Disaster! Water spill on the MacBook

[doctosmith]

I'm panicking a bit here. I spilled a full glass of water on my beloved black MacBook last night. It turned off immediately; I think it may have shorted out. I pulled the power cord and battery, drained it and toweled it off best I could and let it dry out overnight. This morning, there were still no signs of life. The little light on the power cord doesn't even come on.

I've seen in a few threads here that they can recover after drying several days. But, those threads tend to be left hanging without news as to whether the computer actually recovered or not.

I have that paranoid-vomiting-butterfly feeling in the pit of my stomach. My favourite computer is on its death bed. And I have no idea if it will recover or not.

Any advice on how long I should wait before trying to get this fixed? I bought it in February, so I may be able to get it repaired under warranty (unless it goes to an Apple tech who wants to be a hero to the accounting department). I'm not sure I can afford an out-of-warranty repair right now either, so advice on how to do that on the cheap would be nice too.

 

[Father Jack]

Let it dry naturally for a few more days and hopefully it will work again.
I will pray for your computer

FJ

 

[pootsey]

Worst comes to worst send it off for a repair to apple, I washed an iPod in a washing machine once by accident and they replaced it for me without querying why it was waterlogged, lol.

 

[Father Jack]

I washed an iPod in a washing machine once by accident and they replaced it for me without querying why it was waterlogged, lol.

I know I've said this before ...... but, my wife's Nano went for a swim in the cat's water dish and after drying out for three or four days worked perfectly.

FJ

 

[Jack Flash]

Give it plenty of time; you might even (if you dare) disassemble it and clean the corrosion off with some rubbing alcohol.

 

[xfiftyfour]

Give it quite a few days before trying to power it at all. Those that are patient typically have the best luck with these things - if you try too soon, you could risk more damage.

I would say try again on Friday and let us know.

If it turns out it is a goner, wait another week or so, and then send it off to Apple. Hopefully there won't be anymore traces of water, and they'll fix it under warranty. At worse, they recognize the problem and send it back to you - worth the shot, though.

 

[doctosmith]

I would say try again on Friday and let us know.

Bloody hell, I don't know if I can go that long without my laptop. I'm stuck with only my Windows box in the office for now. I think I'm already getting the shakes.

And, as I don't have a backup for the last month, that's a lot of lost work on a couple of my projects. That's bad.

 

[Digital Skunk]

Give it plenty of time; you might even (if you dare) disassemble it and clean the corrosion off with some rubbing alcohol.

DON'T OPEN YOUR MACHINE!

You will loose all chances of doing the "My book stopped working and I don't know why" thing about a week from now.

Dry it out to the bone for about a week. Dry everything out. Don't try to turn it on anytime between now and a WEEK. Yes I know it sucks. After a week try to plug it in and see if the light comes on. If it doesn't you can either try turning it on again, or just going back to an Apple store and saying that your book stopped working. If the machine was on when it got wet and shorted something out, they may think it is a manufacturing defect and fix it for free. Other than that, I just hope it comes on... or you can wait for Santa Claus... I mean Santa Rosa.

Sorry this happened man.

 

[Digital Skunk]

Bloody hell, I don't know if I can go that long without my laptop. I'm stuck with only my Windows box in the office for now. I think I'm already getting the shakes.

And, as I don't have a backup for the last month, that's a lot of lost work on a couple of my projects. That's bad.

Always get a desktop as a backup machine. I learned that when my iBook was stolen from me. A friend of mine got one as soon as his Macbook got water logged like yours. He bought a 17" iMac. If you rely on your machine for freelance work or something it pays in the end to have a backup.

I guess I am a little late on that. But if your machine works go out and get a backup Mac ASAP.

 

[CalBoy]

DON'T OPEN YOUR MACHINE!

You will loose all chances of doing the "My book stopped working and I don't know why" thing about a week from now.

