Aggressive liquids can cause the greatest damage to equipment. This includes sweet tea, coffee, juices, soda, etc. They can not only short-circuit contacts, but also lead to circuit burnout. Aggressive liquids will also corrode or oxidize the conductors, which ordinary water or unsweetened tea cannot do.
First steps
As soon as moisture gets in, it must immediately be disconnected from the mains and the battery removed. When enabled, the degree of oxidation of boards and microcircuits will pass many times faster, thereby increasing damage. Better to lose than all the equipment.
After that, turn it over and place it on a towel, thereby allowing the liquid to drain. This action can save the motherboard, which means that only the keyboard will need to be repaired.
What to do next
After the liquid leaks out of the laptop, take it to a service center immediately. Time plays an important role here. Regardless of whether the laptop is turned on or not, oxidation still occurs in it, corrosion damages an increasing area of conductors every minute. Eventually they will burn out completely. That is why it is necessary to dry the device as thoroughly as possible.
It is important to note that repairing a laptop yourself can lead to even more damage if you do not have the necessary skills. You can try to repair the keyboard if only it is damaged, but it is quite difficult to replace the motherboard at home.
What else do you need to know
You should not hope that the liquid will evaporate on its own without causing significant harm. Even if the laptop continued to work after getting wet, it will soon do its job - the equipment will have to be thrown away.
This is especially true if you spilled an aggressive liquid. Maybe it will leak out, but it will definitely leave a precipitate in the form of a syrup or a thin layer, the consequences of which will be corrosion of the conductors and their burnout. In addition, the oxidation process can last both a day and several months. It all depends on the nature and amount of liquid.
What does it take to prevent this from happening?
Observe safety precautions. Do not place liquid-filled cups, mugs, glasses, or open bottles near your laptop. In no case do not take it to the bathroom, pool, beach and other places where moisture can get on it.
If such a nuisance happened to you and you filled the laptop with liquid, then in this situation you should never hesitate. Every missed minute can cost the life of the device. First of all, you need to very quickly disconnect from the power supply and pull out the battery.
A flooded laptop or netbook is one of the most common reasons why they fail, and you have to contact a computer service center. Manufacturers of equipment are trying in every possible way to protect their devices from liquid getting inside the case. Cover the internal parts with protective layers of paint and varnish. But, unfortunately, it is far from always possible to count on the fact that such measures will help save a laptop if you spill a cup of coffee on it, for example.
All liquids can be divided into two classes, depending on their danger: aggressive (this includes alcoholic beverages, as well as sweet tea and coffee, and other sugar-containing drinks) and non-aggressive (pure water, tea and coffee without sugar).
Here is some algorithm of actions and measures to be taken first of all if liquid has got into the laptop:
- immediately turn off the power. In order not to waste precious time and not look for the outlet that the laptop is plugged into, you can simply pull the plug out of the device.
- get the battery. If your laptop is flooded, then you should not worry about safely shutting down the operating system and saving open documents and files.
- it is necessary to turn the laptop over so that the liquid that has got into it can flow out and does not penetrate even deeper into the case.
- if you spilled a small amount of liquid and it is non-aggressive, then you can simply leave it to dry for at least a day. However, do not try to turn it on before this time. You can also try drying it with a regular hair dryer.
If the measures taken were not enough, and after a day the laptop does not turn on or turns on, but, for example, the keyboard does not work, you will have to contact the service center or try to fix the problem yourself. However, you can not do without a complete analysis of the laptop.
Depending on what kind of liquid the laptop or netbook was filled with, you also need to act differently. Consider the simplest option, when water was spilled by negligence. Be sure to determine how far and deep the fluid has leaked into the housing. Therefore, if after flooding and daily drying, the laptop does not work properly, you will have to disassemble it.
The laptop keyboard is flooded. We repair ourselves
First you need to remove the keyboard and carefully look to see if the liquid has leaked onto the motherboard or only the keyboard has been flooded. If it has a protective film pasted on the back side, it can delay the penetration of liquid into the laptop case for a while. Therefore, if the liquid is drained in time, then the losses can be minimal and only the replacement of the keyboard will be needed, and in the best case, even it can be reanimated.
