Spilt a glass of water on my MacBook Pro

[Moshiiii]

Hey guys,
I use to be a very frequent member, not so much the past few months. Just stop in a few times to see how old friends are doing.
Anyways, I had a cup of water sitting in front of my macbook pro and the laptop was off its elevator because I was planning to sell it soon. Thanks to my clumsy elbow I literally spilt 800ml of water all over the keyboard. The keys were swimming in water for a good 8 seconds while I ran around my room screaming oh ****. I grabbed a towel to soak up what water was lying on the keys and tipped it upside down and started to try and blow out the water. I got out what I could and left it there and went to work. When I got home it was running fine but tonight in the middle of a movie it just shuts off. I try to turn it back on but no luck. After a few tries I get it to turn on but the screens color is way off and after a few seconds it shuts down. I flip it over and test my battery light and its blinking on the first bulp, so aparently I'm not getting a charge.

Its out of warrenty. Has anyone else gone through this (Im sure its happened before, accidents happen). What was your experience with having a third party look at it?

 

[ladiauctioneer]

There is hope

Hi,

My daughter-in-law just did this.

Take your battery out immediatly.

Turn your Macbook upside down and leave it there with plenty of ventilation for at least 72 hours. Don't try to turn it on no matter how much the temptation is...it needs to dry completely.

After the 3 days...turn it on...it will be fine. We researched this to death a few months ago when my grandson spilled water in his mom's week old mac.

Good luck,
DD

 

[Scarlet Fever]

sounds like you're SOL, mate. Your best bet is to look for a new logic board on ebay; Apple will charge you an arm and a leg (or at least the cost of a brand new MacBook) for a new logic board.

For future reference (to anyone);

• Don't drink/eat near the computer
• If you feel so compelled, make sure your food/drink isn't close to the computer
• Should something spill, pull the plug/battery as soon as you can
• Turn the computer upside down, with the screen open, and place it on a towel
• Don't try to turn it on until about 2 days after the spill, or until you know for sure it is bone dry.

 

[squeeks]

[*]Don't try to turn it on until about 2 days after the spill, or until you know for sure it is bone dry.
[/LIST]

hair dryer worked well on my cellphone which was submerged and wouldnt power on

 

[Draddy]

you were to ancy to turn it back on... you should wait at least 24 hours before turning it back on... I waited 48.

Take everything apart that you can. always take the battery out, open the lid, etc.

all the water might not have evaporated before you turned it back on, and it hit the logic board (during the movie at some point) and fried it.

 

[Moshiiii]

Oh crud. Luckly I have my blackberry for the internet. I just took the battery out and flipped it upside down in the air. I'm going to a fest in gainsville for three days so Ill keep my fingers crossed and hopefully it runs fine when I get home

Probably wishfull thinking but its worth a shot. Theb ill go looking for logic boards.

 

[mrweirdo]

It could also have messed up the keyboard assembly itself as well particularly if you got any liquid in the power button itself. If thats the case you could have a mac that randomly turns itself on and off even with a new logic board :/

good luck on fixing it however hopefully all goes well for you

 

[deadpixels]

The keys were swimming in water for a good 8 seconds while I ran around my room screaming oh ****.

That could have cost you your machine, you should turn it around and remove the battery (in this order) immediately.

 

[notjustjay]

Yep, plain water is generally not bad for the machine (sometimes circuit boards are washed in distilled water at the factories) as long as you don't apply power until it is completely dry. In case of water spill, immediately disconnect all power sources (battery, AC, etc), let it drain, and let it dry very, very thoroughly before turning it back on.

 

[kellen]

Good luck.

Don't feel too bad, as most posters make it sound like you should never bring a laptop near any water. Thats why I bought a portable machine.

Mistakes happen, I'm sure the best will come out of it and it will run fine.

Let us know.

 

[Jschultz]

lol, i am too tired. I originally read the thread title as "Oh my, God spilt a glass of water on my macbook pro"

To which I thought, "Why does God smite you??"

 

[ladiauctioneer]

Well, what was the outcome?

Hi,

Curious...did it work after drying out?

 

[WOZhipper]

Since I deal with a lot of spilled on laptops an a daily basis let me give you some advice.

If ANY liquid is spilled on the keyboard, inmediatelly yank the magsafe or Power adapter, turn it over with the KBD down and remove the battery and press the power button for 8 secs to kill any power to the logic board.

The use a dry towel or cloth to remove as much liquid as posible, do not blow air or use compresed air to remove the liquid since it will probably make the water enter the Main logc board cavity.
REMOVE the L shaped memory bracket (cover)

leave the laptop upside down, and if you can put inside a car that will be heated by the sun , the high temperature of the car interior will make the humidity inside the laptop to evaporate (avoid direct sunlight just let it sit and cook at car temps (80 to 90 degrees F NOT HIGHER), leave it open and DO NOT LET THE SUN hit the lcd panel or the laptop itself.

after 2 hours take it out ant let it cool for the night in a dry setting. put again the memory cover.

Next day plug the battery and DO NOT LOCK IT, turn on the laptop and check if you get a POST sound (boot sound), if so check if it starts up if it doesnt sound or shuts down, unplug the battery and check it if there is still water inside (the memory L bracket is a good place to look for humidity and water.