Dry it out to the bone for about a week. Dry everything out. Don't try to turn it on anytime between now and a WEEK. Yes I know it sucks. After a week try to plug it in and see if the light comes on. If it doesn't you can either try turning it on again, or just going back to an Apple store and saying that your book stopped working. If the machine was on when it got wet and shorted something out, they may think it is a manufacturing defect and fix it for free. Other than that, I just hope it comes on... or you can wait for Santa Claus... I mean Santa Rosa.

Sorry this happened man.

That's pretty dishonest. It was an unfortunate accident, and I feel bad for the OP, but that doesn't mean he should lie about what happened. This is why some people are rebuffed by the Geniuses. The OP should follow the advice of others and let the book dry out, and then see if it works. If it doesn't, then he should take it to the Apple store and say, "Some water got on it, and now it doesn't work." Who knows, he might get lucky and have it repaired for free. Even if he doesn't, he'll know he didn't have to lie.

 

[masse]

That's pretty dishonest. It was an unfortunate accident, and I feel bad for the OP, but that doesn't mean he should lie about what happened.

We live in a dishonest world. Lie your face off. If only apple followed lenovo's example and specially designed laptops to channel water through holes in the bottom and away from components. Oh wait, it's far more important to have it look nice and shiny... (half sarcastic...I like pretty things)

I've had a cell phone from LG go through the wash 4 times. Each time I allowed it to dry for a few days and then it would turn on fine.

Give it a week. You won't want to bring a wet machine in for repair. Something tells me they may figure out you spilled something on it.

 

[CalBoy]

We live in a dishonest world. Lie your face off.

How does feeding that dishonesty help anyone? You perceive the world to be dishonest because some people have lied to you. You shouldn't uphold the practice. Saying you do it because others have done it to you is poor reasoning, and you are essentially advising the OP to commit fraud.

If only apple followed lenovo's example and specially designed laptops to channel water through holes in the bottom and away from components. Oh wait, it's far more important to have it look nice and shiny... (half sarcastic...I like pretty things)

That's very good technology, and I'm glad Lenovo thought of it. However, the OP doesn't have a Lenovo, and he knew that the macbook didn't have the feature you're talking about. This would be a different story if the macbook did have the feature, and the notebook still stopped working. That would be a genuine complaint, and worthy of free repair.

I've had a cell phone from LG go through the wash 4 times. Each time I allowed it to dry for a few days and then it would turn on fine.

You were lucky with that phone, and you should be happy with LG because their product did something it was not meant to do: be washed with clothes. If your phone had stopped working after even the first wash, you would have no legs to stand on. The phone wasn't meant to be washed, and any reasonable person would have known that. Trying to get someone to pay for your accidents is wrong (we all pay for a false claim, either through higher prices, bad Genius service, or whatever else Apple might do to cover the cost of false complaints).
Don't try to lie and cheat others, treat them as you would like to be treated. I know that even if you believe the whole world is crooked and messed up, you would still prefer to deal with an honest person. So, set an example by being an honest person.

 

[e12a]

I'm not entirely sure if the macbook has this, but things some electronics like cellphones have little patches that turn pink when submerged in water. So a customer can't claim that the cellphone stopped working randomly when it really was dropped in a pool, etc. These patches are located on the battery and the cellphone itself.

also, the water may leave residue behind, so...yeah.

Since legally your warranty does not cover accidental damage, i'd open it up and liberally spray wd-40 on the logic board (avoid the hard drive and LCD and superdrive.). leave it out in the open for a few days and then try starting it up.

edit: this method saved my old LG cellphone after I left it in the washer. I made the mistake of trying to turn it on after a few hours, luckily i didnt short out anything. Some sprays of WD-40 into some holes, a few days, and it was back up and running like nothing happened.

 

[doctosmith]

That's pretty dishonest. It was an unfortunate accident, and I feel bad for the OP, but that doesn't mean he should lie about what happened.

That's part of what sucks about the industry; I know, I used to be a technician, but that was many, many years ago. If there's any admission of an accident, the warranty is automatically voided.

