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Spilled water issue

S

Saphfire

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 7, 2012
7
0
Last night, like the idiot that I was, I was drinking a cup of water near my MBA. Of courses, about two inches of water spilled on it; it was on at the time. It made a sizzling noise for a couple seconds, and the screen went black. I then pulled off the power cord and dried to dump all of the water off of it, wiping it down with a rag. (The water was on the keyboard.)

Since I didn't know what to do, I immediately tried to turn it in again, once it was pretty dry. It turned on just fine, so I used it for a few minutes before shutting it down again.

This morning, I once again tried booting it up. It worked for about 15 minutes, then black screened and turned off again. I read some threads on these forums with another device, and since then have not tried to turn it on again. It's now sitting on my desk, with the lid slightly open. I know I should put it in a bag of rice and dry it or open up the shell, but my parents are still home and I'll have to wait.

Is there any hope for my MBA, or will it have already corroded the logic board and other internal parts? Please help :confused:
 
Saphfire said:
Last night, like the idiot that I was, I was drinking a cup of water near my MBA. Of courses, about two inches of water spilled on it; it was on at the time. It made a sizzling noise for a couple seconds, and the screen went black. I then pulled off the power cord and dried to dump all of the water off of it, wiping it down with a rag. (The water was on the keyboard.)

Since I didn't know what to do, I immediately tried to turn it in again, once it was pretty dry. It turned on just fine, so I used it for a few minutes before shutting it down again.

This morning, I once again tried booting it up. It worked for about 15 minutes, then black screened and turned off again. I read some threads on these forums with another device, and since then have not tried to turn it on again. It's now sitting on my desk, with the lid slightly open. I know I should put it in a bag of rice and dry it or open up the shell, but my parents are still home and I'll have to wait.

Is there any hope for my MBA, or will it have already corroded the logic board and other internal parts? Please help :confused:
Click to expand...



Sorry, I think its toast.
 
You shouldn't have turned it back on. It takes a couple of days to fully dry out. Likely it needs a new logic board since it sounds like it shorted. Apple charges $755 for a high level repair of a MacBook Air (I know from personal experience). If it is a 2011 or 2012, it might be worth fixing. Otherwise, it just might be time for a new MacBook Air. If it's a 2012, see if your credit card company will cover the repair charge.

For future reference, you can usually buy a "personal articles policy" rider to your homeowner's or renter's insurance for about $50-60/year that covers accidental damage. You might also consider a keyboard cover if you frequently use it near water.
 
KPOM said:
You shouldn't have turned it back on. It takes a couple of days to fully dry out. Likely it needs a new logic board since it sounds like it shorted. Apple charges $755 for a high level repair of a MacBook Air (I know from personal experience). If it is a 2011 or 2012, it might be worth fixing. Otherwise, it just might be time for a new MacBook Air. If it's a 2012, see if your credit card company will cover the repair charge.

For future reference, you can usually buy a "personal articles policy" rider to your homeowner's or renter's insurance for about $50-60/year that covers accidental damage. You might also consider a keyboard cover if you frequently use it near water.
Click to expand...

Thanks guys...yeah, it's a 2011 MBA, not even a year yet. I put it in a bag of rice; my parents are leaving the house soon, so I'll get it set up in a better location when they do. Do I have any chances?
 
KPOM said:
You shouldn't have turned it back on. It takes a couple of days to fully dry out. Likely it needs a new logic board since it sounds like it shorted. Apple charges $755 for a high level repair of a MacBook Air (I know from personal experience). If it is a 2011 or 2012, it might be worth fixing. Otherwise, it just might be time for a new MacBook Air. If it's a 2012, see if your credit card company will cover the repair charge.

For future reference, you can usually buy a "personal articles policy" rider to your homeowner's or renter's insurance for about $50-60/year that covers accidental damage. You might also consider a keyboard cover if you frequently use it near water.
Click to expand...

What's your parents being home got to do with it? Stick it in that rice pronto!! And if your mom asks what you're doing tell her your body parts are changing and she wouldn't understand!
 
I think the sizzling sound was probably the worst part - that confirmed that the water hit circuitry somewhere.
 
Saphfire said:
Thanks guys...yeah, it's a 2011 MBA, not even a year yet. I put it in a bag of rice; my parents are leaving the house soon, so I'll get it set up in a better location when they do. Do I have any chances?
Click to expand...

At this point, since you turned it back on, it's probably already shorted. Just explain what happened and see what they will do. Maybe you can work out some arrangement with your parents to pay back the repair charge if they pick up the tab now. Again, from personal experience, you will likely be quoted $755 plus any sales taxes on services in your state.

