Laptop Water Damage
88Help! I Spilled Water on My Laptop
One of the worst feelings in the world are when you drop your cell phone into a lake or stream while camping or if you happen to spill water on your laptop while it is on. Anything with electricity needs to be kept as far away from water as possible. Because laptops are mobile devices, there is a greater risk of encountering liquids and as a result there is a greatly increased chance of laptop water damage. If you have children if any age in your household, it is a good idea to make some hard rules about the use of liquids near the laptop.
First of all, children should never be allowed to have a drink when using the laptop. Also, the laptop should never be moved to a place near a sink or other water source. As a parent, you should be a good role model and not bring a drink with you when you are working on your laptop so that your children think it is OK to do it. If you can keep these rules going so that the entire household follows them you can avoid laptop water damage at home.
You need to keep similar rules at work as well if you use a laptop there. While it is very easy to bring your drink and lunch to the desk at work so you can get more done, you still need to observe the same rules you had at home regarding liquids and laptops at work. It is very easy to knock over a drink sitting next to your laptop. While a few drops may not have much effect on your laptop, spilling an entire cup of whatever you are drinking can be disastrous.
There are different methods recommended for dealing with laptop water damage depending on when the damage is discovered. The most important step is that if you think that some sort of liquid has been spilled into your laptop and it is already powered off, DO NOT POWER IT ON. Always make sure that you know the device has been thoroughly dried out before attempting to power it back up again.
You may want to check your warranty on your machine. Some laptop manufacturer’s offer extended warranty protection that extends accidental damage coverage. See the appropriate warranty documents to see if you are covered. If you are one of the lucky people to have selected such coverage when you purchased your laptop, follow the claim instructions and package it back up and return it to the manufacturer. You should have a repaired or replaced unit in a very short period of time.
In most cases, regular manufacturer warranties do not cover accidental damage in any manner; whether it is laptop water damage or breakage due to dropping or being knocked over. Once you have determined what kind of liquid has damaged your laptop, there are a couple of ways to see if you can mitigate the damage as well. If it is a liquid other than water, some experts recommend rinsing the affected area with distilled water; obviously with the power off, the battery removed and the wall plug disconnected.
Once you have done that it is recommended you use an external heat source like a hair dryer to get the most of the moisture dried up. Then you should place the laptop in a container with a desiccant like silica gel or rice. We have used rice when we had a liquid issue with my wife’s cell phone and it worked like a charm. You need to have some patience and let it dry out in the desiccant for a couple of days.
If you are certain that the liquid was only water, then you will not need to rinse the affected area and then follow the same steps above. Once you have completely dried out the unit and battery, replace the battery, connect the power cord and attempt to power the unit. If the unit does not power on or the power light blinks but the screen does not come on you will need to take your laptop to a professional computer repair shop. We are talking about computer water damage here folks.
Remember, when trying to deal with laptop water damage, the most important thing is to NOT power the system up until you have thoroughly dried out the system. Still wondering how to fix water damage? Leave us a comment in the box and we'll answer it asap!
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i spilled water all over my laptop. the power cut out immediately. I let it sit for 24, which i thought was enough time, i should have waited longer. Now i power it back up, it comes on and windows boots up. I can even pull up the web and browse, but after about 3 minutes the power cuts back out. Im going to let it sit untouched for another few days, but did my powering it on after only 24 hours really screw me?
My daughter just spilled about 8oz. of liquid on my Lenovo T60
and what I did was drain all the water from the laptop and then put in a paper bag with 10 lbs. of rice and then duck taped the top to trap any moisture. I waited for almost 24 hours then booted up my laptop and all was well! Rice works my friends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
my ma spilled some water on my new laptop almost a year ageo and then she pourd a bag of rice on it . I have let it sit for a year im going to attempt to take it appart and clean the rice out , any tips??
Here remember that do not blown air directly into the motherboard directly. Instead you blow out the air. It will damage the fragile parts of motherboard and situation get worsen.
And what if I did power it on... because my friends didn´t tell me they spilled water on my laptop, and I even plugged it, because I had NO idea what was going on...?
water drop on labtop while it was on. can someone help me. thanks
Hi TChangi, do you really use bolt croppers on your laptop!!? LOL.
This is all sound advice. Here's my two penny worth:
An alternative to using an air drier is to dismantle the laptop as far as you possibly can and gently dab all the components dry avoiding damaging them. Then place all of the components into a suitable plastic container and put in an airing cupboard for a couple of days until fully dried out. Then reassemble and power up.
If your warranty does not cover this eventuality or if it has run out you should cover your laptop under you house insurance policy and stipulate old for new replacement policy and cover for in home use as well as on business trips and holidays. This will cover all angles and the increase in premium is usually very reasonable!
I hope this helps.
Regards, Kevin Walker.
computerrepaircenter@computer-repaircenter.com
I don't understand why my laptop doesn't work, it was only running off the battery when I (purposely ) dropped it in water. My vehicle starts fine and all the controls work even after I have driven in the rain, even water up to ( half way ) the door of my vehicle.
are you stupid lol.
i owne a hp probook 4520s. I left it on my car sit and forgot 2 close the window. It startd raining thus sum watr manage 2 get in to my laptop. I removed the battery and put apart all the parts and let to dry. After a day or two i tried powring up the laptop it did not want. But i evry time i put in the chager is keeps going on and off (restarting) with no image displayed. Can anyone please help me. What mite be the problem
My St Bernard slobbered on my housemate's laptop and now the laptop is not working. Will following the same steps for water work? If not, any ideas??
Thanks
I was drinking pop from a bottle and accidentally knocked it onto my laptop. The laptop continued to work for a while, and then it must have shorted out. Ignorant as I am, I turned it back on without drying it. It told me I needed to reinstall the OS, so I turned it off to consult other help. I was told to take out the battery, and I did, and then I washed the laptop with a wet rag but I didn't open it up to dry out the hard drive. Now, after putting the battery back in, it won't start up at all. Am I completely screwed?
I was playing starcraft in the pool when my laptop slipped in the water during a heated battle. After removing it from the water and drying it with a towel I foolishly turned it back on to continue the game. Unfortunately I couldn't reconnect
aliampolizzi@gmail.com
i spilled sweetened coffee (sugar) on my dell laptop, it has been like a month,and i did not turn it on or open it to let it air out but it is dry, what do i do, btw your artical is nearly pointless, people are not going to rush to the computer to find out what to do if there laptop is damaged within the small time frame to fix it anyway
- Bamboo Shades
A really good resource for those interesting in this kind of stuff. Having a water fixed computer is not enough if the atmosphere in your office or home is not the one that you are looking for :)
computer for us 2 years ago
thanks bro. useful tips