JorTech · free advice by message · no fix, no fee on the repair
Laptop spill first aid
A drink over a laptop is a race against corrosion, not just water. Follow these steps calmly and in order. They do more to save the machine than anything that happens later.
Do this now, in order
- Power it off immediately. Hold the power button down until the machine goes fully dark, about five to ten seconds. Do not use the normal shut-down menu, it is too slow.
- Unplug the charger from the laptop and the wall. No power in, from any direction.
- Remove the battery if it lifts out. Many older laptops unclip underneath. If yours is sealed inside, leave it and move on.
- Turn it upside down, open, like a tent. Screen and keyboard pointing down on a towel, so liquid drains back out rather than deeper in.
- Dab up what you can reach. Lift surface liquid with a dry cloth. Dab, do not wipe or scrub.
- Leave it off and leave it alone. Do not open it to check or press a key to test. Then send us an enquiry: we are open day and night, Sunday to Friday, so a spill at midnight does not have to wait for the morning.
Do not, whatever you have heard
- Do not put it in rice. It does almost nothing and costs you the hours that count.
- Do not use a hairdryer. Blowing air drives liquid deeper and spreads it across the board.
- Do not turn it on to see if it works. Powering up a wet board is the fastest way to kill it.
- Do not plug it in to charge. Same reason. No power until it has been cleaned and checked.
- Do not shake, bang or leave it hopefully on a windowsill. Time is on corrosion's side, not yours.
Still working is not the same as safe. A spill leaves residue that keeps corroding the board for hours and days. Plenty of laptops run fine for a fortnight, then fail. If yours survived the spill, that is the best time to have it cleaned, not a reason to skip it.
Tick these off before you get in touch
- The laptop is fully powered off and unplugged.
- The battery is out (only if it lifts out easily).
- It is drying upside down like a tent on a towel.
- I have noted what was spilled, roughly how much, and whether it was switched on at the time.
- If my files matter most, I will say so when I get in touch.