After it boots plug the power adapter and check for charging, if it doesnt charge the battery internal cable has fried but its not that expensive, the main thing to avoid here is a fried logic board (costs a lot).

Good luck and remember do not get liquids near a laptop, accidents are more common than what most people think...

hope this helps

 

[e12a]

Yep, plain water is generally not bad for the machine (sometimes circuit boards are washed in distilled water at the factories) as long as you don't apply power until it is completely dry. In case of water spill, immediately disconnect all power sources (battery, AC, etc), let it drain, and let it dry very, very thoroughly before turning it back on.

highly doubt the OP was drinking distilled water... Probably some drinking water containing minerals or tap with calcium deposits, which will cause the shorting.

I've left my LG cellphone through an entire cycle in the washer, and only until I pulled out my clothes did I discover it. I'm not sure about computers, but the first thing I did was take the battery out. Then after a day in the air I sprayed a little WD-40 inside and waited a few more days. It worked perfectly after that. Got a new LG phone now though.

Shutting off randomly isn't a good sign. Wait a few days before trying to turn it on again. You might get lucky.

...dont use WD-40 on the computer. Cellphones are okay for that. But then again if you've got nothing to lose. WD-40 does not conduct, nor does it contain water (it disperses it).

 

[ab2650]

...dont use WD-40 on the computer.

I should say not! Where did you hear the advice to use WD-40 on a cell phone? I've never heard this before.

 

[mike1123]

My cell phone got lucky. My mother discovered it in the wash. My first reaction: crap. So I, in my complete naivety, attempted to turn it on (after my dad did without telling me, ugh). Of course, it didn't work. So I let it air dry for about a week, and plugged it in to the wall. The screen turned on, but there was water in it. Crap again. So then, I let it dry longer and then give up.

I go and buy another identical phone after the employee at the store said there was no hope. So I get home, and, out of complete curiosity, I swap out the old battery for the new one, and eureka! Everything works perfectly! I was like and .

Moral of the story: you might get lucky!

 

[e12a]

I should say not! Where did you hear the advice to use WD-40 on a cell phone? I've never heard this before.

google it. I knew the properties (well at least some) that enable it to be a good solution to driving water out/off of electrical components, now how sophisticated those components are are still under debate. I used it and had no problems other than the smell for a few days after. I even was dumb enough to try turning it on after leaving it a few minutes to dry, and it started making weird noises from the speaker. So I left it for a day, tried again and same deal. Then i put wd-40 in it, waited a day, then it was great!

WD-40 = Water Dispersing, 40th Try. Basically water is repelled from it, i've heard mixed things on it being conductive, but it contains no water (from wd40 site), and just leaves a greasy residue afterwards. It didnt seem to short my phone as far as I could tell. Silicone spray is supposedly better.

 

[e12a]

double post.

 

[Davmeister]

Dredging an old thread up here.....but I've just spilled 1 l of Roobois tea on my retina Macbook Pro.

Upside down, towelled dry. 5 mins later, lost patience and turned it on...now running this command in terminal (yes > /dev/null & yes > /dev/null & yes > /dev/null & yes > /dev/null &) to max CPU and warm it up. Running OK so far, not sure how long this will last though (I have several policies on it so not end of world if it dies). Maybe they're more waterproof these days

 

[yusukeaoki]

Dredging an old thread up here.....but I've just spilled 1 l of Roobois tea on my retina Macbook Pro.

Upside down, towelled dry. 5 mins later, lost patience and turned it on...now running this command in terminal (yes > /dev/null & yes > /dev/null & yes > /dev/null & yes > /dev/null &) to max CPU and warm it up. Running OK so far, not sure how long this will last though (I have several policies on it so not end of world if it dies). Maybe they're more waterproof these days

You've made your mistake by turning it on way too fast.
You are suppose to wait at least 1 week in rice or anything that would absorb moisture.
There are millions of threads out there on this topic and the problem comes later.
It will seem fine for few days, months, even years and it just stops working.
Watch out for corrosion. And you Apple warranty is voided.
Its fine if you have different accidental insurances though.

 

[Davmeister]

You've made your mistake by turning it on way too fast.
You are suppose to wait at least 1 week in rice or anything that would absorb moisture.
There are millions of threads out there on this topic and the problem comes later.
It will seem fine for few days, months, even years and it just stops working.
Watch out for corrosion. And you Apple warranty is voided.
Its fine if you have different accidental insurances though.

Yes thats my point--I know I'm supposed to wait, but I can't be bothered as I've got huge exams at the moment, and I have multiple insurances, hence why I've turned it on now as a sacrifice for science/this thread

Also I rarely keep Macs more than a year, try and sell them on and pay the difference with my student discount, so I don't have to worry beyond a year. Questionable morals I know...

Still going strong btw.

 

[thundersteele]

That's kind of a funny idea. Good luck, I hope it doesn't suddenly give up.

You might want to run more than one thread, to get more heat... or does the "&" take care of that?

 

[Davmeister]

That's kind of a funny idea. Good luck, I hope it doesn't suddenly give up.

You might want to run more than one thread, to get more heat... or does the "&" take care of that?

Yeh the & does...I think. If not I think I just open multiple terminal windows, usually 7 for the 8 cores to be all nearly used...