That rice trick...

[ellefruit]

Hi all,

I've been a very silly girl -_-

Last week I spilt a glass of milk right into the back of my new MBA.
We're talking right into the hinge.
Direct access to all the precious innards.
It wasn't pretty.

So like any other panic-stricken person I frantically looked up how best to treat spillages and naturally the uncooked rice trick came up a dozen times.
Thinking I had nothing to lose, I went ahead and smothered my baby in grains.

Fast forward a few days, the rice trick hadn't worked - I pretty much new it wouldn't because I'd been using the machine at the time. I got to witness it short; fun times. Instead, I had a non-functional MBA with rice grains stuck inside the hinge.

My question is this: Apple have of course let me know there is nothing they can do to help me, but thankfully because it was such a recent purchase, I was covered for accidental damage on my credit card. To claim, I'll need an estimate for repair. Are the rice grains going to be a problem?? Should I try to remove them before requesting an estimate? (may require opening up the case, they're pretty tangled up in there)

Sorry for the boring question! Any help is appreciated as I just can't afford to replace it myself >_<

 

[r.j.s]

Yes, I'd remove them ... unless the repair place won't care.

 

[blueroom]

Just say you were eating rice pudding. Shouldn't make any difference to the insurance claim.

 

[ezramoore]

Just say you were eating rice pudding. Shouldn't make any difference to the insurance claim.

This.

Also, go buy some of this. Much better than rice.

http://h2out.com/products

 

[ellefruit]

Just say you were eating rice pudding. Shouldn't make any difference to the insurance claim.

OK. Thats a relief! Perhaps then I shouldn't even bother to point it out? Though I usually go for full disclosure.

Also, @ezramoore: Thanks, bookmarked for future reference! Although I plan to keep my computers at least 3 metres from any liquids hereafter.

 

[ezramoore]

OK. Thats a relief! Perhaps then I shouldn't even bother to point it out? Though I usually go for full disclosure.

It is likely they won't even care. They may not even ask you any questions regarding the circumstances.

Also, @ezramoore: Thanks, bookmarked for future reference! Although I plan to keep my computers at least 3 metres from any liquids hereafter.

I know the inventor personally, he is a talented guy. Doing incredible things for fisheries industry, etc.

Good idea to keep liquids away from your computer. I always give that advice, but rarely follow it myself, so I like to give people the h2out info.

I use it at my business for this precise situation.

 

[molala]

Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.80 (iPhone; Opera Mini/6.1.15738/26.1283; U; en) Presto/2.8.119 Version/10.54)

Just tell them when asked. Good luck.

 

[oneMadRssn]

Good luck getting someone to estimate the repair cost. A few years ago, I had a macbook pro which I dropped (from the top bunk of my then dorm room no less). I had accidental damage insurance, though that didn't save all my homework which wasn't backed up. In filing the claim, they wanted a letter from an apple repair place that it was unfixable. The apple store on boylston st in Boston which was down the street looked at me like I was crazy when I asked for such a letter.

Even though the computer was clearly obliterated, they sent it out for repair and a week later it came back with a letter saying the computer is repairable, but not economically so, therefore they wouldn't do the repair. To the insurance company, this was not good enough, as they told me to just get it repaired then if its repairable. But apple wouldn't repair it, because it was not economically feasible; round and round I went.

Eventually, I had to talk to an Apple manager at that store to whom I explained that if he just wrote me a letter saying the computer isn't repairable, I will walk in the next day and buy a replacement right then and there. He did give me such a letter, which satisfied the insurance rep who cleared my payment, and I did in fact buy a new one the next day.

 

[KPOM]

When I spilled something on my 2010 MacBook Air the estimate for repair was $755. That was to replace the logic board, a few other parts, and clean the case. That was from Apple.