But there is an important point about the design there. It's been a standard practice to put covers over the components (usually a sheet between the keyboard and everything else) to protect from casual spills. This is really the first time I've seen a laptop drop dead from a spill. It usually takes a full immersion to cause a disaster. At least, that's the way things used to be. I would have to look into the current industry practices to know if that's still standard.

Anyways, as I'm working on a contract out of the country, having my own desktop is really inconvenient. And it may be that I can't send it in for repair until I get home at the end of July. And since I'm away from home, I don't have any of my tools or a decent workbench to do repairs. I think I may be really badly screwed on this one.

And thanks for the sympathy everyone!

 

[Bad Paper]

I don't see what spraying WD-40 will do, other than to make a mess of things.

I soaked my second-gen iPod in the rain. Waited a day or two and it was fine. It is still going, four and a half years old. It's not your notebook, but you should still let it dry completely. Take out the battery, too, to help things dry.

 

[e12a]

I don't see what spraying WD-40 will do, other than to make a mess of things.

WD = Water Displacement
40 = 40th try.

look it up.

I'm recommending it as a last resort. However the OP must be willing to open the computer first.

 

[skye12]

We live in a dishonest world. No, that is your perception of the world.
And people like you are why it is less than it might be. What a scumbag.

Dry it out as others have said. Even it it starts working, corrosion will
probably set in and it will fail for good.

I used to work for a cell carrier and the techs could always tell if a phone
had been immersed once they opened it up.

Buy a new one and be more careful. I have a rule after a close call.
No drinks, EVER, by the computer.

Good luck.

 

[e12a]

Dry it out as others have said. Even it it starts working, corrosion will
probably set in and it will fail for good.

in that case, lightly coat the logic board with wd 40. I take back liberal application unless the computer still has visible water still present on it. According to wiki, wd 40 was used on missiles to prevent corrosion.

I doused the insides my cellphone with wd 40 right out of the washer.

 

[warfa]

Oh dude sorry about your laptop!
Wait a week like everyone is suggesting and dont open it up.
If it dont work, LIE!!

Just kidding but you do what you gotta do.

Good luck.

 

[juanm]

Thank God you weren't drinking a glass of acid.

Today I read a story about a guy who dropped his digital camera in a river. After letting it dry naturally, with compressed air and driving with it outside the car, the camera turned on again. Apparently, the sensor had been damaged, and now it makes an impressionist artwork of every picture taken. With some luck and doing everything he did, maybe your macbook will start to actually think instead of just processing data!
http://farrelleaves.com/eaves_camera.html

Oh, and I'll make sure to remember your nickname and avoid any "clean Macbook battery" you'd try to sell on the marketplace in the near future.

 

[Nicolasdec]

Leave it for a week with out any power. was it on when water was droped on it?

 

[masse]

LOL! I'm sorry, I saw it coming and just couldn't help myself.

I'm actually one of the most honest people you will ever meet. There is a lesson to be learned here...Don't spill stuff on electronics, or put your macbook in the dishwasher.

Right?

 

[TimJim]

wait a week before turning it on or charging it. yeah...a whole week

 

[iW00t]

That's pretty dishonest. It was an unfortunate accident, and I feel bad for the OP, but that doesn't mean he should lie about what happened. This is why some people are rebuffed by the Geniuses. The OP should follow the advice of others and let the book dry out, and then see if it works. If it doesn't, then he should take it to the Apple store and say, "Some water got on it, and now it doesn't work." Who knows, he might get lucky and have it repaired for free. Even if he doesn't, he'll know he didn't have to lie.

Blah blah blah...

Would you have done the same given similar circumstances as the OP? Don't be so quick to judge.

 

[CalBoy]

Blah blah blah...

Would you have done the same given similar circumstances as the OP? Don't be so quick to judge.

I wouldn't try to say that the macbook "suddenly" stopped working. I would be honest and say that some liquid got on it. It is my fault, and I can't expect someone to pay for my error in judgement. Also, I wouldn't drink near my computer.