Spilled water in mac.. working fine...help?

[harmonyyy7]

Hi! before I start I have had this 13 inch Macbook pro for 5 months. Ok so maybe 7 hours ago I spilled half a glass of water inside the back of my computer. It was turned on but nothing was plugged into it. It made a loud buzzing noise for a few seconds but the screen looked the same & worked fine. I immediately did this in the following order:
1. Wiped off the water
2. shut it down
3. flipped it upside down
it sat for about 7-8 hours
I got lucky because only half of the water from the glass got in the computer since it was mostly soaked up by the blanket behind my computer. I turned on my computer recently to test it out and heres what I know
1. every key & command works fine
2. runs fast
3. speakers work
4. charges
It seems as it was yesterday. my only problem is that it freezes every 20 minutes so I restart it and it works fine... what the heck should I do? im not advanced with hardware or anything and I don't have any repair money. Thank you so much!

edit: been using chrome every time it crashes, but I (sadly) think the water is the issue

 

[Nilhum]

Apple has water indicators in the MacBook itself so if your laptop keeps freezing, you will have to replace the whole logic board. I'd say just keep it off for a few days and then maybe reinstall the OS and see if that helps at all.

 

[thekev]

7-8 hours isn't much time. It was probably still very damp inside, and water acts as a short circuit. It may die at some point in the future, as much as that sucks. It has happened to a lot of other people on this forum, and the general consensus is not to place liquids within spill range of your computer. Most people are fine most of the time, but the risk isn't worth it.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Turn it off now you are causing corrosion. Now look up cleaning water spills from logic boards online and give at a complete disassemble and clean with 99% IMS on all components paying attention to anything that looks like it may have started to corrode. It's not the original spill that usually kills it its the accelerated corrosion over time with electricity running through metal in a damp environment that kills it.

 

[jerryk]

If it is freezing likely something is shorting out and rebooting reset it. That buzzing sound is the likely something shorting out inside. Not a happy sound!

Hopefully it will eventually dry out and continue to work. But for now I would shut it off and give a few days. But, do not be surprised if it does roll over and die in the future. And any warranty you have is now void because water damage is not covered.

I hate that Apple makes their computers so thin they cannot fit some shield and channels in their machines. And as a result a minor spill can kill a machine. It does not have to be this way!

 

[harmonyyy7]

Hi! thank you all so much for your replies! I just restarted my computer and I used it about 2 hours and it was completely fine. I guess I got really lucky (knock on wood)... but if I have any other problems in the future I will update. Thank you so, so much!!

 

[DennisdeWit]

However, you just have voided your warranty.

 

[jerryk]

Hi! thank you all so much for your replies! I just restarted my computer and I used it about 2 hours and it was completely fine. I guess I got really lucky (knock on wood)... but if I have any other problems in the future I will update. Thank you so, so much!!

Cool. Hopefully you dodge a bullet. I bet you will never drink by your computer again!

 

[hallux]

Turn it off now you are causing corrosion.

The corrosion is not a result of using the computer. The corrosion is a result of the minerals and other stuff in the water. The heat may EXPEDITE the corrosion, but the damage is done before the heat gets there...

 

[harmonyyy7]

Cool. Hopefully you dodge a bullet. I bet you will never drink by your computer again!

haha yeah for sure I wont!
[doublepost=1499193687][/doublepost]

If it is freezing likely something is shorting out and rebooting reset it. That buzzing sound is the likely something shorting out inside. Not a happy sound!

Hopefully it will eventually dry out and continue to work. But for now I would shut it off and give a few days. But, do not be surprised if it does roll over and die in the future. And any warranty you have is now void because water damage is not covered.

I hate that Apple makes their computers so thin they cannot fit some shield and channels in their machines. And as a result a minor spill can kill a machine. It does not have to be this way!

I know!! thank you so so much!

 

[OneMike]

I hate that Apple makes their computers so thin they cannot fit some shield and channels in their machines. And as a result a minor spill can kill a machine. It does not have to be this way!

Interesting. I didn't know this was one of the features of Lenovo.

 

[duervo]

Interesting. I didn't know this was one of the features of Lenovo.

Thinkpads have had that feature for ages. Just the Thinkpads though. You won't find it on any of their other products, like those Ideapads or the gaming systems that they make.

Also, most times you spill on them, you will still end up having to replace the keyboard. However, a $100 or so keyboard replacement is a lot cheaper than having to replace a keyboard, logic board, or, in some cases, the whole system.

Regarding the OP's spill, corossion happens within seconds of liquid making contact with powered-on components. By the time power has been turned off, any liquid that has come into contact with a component has already caused corossion. Additional corossion that would happen during subsequent power on of the system would usually be the result of the liquid continuing to seep/spread across the internals while the system was powered off, touching additional components that were not exposed when the initial spill happened. So, to reduce risk of further corossion, it's usually best to turn it off asap after the spill, and not turn it back on until it can be confirmed that there is no liquid inside.

The only way to be sure this system hasn't been damaged is to take it apart and inspect it. Otherwise, it's probably more accurate to assume that damage has happened.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

The corrosion is not a result of using the computer. The corrosion is a result of the minerals and other stuff in the water. The heat may EXPEDITE the corrosion, but the damage is done before the heat gets there...

Yes it is "causing" corrosion the electricity running through the components is "expediting" corrosion (if you want to a pedant, that's your choice of course) far more than heat will and you really need to get it corrosion free and dry before you turn it back on. Electrolytic corrosion is your enemy with electronic devices please look it up.

 

[jerryk]

Interesting. I didn't know this was one of the features of Lenovo.

Yes, it is in most models. The Thinkpad brand under IBM was designed to be the business travelers machine. As such they did not want them to die if you spilled water on them while working on the 9AM presentation. They have a thin plastic tray below the keyboard that channels the water away from the electronics to drain/vent channels on the bottom of the machine.

When IBM sold the PC business to Lenovo, Lenovo wisely choose to keep that design.

 

[ZapNZs]

Hi! thank you all so much for your replies! I just restarted my computer and I used it about 2 hours and it was completely fine. I guess I got really lucky (knock on wood)... but if I have any other problems in the future I will update. Thank you so, so much!!

This is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too early to turn the computer back on IMO, and the fact that it works now doesn't mean you are in the clear. The system probably still has a lot of moisture inside of it - especially if the glue Apple uses tends to absorb water in high humidity environments. Someone I trust once told me 72 hours is a conservative estimate for drying, and that is when you open the case back, use silica gel, and remove any parts that come out easily. Unless you were drinking distilled water, that logic board will need to be cleaned, and the more you use it prior to it being cleaned and fully dried just seems to be increasing the chance of premature failure as trace minerals and impurities in the water expedite corrosion.

If it was me personally, I would shut the computer down immediately, call an Apple Authorized Service Provider (not an Apple Store as IIRC your option there is flat rate part replacement) and ask them if they will clean your logic board for you and run diagnostics on the machine (as IMO a competent Apple-Certified technician is going to be the best source for the next course of action to best attempt to salvage the machine if you do not wish to replace the logic board and top case.) Until that cleaning was done, I would not personally use the system. YMMV.

 

[Seekingshred]

Even if it's working fine now water is water and corrosion will be found at some point prob on the logic board.

You can work now fine as you do, but keep these 600 pounds aside cause at some point you will need to change that. Just the way I did twice