Water spreads extremely well over surfaces, conducts electricity well and leaves behind mineral and salt deposits – all of which together have a very negative effect on our equipment. As a result, a short circuit may occur, and even if this does not happen immediately and everything is working, it is better to take measures to ensure reliable operation of the equipment after such events after drying.

What to do if liquid is spilled on the laptop?

The laptop is an extremely sensitive device for liquids. If a phone can be protected from moisture, and in the case of a stationary PC, the keyboard will suffer the most – it is different from laptops. The most common consumer models have no declared protection against moisture and all the important electronics are located directly under the keyboard and are also extremely susceptible to flooding.

Our laptops are constantly at risk, as we often work in cafes or co-working spaces while consuming a variety of beverages. If too much liquid got into your laptop, if too much liquid got inside the device, you should contact the service center. The “wet but it works” rule does not apply here, because the liquid does not disappear anywhere and continues to diffuse inside the appliance, especially if it is not regular water, but sweet coffee or tea.

Thanks to the quick response of the equipment owners, it is often possible to recover the device and avoid expensive repairs. Therefore, do not delay and contact the nearest service center approved by the manufacturer – there they will help you quickly restore everything.

First steps before taking the laptop in for service

While you should act as quickly as possible and contact the service center immediately if possible, you can take additional precautions that will increase your laptop’s chances of surviving a natural disaster from a glass. We recommend that you immediately forget about the life-saving rice, which is recommended to turn off any wet equipment. This is an old urban legend and it will certainly not help, but it will harm by taking up valuable time when more effective measures can be taken.

As we have already mentioned, one of the main enemies of the equipment, in addition to the liquid itself, is salt and mineral deposits, which certainly remain even after the purest store water has dried.

If water or other liquid gets on your laptop and it is in working condition, the first step should be to turn off the gadget as soon as possible! It is important to turn off the computer, just close the lid and disconnect the device from the power source.

Make sure to turn off laptop/Photo by Freecodecamp

After that, you need to take a thin and small towel (you can fold the paper towels in several layers), put it on the keyboard, close the laptop lid and turn it so that the keyboard is facing down. So the water will not flow deeper and possible repair will be cheaper. The service center is likely to accept you without waiting in line, so there is more chance to recover the computer.

If it works, is it necessary to move a flooded laptop for repair?

Even if you spilled your laptop yesterday and googled this article “What to do with your laptop if you spill water” today, it doesn’t mean the device will continue to work reliably in the future.

Moisture may not have reached beyond the keyboard, but just one drop on the motherboard may be enough to cause a short circuit that will disable important internal nodes during operation. The consequences can be extremely expensive repair of equipment.

The sooner you get help from experts, the better your chances of recovering your computer. It is best to do it right away, but you should not think that everything passes, even in a few days. In any case, the sooner the computer is disassembled and cleaned, the cheaper the repair.

What are the most dangerous liquids for a laptop?

It is important to note that any liquid is highly undesirable and potentially dangerous if it gets inside any equipment. But the more the liquid differs from ordinary pure water, the worse the situation.

Coffee, tea, alcohol, especially sparkling or sweet drinks, make the situation much more difficult for both the equipment and the service center. From our own experience, we note that sweet tea poses much more problems than ordinary water. Even after it dries, anything sugary leaves a lot of residue behind, which can cause the keyboard to stick or break. As a result, it is necessary to additionally remove and clean or completely replace the keyboard module.

Sugary drinks are the most harmful to technology / Photo by Unsplash

If you find yourself in such a situation, do not panic. Do everything mentioned above in the material and immediately contact the service center. Most likely, you will be able to save your laptop and spend minimally on cleaning, and not on expensive repairs.