Specific question on liquid wine spill w/ pics (did a search already but no results)

[toroinoue]

I did a search on this and couldn't find an answer to what I am looking for. My gf spilled a glass of wine on her pre-unibody MBP while it was on. She powered down, unplugged the battery, and tried to use paper towels to get most of the liquid out between the keys. She left it to dry for a week before I opened it up for her to see if there was any wine stains inside the computer.

Luckily, most of the wine seemed to have avoided the logic board. The part of the logic board that has some wine residue is in the area I circled on the second picture. I was able to wipe off most of the wine residue with a q-tip but there is definitely wine residue still on the specific chip I have an red arrow pointing to in the second picture, with a third picture focusing on the chip in question.

Does anyone have an suggestions on what I should do at this point? I would have thought that the wine would have completely dried after a week but as I clean it, I can feel that it is still sticky. I'm worried if a short will happen after the computer turns on, heats up and turns the sticky wine residue around that chip into liquid again.

The only other parts where there was wine stains was around the speaker. Specifically, there was a huge stain where I have a red arrow pointing in the fourth pic. Luckily, there was a plastic over of some sort, so what was beneath it was spared but I have no idea if some wine got around that area.

It would be wonderful if you guys/gals can chime on what my gf should do next before turning her computer on. Thanks.

 

[miles01110]

Diluted rubbing alcohol should be ok.

 

[iKay]

I'd definitely rub off all traces of the wine before attempting to power that up.

If it does heat up and turn back into liquid it's almost certain it will short something and the way that all the components are packed on the logic board doesn't fill me with confidence that it would survive it.

 

[Picho]

Everything looks ok, nothing seems to be out of order on the logic board.

In this cases, the only way of really knowing is to power up the machine and see what happens (after you're 100% sure that the logic board is completely dry). Try using a compressed air canister so you can be 100% sure that the board is completely dry. Do the same with the keyboard, go thru each and everyone of the keys from the top and bottom and dry the excess liquid with a paper towel. Repeat until no more wine pours out.

If there's a short, well it was meant to happen and there was nothing you could have done. The rest of the MBP will not suffer any kind of damage, so you don't have to worry about doing more damage.

The keyboard is probably history, but you never know. If it is, it's a heck of a lot cheaper to replace than the logic board.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[mousouchop]

Nice to see someone that knows how to react to a liquid spill, your GF TOO! Amazing, you get a gold star. So many do the "I spilled liquid on my computer 5 minutes ago and now it doesn't turn on!"

As stated above, diluted rubbing alcohol would be your best bet now.

 

[toroinoue]

Thanks for the responses. The problem is the specific chip that I highlighted in the second picture with an arrow pointing towards it. I'm sure some wine got in between the "legs" of the chip (sure I'm not using the right term, but the part of the chip that comes out that is soldered onto the logic board. I don't think I can clean in between there. Would shooting some compressed air be the best way to go? Would using a hair dryer make any sense? Thanks again.

 

[Picho]

Thanks for the responses. The problem is the specific chip that I highlighted in the second picture with an arrow pointing towards it. I'm sure some wine got in between the "legs" of the chip (sure I'm not using the right term, but the part of the chip that comes out that is soldered onto the logic board. I don't think I can clean in between there. Would shooting some compressed air be the best way to go? Would using a hair dryer make any sense? Thanks again.

Negative on the hair dryer, and go ahead with the compressed air. It's a very small amount on that chip, try using alcohol and a Q-tip to remove as much as you can and then use the compressed air to completely remove any liquid.

If a small trace amount still remains, it will be evaporated once the mac heats up and since it's such a small amount, it will have no effect whatsoever.

Good luck

 

[yohannus]

Thanks for the responses. The problem is the specific chip that I highlighted in the second picture with an arrow pointing towards it. I'm sure some wine got in between the "legs" of the chip (sure I'm not using the right term, but the part of the chip that comes out that is soldered onto the logic board. I don't think I can clean in between there. Would shooting some compressed air be the best way to go? Would using a hair dryer make any sense? Thanks again.

make sure its high percentage isopropyl alcohol... i think some "rubbing alcohols" these days have perfumes and other stuff in them.... you can use it liberally enough to dissolve the wine as it dries fairly quick... and some compressed air gets it dry even faster...

 

[miles01110]

If you need to scrub, use a soft toothbrush. Works very well on circuit boards.

 

[toroinoue]

make sure its high percentage isopropyl alcohol... i think some "rubbing alcohols" these days have perfumes and other stuff in them.... you can use it liberally enough to dissolve the wine as it dries fairly quick... and some compressed air gets it dry even faster...

I have 91% Isopropyl Alcohol, would that be a high enough percentage?

 

[Picho]

I have 91% Isopropyl Alcohol, would that be a high enough percentage?

Yep, anything above 80% does the job.

 

[toroinoue]

If you need to scrub, use a soft toothbrush. Works very well on circuit boards.

Very good tip. Thank you.

Thanks again to everyone that replied to the post. I'll probably try the suggestions in the afternoon. If anyone else wants to chime in, please feel free to do so.

Yep, anything above 80% does the job.

Super fast response. Thanks!

 

[alent1234]

i spilled a quarter cup of iced tea on my HP last year. googled to find the best course of action.

first don't turn it on
take it apart as much as you can and let it rest on it's side for the liquid to come out
use a hair dryer to dry the rest of the liquid

at this point i put mine back together but the touchpad was flaky and i thought broke. replaced it and still didn't work. on notebookforums.com i was told to get rubbing alcohol and use a q-tip to wipe the circuitry. did it for a week and it has been working fine for 9 months now. except for a bad keyboard where HP sent me a replacement.

 

[palane]

IPA Definitely

Others beat me to it, but I thought I'd chime in anyway. Pure isopropyl alcohol is your best bet. The basic theory being that the solids were soluble in an alcohol/water solution before, so they'll dissolve again.

Make sure to let the components thoroughly dry before you try anything. A hair dryer isn't a bad idea or let an oven warm up a bit, turn it off, and let the components dry.

I once took care of wine spilled on a phone this way. I partially submerged it in IPA (and also used an ultrasonic cleaner). It took a little while and I had to let it dry, but the phone was nearly good as new afterwards.

BB

I have 91% Isopropyl Alcohol, would that be a high enough percentage?

 

[dangerisababy]

I did the same thing

Hey, I just had the same thing happen. The major difference was an entire glass spilled inside the keyboard all over pretty much everything inside, it was running at the time. After turning it off & upside down watching the wine come gushing out I opened it up and un-plugged the battery.

I cleaned the logic board with alcohol, but it wouldn't start up. I was about to sell it for parts then I was reading in these Forums about giving the board a warm soapy bath. So I soaked it in warm soapy water, rinsed with warm water, dried with a hair dryer & the compressed air.

Two days later after drying I cleaned it a bit more with alcohol - plugged her it & it works. I am writing this on it now. I heard frying when the wine hit, it oozed through all the ports, but it works now. The only thing is the mouse will jump around occasionally when I am tying.

I will most likely need a new upper case, b/c the keyboard is a little sticky.

If anybody knows about peeling away the plastic beneath the keyboard & cleaning let me know.

Good Luck,