To do this, you need to rinse the keyboard under running warm water, clean all the keys with a toothbrush. You need to dry for about a day in a warm, dry place, for example, on a battery. If you are lucky, then the flooded laptop keyboard will fully return to its working capacity, if not, you will have to buy a new one.
Poured laptop or netbook motherboard
If you are still unlucky and the liquid spilled on the laptop was able to penetrate to the motherboard, then you will have to disassemble it completely. In the case when it was possible to quickly turn off and de-energize the equipment, there is a good chance to completely restore its operation on your own.
However, if, after the laptop was flooded, it turned off by itself, then, most likely, it will not be possible to do without the help of computer service specialists and special equipment for diagnostics and repair. The best option is to contact the service as soon as possible. Corrosion can quickly damage the motherboard so much that it will be impossible to repair it.
The laptop was flooded with liquid - what to do first
So an unpleasant story happened and the laptop or netbook was filled with liquid. This article will tell you how to restore a laptop after liquid (water, tea, coffee, beer, juice, etc.) has been spilled on it at home.
Immediately you need to perform the following steps and only then decide what to do with it next.
1. Unplug your laptop (unplug charger from laptop)
2. Remove the battery from a laptop
3. Wipe off excess liquid dry paper towel or rag
All these actions must be performed immediately after water hits the laptop, without waiting for the regular shutdown of the computer.
The laptop keyboard is flooded with water, juice, beer, etc.
Now you need to determine how far the liquid has flowed. To do this, you need to disassemble the laptop.
First of all, you need to remove the keyboard and see if the liquid leaked deeper onto the motherboard or only the keyboard was flooded.
If the motherboard is not affected - already lucky. There is a chance that you will be lucky on a large scale and the keyboard will not even have to be changed.
So, if the keyboard was flooded with water, then you can try to simply dry it, but it is still advisable to rinse it first in distilled water. If tea, coffee, beer, juice is spilled on the keyboard, then rinse in distilled water necessarily. It is highly likely that after drying it will be fully operational. For drying, you can use for example an electric oven. Set the temperature to 70 degrees and dry the keyboard in it for 4 hours or more. You should not set the temperature higher, because. buttons may melt. You can just put it in the sun for at least 1 day, and preferably for two. It is better to spend more time drying than buying a new keyboard later. After all, if you do not dry the keyboard, moisture will remain between the films and corrosion will gradually eat the tracks.
Traces of corrosion on the tracks and pads of the keyboard
After that, try to connect the keyboard and check its performance in a text editor. If the keys print other letters or the letters print themselves, then the keyboard is not dry enough and there is moisture between the films with sputtered tracks. Repeat the drying process.
If the keys do not work on the contrary, then there is a dielectric or corrosion on the contact pads. Try rinsing again more thoroughly and drying for a longer time.
laptop motherboard flooded
In the event that you are unlucky and the liquid gets on the motherboard, the laptop will have to be completely disassembled. If, when liquid hit the laptop, it did not pass out and continued to work and you managed to de-energize it in time, then there is a high probability of restoring it at home. If, after getting the liquid, he himself passed out, then almost certainly it will not be possible to restore it at home. In this case, it is better to immediately contact laptop repair serviceso as not to aggravate the situation. After all, it is unlikely that it will be possible to find and resolder a burned-out element or chip at home without the appropriate equipment and experience. It is not worth delaying the repair, since the bill goes to the clock and over time, corrosion can destroy the motherboard so much that it will be impossible to restore it.
Corrosion on motherboard flooded with liquid
Remove the motherboard by disconnecting all cables from it and removing all devices. You also need to remove the processor. Remove or solder (depending on the implementation on the motherboard) the CMOS battery.
Now you need to thoroughly rinse the board in distilled water and dry it. You can dry it simply by laying it in the sun.
When the motherboard dries out from the outside, you need to arm yourself with pure alcohol and a syringe with a thin needle. Draw alcohol into the syringe and pour it under each microcircuit on the motherboard, with the exception of chips filled with compound. Alcohol dissolves water and helps it evaporate from hard-to-reach places and micro-crevices. After all the elements on the motherboard are treated with alcohol, continue drying.
Now assemble the laptop and try turning it on. If no electronic elements on the motherboard have burned out during liquid ingress, the laptop will turn on and work for a long time. For example, my laptop has been working for 4 years after a glass of tea was poured on it :-)
If the laptop does not turn on - your way to a computer service.
