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Spilled Water on My MB Pro, and I may have made things worse

A

abuleban

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 13, 2010
95
0
Saudi Arabia
So, I spilled the glass, and the water went splash!

So, I shut it down, ran into the next room and took off the back cover after wiping down the surface as much as possible. Them I wiped down all the inner surfaces as best I could, and it seemed that I had gotten everything dry.

Then I figured, shouldn't I put rice on it?

So I emptied a bag of rice in it, only then realizing that all the little nooks and crannies are now filled with rice, such as the fans and god knows what.

So now what do I do? leave the rice? Take it out? And how do I get all the little bits out? I have a screwdriver for getting the back off, but I need a good toolkit to take out the other parts and get the rice out of the fans. I'm pretty sure there were no shorts and it should power on after i get all that damn rice out

any advice is appreciated.
 
I'm no electrical genius but 100% isopropyl alcohol probably would have been your best bet in getting the water out, since it doesn't get stuck in the fans like the rice did and also doesn't conduct electricity so it won't short anything out. But seeing as though the damage has been done already I have no clue what to tell you.
 
I don't know what possessed you to pour rice over the inside of your computer, but I doubt it was a fatal mistake. A trip to the Apple Store or an authorized repair shop should fix this culinary faux pas. They can probably use their tiny little computer vacuums to suck out all the rice bits and dust and send you on your way with soldered screws in place.
 
well, what can you do

Aodhan said:
I don't know what possessed you to pour rice over the inside of your computer, but I doubt it was a fatal mistake. A trip to the Apple Store or an authorized repair shop should fix this culinary faux pas. They can probably use their tiny little computer vacuums to suck out all the rice bits and dust and send you on your way with soldered screws in place.
Click to expand...

what possessed me? blind panic! But the good news is I've been able to ger just about 99.9% of the rice out, and the fans spin fine. What I'll do is drop it off at the apple store after letting it dry, maybe in a day or two, and just say I spilled some rice on the keyboard or some such thing & they can clean it out and all. Hope that they won't charge me too much, but I'd just rather not try and take apart the insides of the laptop. Sound good?
 
Relax. You should have already disconnected the battery from the logic board. Let the rice do it's job for a few days to ensure you have a thoroughly dried system.

When you are ready to remove the rice, just be prepared to have to do some minor disassembly. Anywhere that you cannot confirm is free of rice particles, you'll need to remove and clean out. Grab at least two cans of compressed air to blast away rice dust and debris. Just keep in mind that you are not screwed just yet, as long as you haven't fried the board originally from the water, and as long as you remain calm and focused on cleaning properly.

In the mean time you may want to pick up a set of T6, T8 and maybe T10 torx screwdrivers (the best would be a universal tip size version). Also, wouldn't hurt to have a static wrist band and small magnet to affix to your Philips screwdriver head (really helps for not losing the little screws while assembling or disassembling).

Good luck
 
A brand new Dell Latitude E6520 was brought to me two weeks ago at work that had coffee spill an it and would not power on. After inspecting it I found that the coffee had had done a very good job of contaminating all of the circuit boards. I completely disassembled the laptop as far as it could be and then soaked every part in distilled water for 2 hours. After that I placed all of the components in plastic bags containing rice and let it sit for a week. Once I confident that everything had thoroughly dried I reassembled the laptop and it powered on. I ran thorough hardware diagnostics on it for 24 hours. The laptop is currently in use and it is as if it never happened. The cost of repair under was under $4.
 
ZZ Bottom said:
Relax. You should have already disconnected the battery from the logic board. Let the rice do it's job for a few days to ensure you have a thoroughly dried system.

When you are ready to remove the rice, just be prepared to have to do some minor disassembly. Anywhere that you cannot confirm is free of rice particles, you'll need to remove and clean out. Grab at least two cans of compressed air to blast away rice dust and debris. Just keep in mind that you are not screwed just yet, as long as you haven't fried the board originally from the water, and as long as you remain calm and focused on cleaning properly.

In the mean time you may want to pick up a set of T6, T8 and maybe T10 torx screwdrivers (the best would be a universal tip size version). Also, wouldn't hurt to have a static wrist band and small magnet to affix to your Philips screwdriver head (really helps for not losing the little screws while assembling or disassembling).

Good luck
Click to expand...


thanks, I uplugged the battery like you said, but I dumped all the rice out and have gotten out probably 99.9% of the rice. What was I thinking...

I'll see if I can get a good tool set, thanks again!
 
abuleban said:
So, I spilled the glass, and the water went splash!

So, I shut it down, ran into the next room and took off the back cover after wiping down the surface as much as possible. Them I wiped down all the inner surfaces as best I could, and it seemed that I had gotten everything dry.

Then I figured, shouldn't I put rice on it?

So I emptied a bag of rice in it, only then realizing that all the little nooks and crannies are now filled with rice, such as the fans and god knows what.

