard.

Unless I did something in my sleep I have no explanation how it could have gotten wet. I live alone in a secure apartment building, no pets and there were no drinks near it nor any leaks in the ceiling.

My question for you all is there any fluid (a lot of fluid) somewhere in the computer? Besides the battery I can't think of anything. Battery looked fine btw. I had this crap all over my hands and such while cleaning it. Anything I should be concerned about, health wise (i.e Mercury, etc.)? Or is the only thing I should be concerned about is how it got wet?

I tried to start it after it had dried and it's toast. What are my options now?

Sorry, I am a complete computer newbie.
 
I don't know of any liquids in the MacBook.

As far the the waters origins,
  • Is there any wetness on the ceiling above where it was?
  • Do you have a history of sleep walking? (seriously)
  • Was the humidity high? Condensation related?
  • Have you used any programs with Splash Screens? lol jk, sorry couldn't resist.

I wouldn't be too worried about side effects from touching the liquid, though to be safe keep an eye on your hands for any signs or irritations.
 
The only liquid I can think if could be from the battery (I think?). But I don't know how it would have gone up into your screen and all that.

Very strange!
 
It wouldn't have come from the battery, you really would know if it was battery fluid...
 
LCD display?
If so it wouldn't be all that much liquid.... but the chemicals that comprise lcds can make men sterile.....

Maybe condensation though.... hopefully it still works
 
I swear to god that you have been either sleepwalking or some nocturnal pet/creature has done mischief. Esp. in the driest city in the land. My cat has done some strange things(awake) and i've done some even stranger things(half-conscious or less-than-so) Unless, that is, there are no other external sources, unless China accidentally inserted a water bottle with the requisite 'Lead' content... Heck, I'm just grasping at wet straws here! No amount of liquid should be coming out of your computer. Through it, yes. Given the right culprits. But i doubt it's a rotten Apple.
 
Did it ever occur to you that you pissed on your lappy and closed the lid because you thought it was the toilet? Just asking.
 
mkrishnan said:
Think carefully before you answer this now, if it had been the toilet, would you really have put the seat back down?
Click to expand...

If it was a frathouse toilet, he'd have been lucky to have been sober enough hit the trashcan next to the toilet. ;)
 
As stupid as this sounds, i've gotta go with the pee thing. Siriusly. What did the liquid look like? Colored? Thick? Smell bad? Etc. Where was the lappy at? (Desk, floor, bed?)

Options? Call apple. They'll take it in and repair, let it dry out more first before giving up. It could take upto a week :eek:
 
A flatmate of mine threw her laptop out of the window (2 stories high) while sleepwalking. She has a history of sleepwalking but still, it scared the sh*t out of her. She had never done something like that before. She was completely unaware, she found out her laptop was missing from her desk and lying outside on the curb when she woke up that morning.

Just saying... Don't dismiss the possiblilty of doing weird stuff while sleepwalking.
 
Lithium batteries can leak if they overheat. Is there anyway it could have overheated? Is the battery damaged in any visible way? If it overheated you'd see signs of that. I've never heard of any* battery leaking without signs of physical defect.

Otherwise start looking for towards stranger explanations. The truth is out there.


*minus the kind that can be refilled with battery acid (also know as the scary kind)
 
Do u have it sitting near a window? Maybe the window was open during the night and it rained? :)
 
Wow, that's crazy.

On the battery, however, I'm pretty sure the MPB in your sig uses Lithium-Polymer batteries, which don't contain liquid. Even if it were a Li-ion one, the liquid is generally a very volatile organic chemical (hence those nasty Dell explosions from a way back), so it would likely have smelled strongly if it didn't evaporate immediately, but if it failed that catastrophically it probably would have burst into flames so liquid wouldn't be what you were asking about.

LCDs obviously contain a small amount of liquid (that's what the L stands for after all), but I'm pretty much certain that it's a VERY thin layer of liquid, so I can't imagine even if it were to somehow leak without a big visible hole in the screen that it could produce any kind of a puddle.

It'd probably look sort of funky, anyway.

Time to check your ceilings...
 
Everyone, I appreciate the comments. Got some good laughs. I've checked everywhere to see where the water may have come from (guessing what it must be). Only explanation is that while sleep walking I somehow managed to pour water all over my macbook. I didn't know I slept walk but its the only thing that makes sense.
We shall see what the fate of my computer is soon. Thanks for all the suggestions!
 
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