Apple will do a good job with the repair. My 2010 came back with a brand new battery, keyboard, and lower case (I spilled wine on it so I'm guessing parts were sticky). Spend an extra $25 or so on a keyboard cover and be more careful next time. :apple:

----------
TheRealDamager said:
I think the sizzling sound was probably the worst part - that confirmed that the water hit circuitry somewhere.
Click to expand...

Agreed. It would be nice if Apple built in some sort of water protection. I think some Lenovo and Toshiba Ultrabooks have water resistance (nothing is "water proof") that might have prevented a short in a situation like this. It would be some sort of membrane underneath the keyboard.
 
Yeah, I just jammed it in that rice bag...praying that it'll work again...someday. I literally just had my screen replaced, last week, for $500...this has been a very expensive learning experience. Now I'll be ultra careful :(

After a bit of reading, many other users have had this issue, yet with a lot of drying, they were doing fine. Still hoping...I haven't told my parents yet, and after having a broken screen just a week ago, what to do? I feel like such an idiot posting this - it's only been this week. The past nine months with my MBA had no trouble.
 
On a positive note, at least it was water and not something sticky or full of sugar like Coke or wine.

Good luck...
 
(sorry for double posting)

Thanks, KPOM. Do you think I should wait it out any longer? My dad will be super angry, considering that he's already stressed from a bunch if new rental apartments that he's managing. At this point, I'd gladly give up my MBA to him and use my old Gateway (which cost markedly less than the potential repairs to this thing).
 
Saphfire said:
Still hoping...I haven't told my parents yet, and after having a broken screen just a week ago, what to do? I feel like such an idiot posting this - it's only been this week. The past nine months with my MBA had no trouble.
Click to expand...

You need to be shaken and slapped across the face a few times. Just kidding.

Everything will be ok.

So you're parents are gone? PARTY TIME!!
 
asting said:
*your. In this case your is finally correct.
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Lol you guys :p
I'm sitting by it and a giant fan on the family Gateway - it's propped up against the fan, vent facing it, lid open almost all the way.

Please give me a concrete answer - should I dry it out for the next week, and try it again after that? I'll tell my dad tonight, I guess...Have any of you had success stories?
 
Well If I was you I would wait about 2 days, put Macbook into a rice (seriously - this saved my Samsung Galaxy S2 after being in hot water,35°C non stop. Only thing that didn´t work was camera) and then I would try to turn it on, do nothing on it (well if you have any important data I would obviously backup them) and let it be for hours, till battery die. Then I would put Magsafe in and waited until green LED on MagSafe popped and unplugged Magsafe, NOW I would turn it on and see what I can do with it
 
stchman said:
Is it still under warranty?

If yes and since it's water, just take it back to the Mac Store and tell them it's not working.
Click to expand...

This is terrible advice. They will see the water sensors tripped, and you'll look and feel like an idiot for trying to lie.
 
TheRealDamager said:
This is terrible advice. They will see the water sensors tripped, and you'll look and feel like an idiot for trying to lie.
Click to expand...

After a bit of reading on Apple it does appear that they spend a great deal of time trying to detect moisture intrusion into their devices.

It is the opinion of many that if Apple spent as much time making their devices water resistant as they did on detecting water intrusion, they'd be on to something.
 
No matter what happens, MBA is replaceable, but you're not replaceable. I grew up in strict Asian family and sometimes it's the matter of what we've learned that counts more than what material things we broke. By the way.. try leaving the MBA in nice cool (not warm) breezy area would help too. Hope it will come back in life. :D
 
Omurices said:
No matter what happens, MBA is replaceable, but you're not replaceable. I grew up in strict Asian family and sometimes it's the matter of what we've learned that counts more than what material things we broke. By the way.. try leaving the MBA in nice cool (not warm) breezy area would help too. Hope it will come back in life. :D
Click to expand...
Thanks so much, all of you. I'll definitely be trying the rice trick, as well as setting it in a nice ventilated area.

I'm in a strict Asian family as well, so you understand. Just praying that drying it out will work...

It's so tempting to try to turn it on again, but I know that I shouldn't. Should I just wait a couple more days before trying to give it to Genius bar? I know that when I do, I'll try to pull off the honesty thing.
 
Mito said:
Well If I was you I would wait about 2 days, put Macbook into a rice (seriously - this saved my Samsung Galaxy S2 after being in hot water,35°C non stop. Only thing that didn´t work was camera) and then I would try to turn it on, do nothing on it (well if you have any important data I would obviously backup them) and let it be for hours, till battery die. Then I would put Magsafe in and waited until green LED on MagSafe popped and unplugged Magsafe, NOW I would turn it on and see what I can do with it
Click to expand...

I'll definitely be trying this, thanks :)
Now there's a piece of rice stuck in my MacBook...I can hear it rattling around when I pick it up. Hopefully this won't be a big deal - I know the water damage would be much worse. These laptops seem to never dry...Noob question, but is MagSafe the magnetic charger thing?
 
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