So now what do I do? leave the rice? Take it out? And how do I get all the little bits out? I have a screwdriver for getting the back off, but I need a good toolkit to take out the other parts and get the rice out of the fans. I'm pretty sure there were no shorts and it should power on after i get all that damn rice out

any advice is appreciated.
Click to expand...

What?!?!

Anyway, I think you're on the right track. Get the right tools, and TAKE YOUR TIME getting the rice out. After you do, bring it in and have Apple look at it. I'm assuming you have Apple Care since you didn't just bring it in with the rice. Check YouTube and Google for tutorials on taking it apart if you've never done anything like this before.

Best of luck. I hope it all works out for you. :(
 
this is what

inhalexhale1 said:
What?!?!

Anyway, I think you're on the right track. Get the right tools, and TAKE YOUR TIME getting the rice out. After you do, bring it in and have Apple look at it. I'm assuming you have Apple Care since you didn't just bring it in with the rice. Check YouTube and Google for tutorials on taking it apart if you've never done anything like this before.

Best of luck. I hope it all works out for you. :(
Click to expand...

thanks; a friend is a mac genius and this is what he said

Honestly, a single or even several grains of rice wouldn't cause your computer damage. They aren't conductive, so they won't cause any shorting. If they get in your fan, they will make a grinding noise and possibly stop the fan, but they won't typically damage the fan. The optical drive is really the only component that could suffer failure, but who uses those ;-).

Check to see if the rice has moved around every few days and hopefully you be able to get it out by having it dislodge itself.
Click to expand...
 
abuleban said:
what possessed me? blind panic! But the good news is I've been able to ger just about 99.9% of the rice out, and the fans spin fine. What I'll do is drop it off at the apple store after letting it dry, maybe in a day or two, and just say I spilled some rice on the keyboard or some such thing & they can clean it out and all. Hope that they won't charge me too much, but I'd just rather not try and take apart the insides of the laptop. Sound good?
Click to expand...

The WORST thing you can do at this point is lie to the Apple repair tech. He's going to know right away why you tried rice, and the water sensors will certainly be tripped. Once they feel you tried to pull a fast one on them, you chances of help are slim. BE HONEST. Tell them exactly what the accident was, and in a blind panic, you tried the rice. Unfortunately, it sounds like you used the rice incorrectly, but that's beside the point. Tell the truth, and hope you get a someone with sympathy. Just my 2 cents.
 
abuleban said:
what possessed me? blind panic! But the good news is I've been able to ger just about 99.9% of the rice out, and the fans spin fine. What I'll do is drop it off at the apple store after letting it dry, maybe in a day or two, and just say I spilled some rice on the keyboard or some such thing & they can clean it out and all. Hope that they won't charge me too much, but I'd just rather not try and take apart the insides of the laptop. Sound good?
Click to expand...

Dude/dudette,

Go in and be honest if you are going in. If some guy/gal came in with a bunch of rice stuck in the keyboard etc, there is NO WAY in hell I would guess that while in a great enthusiastic cooking experience, rice splashed all over and into your laptop that you were reading the recipe from......

I know the "Geniuses" are not professional techs, but every geek knows that the first go to for a wet device is either rice or those little baggies you get with the elecronics when you buy them. Salicic Acid or some such thing.

I would be less inclined to help you if after doing something quite stupid like you did, tried to prove me more stupid by lying to me about it. More inclined to help if you admit you panicked and made a poor decision.
 
Wait did you put rice on the outside of the laptop or open it up and pour it on? Lol. Even then, why the hell would you immediately panic and decide to remove the rice and boot up the laptop? You should have left it there for a few days then cleaned it out...
 
thanks so much

Dangerous Theory said:
Wait did you put rice on the outside of the laptop or open it up and pour it on? Lol. Even then, why the hell would you immediately panic and decide to remove the rice and boot up the laptop? You should have left it there for a few days then cleaned it out...
Click to expand...

everyone for your snark & condescension, it's oh so helpful. And sir, where did I ever state that I tried to boot it up? I did get most, if not any kernel of rice, out, and I ordered some tools, so in about two days I'll be able to open it up completely, check for any thingys here and there, and imho, it should boot up fine.

and everyone that had kind supportive advice, thank you very much.

----------
Wrathwitch said:
Dude/dudette,

Go in and be honest if you are going in. If some guy/gal came in with a bunch of rice stuck in the keyboard etc, there is NO WAY in hell I would guess that while in a great enthusiastic cooking experience, rice splashed all over and into your laptop that you were reading the recipe from......

I know the "Geniuses" are not professional techs, but every geek knows that the first go to for a wet device is either rice or those little baggies you get with the elecronics when you buy them. Salicic Acid or some such thing.

