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Water damaged Macbook Air turned on, how long to dry?

T

Toreddo

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 18, 2009
40
0
Hello everyone,

Today was the worst and hopefully also the best day of my life. I went to school with my brand new Macbook Air and a bottle of arizona in my bag but the cap felt off... There was really such a tiny amount of liquid on my macbook air but it went down, didn't boot, nothing. Now i came home and i had put the macbook on its side and googled what my options were. After 2 hours of googling and a bit of crying i decided to just call the apple store and tell them the story. (This wasn't the most easiest option for me because i bought it in the US and live in the Netherlands, we dont have an official apple store). While the phone was ringing i grabbed the Macbook air opened the lid and it just suddenly started booting!! I immediately shut it off and put it back on its side, there is still hope!

I've put it back on it's side again with rice underneath it because i read it attracts water, how long would you guys recommend me to let it dry like this, or are there any better things i can do?

Thanks in advance!!
 
I would not turn it on and let it dry for a couple of days. The problem is drink that spilled on your MBA may leave a gooey residual that will remain and cause problems.

As I mentioned though leave it alone for a couple of days and see what happens.
 
I think you need to seal the MBA in a plastic bag with the rice for it for the process to be effective...or bury it in rice.

Setting it on top will have little effect.

You might leave it alone for a few days. Tough to say when it will be dry. The fact that you saw it boot probably means its close to dry.

Did it boot completely?
 
ZipZap said:
I think you need to seal the MBA in a plastic bag with the rice for it for the process to be effective...or bury it in rice.

Setting it on top will have little effect.

You might leave it alone for a few days. Tough to say when it will be dry. The fact that you saw it boot probably means its close to dry.

Did it boot completely?
Click to expand...

yes, it booted completely, and started up my apple mail automatically and had already checked my mail before i was able to shut it down again. So that seemed to (still) work fine..
 
ZipZap said:
I think you need to seal the MBA in a plastic bag with the rice for it for the process to be effective...or bury it in rice.

Setting it on top will have little effect.

You might leave it alone for a few days. Tough to say when it will be dry. The fact that you saw it boot probably means its close to dry.

Did it boot completely?
Click to expand...

The best option is to immediately open the whole device and properly clean it.

The question is either: can you do it ? Or should someone do it for you.

Keeping it just turned off might not fully cure it.
 
komoornik said:
The best option is to immediately open the whole device and properly clean it.

The question is either: can you do it ? Or should someone do it for you.

Keeping it just turned off might not fully cure it.
Click to expand...

I can definitely do that myself, the problem is more that i do not want to void my warranty in any way... So unless there is no seal, i would like to skip that.
 
Rice is ok but your issue is not going to be just the liquid, it's the sugar in those drinks.
 
Toreddo said:
I can definitely do that myself, the problem is more that i do not want to void my warranty in any way... So unless there is no seal, i would like to skip that.
Click to expand...

The warranty becomes void when you spill liquid on it anyway. Apple warranty and AppleCare do NOT cover liquid damage or accidental damage.
 
old-wiz said:
The warranty becomes void when you spill liquid on it anyway. Apple warranty and AppleCare do NOT cover liquid damage or accidental damage.
Click to expand...
They officially don't but i've read many stories in the last couple of hours were people were still able to get it replaced by apple for free.
 
Toreddo said:
They officially don't but i've read many stories in the last couple of hours were people were still able to get it replaced by apple for free.
Click to expand...

Count me as one of them, but it really is the luck of the draw. If the logic board needs to be replaced, that's a $755 repair in the US. Since it briefly turned on, there's a chance, but the best advice is to keep it off for a week. The worst thing to do is turn it on when it is only partially dry and have it short something.
 
I wouldn't turn it on for a couple of days and i would put it in the airing cupboard.

I have no idea what you call that in NL or US but it's where your hot water tank is stored and therefore is always very warm in there.

Open then laptop place it with the keys facing up as normal and leave it in that warm cupboard for a few days.

Hoping the sugar isn't going to corrode anything.
 
Toreddo said:
They officially don't but i've read many stories in the last couple of hours were people were still able to get it replaced by apple for free.
Click to expand...


Yeah, not going to happen. If you want that computer to last, you will open it up and clean it out otherwise corrosion will happen and you will be flipping the bill for a new computer. If you can't do it, take it to a place that can.
 
Dry it out first (maybe in a sealed in a bag of uncooked rice in a warm place) for a few days without ever turning it on. Meanwhile order the special screwdriver kit to open it up. After it's dry, open it up and clean up the sticky parts you can reach with some electronic cleaning solution (or take it in to the Apple store and pay to have it fixed). Good Luck.
 