In life, various circumstances can happen that are clearly not encouraging, but entail excessive grief, and with them financial losses. The laptop is a faithful companion of a modern person. In most cases, even watching a movie on TV, there is still computer equipment nearby, on which the user tries to perform some more additional actions.
Due to inattention, a mug of tea can be knocked over onto a laptop
Due to inattention or negligence, it may happen that a mug of tea will be overturned on the laptop keyboard. In a panic, many users do not understand at all what to do if they spilled water on a laptop. Of course, there is a reason for frustration, but you should not panic, it is very important to follow a series of actions that may help you save your laptop from inevitable death.
Action algorithm
Spilled liquid is the worst enemy for computer equipment or desktop PC keyboards. Contact of liquid and electricity should never be allowed, as the result will always be only terrible. In this case, any liquid, regardless of composition, will emerge victorious, hopelessly killing all electrical circuits.
As a result, the laptop refuses to turn on, sadly showing its black display.
If someone flooded the laptop, it now does not turn on, do not panic, but familiarize yourself with the algorithm for specific "resuscitation" actions. You may be able to bring your laptop back to life, restore its performance.
Do not panic if the laptop does not turn on
Turning off the laptop
Given that water or other liquid can cause a short circuit, it is important to take steps to prevent it.
You can avoid this if you very quickly manage to completely de-energize your laptop. In this situation, it is important not to forget about your own safety precautions. It is strictly forbidden to come into contact with the surface, accompanied by power supply, with wet hands, so as not to suffer yourself.
For this reason, initially dry your hands very quickly, and already, with dry hands, quickly turn off your laptop. Since it is important for you to make a quick shutdown at this moment, press the power button after blotting it with a towel and hold it for five seconds.
After the laptop turns off, unplug the power cord, turn the laptop over, and remove the battery. Only now you can be sure that the laptop is completely de-energized.
Take out the battery
Of course, the actions do not end there, it is important to figure out the rest of what to do if you flooded the laptop, spilled water, tea or a sweet drink on the keyboard.
Disconnect all external devices from the laptop, which include the mouse, flash drives and extension cords. Turn the laptop over, remove the back cover and unscrew everything that can be taken out without fear. In particular, by eliminating the fixation, the hard disk and RAM can be easily removed.
Unfortunately, if someone has spilled sweet tea or coffee, lemonade, milk, it will not be possible to effectively help him at home, so you will have to seek help from specialists in a service center who will repair the flooded laptop with the highest quality.
The craftsmen will dry the components, carefully remove the sticky base with the help of special tools, which will help restore the laptop.
Drying process
If someone flooded the keyboard on the laptop, as a result the keys do not work, but you know for sure that water or alcohol was spilled, you can not rush to the service center, but take a few more actions that can restore the laptop to working capacity.
Take a dry towel and gently soak up any water spilled on the keys. Cover the work surface of the table with towels, turn the laptop over and expand it as much as possible so that the display and keyboard form almost one horizontal line. Lay your laptop in this position on towels and leave it in this position for at least a day.
If the water is concentrated on the surface of the internal parts, then under the influence of a hair dryer it can be driven a little deeper. It will be difficult to find it there, respectively, you can simply not dry some places.
After drying is complete, all components that were previously disconnected are reattached, securely fixed, the back cover is installed, and the battery is returned to its place.
Some users may make another big mistake when they start the laptop after a short period of time, ignoring all other recommendations.
Happiness will be indescribable when it turns out that the laptop turns on in the usual mode, although the drying process was carried out in a couple of hours.
Indeed, this often happens, but at the same time, after a few days, another “surprise” occurs, which, unfortunately, is no longer accompanied by stormy positive emotions.
The laptop stops turning on, no resuscitation helps, and after a forced trip to the service center, the owner of the laptop finds out that the internal components have corroded and cannot be restored. It is for this reason that you must consider what to do and what to avoid.
Unfortunately, no matter how carefully you perform all the actions, after a while some keys or USB ports may stop working. Here you already have to come to terms with the situation, accept this fact and purchase a failed part.
So, it is important not to eat food while working on a laptop, and even more so not to drink liquid components over it. If liquid spilled on the keyboard, follow all the steps correctly, then you can avoid serious problems and financial losses.