I would be less inclined to help you if after doing something quite stupid like you did, tried to prove me more stupid by lying to me about it. More inclined to help if you admit you panicked and made a poor decision.
Click to expand...

thanks, you're probably right. That said, a genius friend gave me good advice, so I don't think I'll need to be going there anyway.
 
abuleban said:
what possessed me? blind panic! But the good news is I've been able to ger just about 99.9% of the rice out, and the fans spin fine. What I'll do is drop it off at the apple store after letting it dry, maybe in a day or two, and just say I spilled some rice on the keyboard or some such thing & they can clean it out and all. Hope that they won't charge me too much, but I'd just rather not try and take apart the insides of the laptop. Sound good?
Click to expand...

Really? You're going to go with you spilled rice on your MBP? Rice thus tripped the water sensors I suppose. Sounds plausible.

A good cleaning is in order. Do what you can before taking it in because they will charge you ... even though you just accidentally spilled rice. Good luck, I hope it works out.
 
Daremo said:
The WORST thing you can do at this point is lie to the Apple repair tech. He's going to know right away why you tried rice, and the water sensors will certainly be tripped. Once they feel you tried to pull a fast one on them, you chances of help are slim. BE HONEST. Tell them exactly what the accident was, and in a blind panic, you tried the rice. Unfortunately, it sounds like you used the rice incorrectly, but that's beside the point. Tell the truth, and hope you get a someone with sympathy. Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't do that. Sometimes they refuse to look at it once spilled water is confirmed. I wouldn't bother lying, but there is little point in giving them cause to deny service. If cleaning is within the scope of what they will do, take that. Otherwise he should clean it himself assuming he's comfortable dealing with the small internal cabling without breaking something. Is internal cleaning covered by normal service agreements? I would not bring up liquid regardless of what they would discover. Others on here have stated that once they suggest such a cause, the techs become dismissive of anything beyond that point. It's like if your ethernet stops working, don't mention if you had a power outage a week ago. Just let them take a look at it. A big problem I see with these things is that people don't allow things to dry long enough, and they don't unplug the battery.

jessica. said:
Really? You're going to go with you spilled rice on your MBP? Rice thus tripped the water sensors I suppose. Sounds plausible.

A good cleaning is in order. Do what you can before taking it in because they will charge you ... even though you just accidentally spilled rice. Good luck, I hope it works out.
Click to expand...

Spilled uncooked rice on it while googling metric conversions for a downloaded recipe? Actually don't say google was used. Say another search engine, as Apple clearly hates Google:p. The need to make up excuses is a little silly.
 
Oh dear...that's...unfortunate. Probably not fatal - as others mentioned, rice is (generally) non-conductive - but a bit of a pain to clean out. Unless you have all the right tools (compressed air, mini-vacuum, tiny non-static brushes), I'd take it to a shop to have it cleaned out. The minor embarrassment you'll suffer having to explain the situation is worth it to get your device back, clean.

If you're looking to do this in the future, just get a sealable plastic container (or bag, but I prefer something a bit sturdier) big enough to fit 1/4" of rice on the bottom, a dry tea towel (laptop) or washcloth (phone/iPod), and then your device. Seal it in there for a couple days, and let the rice do its thing. No need for the device and rice to be in contact - just sharing the same air inside a sealed container is enough. =)
 
thanks

Yuke said:
Oh dear...that's...unfortunate. Probably not fatal - as others mentioned, rice is (generally) non-conductive - but a bit of a pain to clean out. Unless you have all the right tools (compressed air, mini-vacuum, tiny non-static brushes), I'd take it to a shop to have it cleaned out. The minor embarrassment you'll suffer having to explain the situation is worth it to get your device back, clean.

If you're looking to do this in the future, just get a sealable plastic container (or bag, but I prefer something a bit sturdier) big enough to fit 1/4" of rice on the bottom, a dry tea towel (laptop) or washcloth (phone/iPod), and then your device. Seal it in there for a couple days, and let the rice do its thing. No need for the device and rice to be in contact - just sharing the same air inside a sealed container is enough. =)
Click to expand...

I appreciate the advice!
 
Daremo said:
The WORST thing you can do at this point is lie to the Apple repair tech. He's going to know right away why you tried rice, and the water sensors will certainly be tripped. Once they feel you tried to pull a fast one on them, you chances of help are slim. BE HONEST. Tell them exactly what the accident was, and in a blind panic, you tried the rice. Unfortunately, it sounds like you used the rice incorrectly, but that's beside the point. Tell the truth, and hope you get a someone with sympathy. Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...

No, the worse thing is to go to an Apple repair tech at this point. Wait a few days. Shake out the rice do what ever you have to do to clear it...and test the computer.

You only want to go to Apple as a last resort. Suppose you get all the rice out and everything works fine. Why would you tell Apple what you did?
 
ZipZap said:
No, the worse thing is to go to an Apple repair tech at this point. Wait a few days. Shake out the rice do what ever you have to do to clear it...and test the computer.

You only want to go to Apple as a last resort. Suppose you get all the rice out and everything works fine. Why would you tell Apple what you did?
Click to expand...

I was under the impression it didn't turn on. Maybe i read this wrong?
 
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