You sure you have liquid damage at all. The MBA does not boot by opening it but it will wake up if it less than 1 hour.

Could it have been sleeping for more that 1 hour in which it went into a deep sleep?

You came home. Did you open it and the it woke up or did you hit the power button.

I suspect you have no liquid damage.

Consider that you MBA was probably vertical in the backpack and your drink was on the side and not above it.

Perhaps you have been mistaken.
 
ZipZap said:
You sure you have liquid damage at all. The MBA does not boot by opening it but it will wake up if it less than 1 hour.

Could it have been sleeping for more that 1 hour in which it went into a deep sleep?

You came home. Did you open it and the it woke up or did you hit the power button.

I suspect you have no liquid damage.

Consider that you MBA was probably vertical in the backpack and your drink was on the side and not above it.

Perhaps you have been mistaken.
Click to expand...

You are right it was vertical and my drink wasnt above it, but i am really sure it suffered from water damage. I am not a noob with computers (I know you are not saying i am), i tried everything to turn it on. And before i realized there was water on it i had already plugged it in and the charging light stayed off, thats how i realized there was something wrong in the first place.
 
Put it rice and leave it for 5-7 days to be safe. Take it out and put a blow dryer at low heat on it for a few minutes. I rescued a cell phone once this way, and lost another one by turning it back on immediately after it was wet.
 
Definitely open it up and clean it, only way to be positive there isn't residue that will eventually kill components. Drying it out does nothing to prevent this.
 
I accidentally had soda "sprayed" all over my MacBook Air. I wiped it all off but I couldn't tell if anything got under the keys.

I took it to an Apple Store and they opened it up for me, and told me it didn't have any liquids inside of it. I think you need to do what I did: go to an Apple store and let them look inside
 
Yumunum said:
I accidentally had soda "sprayed" all over my MacBook Air. I wiped it all off but I couldn't tell if anything got under the keys.

I took it to an Apple Store and they opened it up for me, and told me it didn't have any liquids inside of it. I think you need to do what I did: go to an Apple store and let them look inside
Click to expand...

I would not as I would not want to give Apple any chance to flag my MBA.

I would get the proper screw driver and open the bottom. I did this, its easy as hell.
 
help me!!water spilled on mac air!!

Hi,can u please help me!!I accidentally spilled water on my Mac air!! What Do I do??!! I think I spilled about half a glass,I tried to dri it by puttinng it upside down And drying it with a towel,I also tried shking it,and a little bit of water came out,I spilled plain water.its been 5 mins now and it still won't on,I tried to on it a few times,but when I charged it the charger let out a green light and I think it's okay.after I spilled the water itried to push the off button and the screen went black in a second.I don't think I was able to shut it off.what do I do,I can't go to the apple shop my parents will be so maadd!! Please help me!!one more thing the water spilled all over my keyboard,I'm afraid they'll be certain keys that won't work,I'm soo scared,why can't it turn on ??

----------

Hi,can u please help me!!I accidentally spilled water on my Mac air!! What Do I do??!! I think I spilled about half a glass,I tried to dri it by puttinng it upside down And drying it with a towel,I also tried shking it,and a little bit of water came out,I spilled plain water.its been 5 mins now and it still won't on,I tried to on it a few times,but when I charged it the charger let out a green light and I think it's okay.after I spilled the water itried to push the off button and the screen went black in a second.I don't think I was able to shut it off.what do I do,I can't go to the apple shop my parents will be so maadd!! Please help me!!one more thing the water spilled all over my keyboard,I'm afraid they'll be certain keys that won't work,I'm soo scared,why can't it turn on ??and my Mac air feels so cold when its normally hot ,what do I do !!
 
will it work?

I told my mom bout it and she said to just dry it and wait.she said that my sis sent her's for repairs bcoz it has some problems with it but its Quite some time now,and when its time to collect my sis's laptop,then my mom will send mine.I really hope and pray to god that my laptop will turn on and it'll be fixed .!!
 
sarahblooms said:
I told my mom bout it and she said to just dry it and wait.she said that my sis sent her's for repairs bcoz it has some problems with it but its Quite some time now,and when its time to collect my sis's laptop,then my mom will send mine.I really hope and pray to god that my laptop will turn on and it'll be fixed .!!
Click to expand...

Liquid spills usually fry things especially if you try to turn it on as you did. Some people recommend putting in sealed bag of rice for a week, sometimes it helps.

The Apple store won't help you in terms of warranty or Applecare - it specifically does not cover liquid damage or accidental damage.
 
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