TOP-10 Liquid spills that kill laptop computers (Part 2 )

Tip for wine-lovers: If you plan to drink and surf the web, may we suggest a nice white instead of red. A light Pinot grigio or gentle Chardonnay does slightly less damage than a rich, tannic Cabernet Sauvignon in our experience.

#3: Soda (12% of spills). Coke drinkers seem to spill a lot of drinks on their laptops. Perhaps it’s the caffeine? Soft drinks are extra-corrosive due to the sugar and acidity (dissolved CO2) of the liquid, which we are told works well in cleaning rust off of bicycle wheel rims…

#2: Water: (20% of spills). Ironically, it’s not the water that’s the problem – it’s what’s in it. Laptop boards are often completely immersed in a liquid called “ultra-pure” to clean damage from liquid spills, including water. Tap or bottled water contains minerals which account for its conductivity and its ability to cause corrosion, leading to the death of your laptop. You may recall from your high school chemistry days, that distilled water will not conduct electricity, but add a few grains of salt or other mineral and voila, we have a short circuit.

#1 Most Common Killer Of Laptop Computers: Coffee. (40% of all spills). Perhaps it’s because we drink coffee to wake up and sometimes we’re still clumsy in the mornings? Perhaps it’s because our hands are shaking from all the caffeine? Either way, spilled coffee on laptops is a computer killer. A complex brew of exotic chemicals, caffeine, cafestol, caffeic acid, and myriad additives like dairy cream, powered cream, sugar, Aspartame (Equal), saccharine, sucralose (Splenda), and more.

Expert tip: For whatever reason, drinkers of Starbucks Coffee lead in incidence of spilling the black magic liquid into their laptops, followed closely by drinkers of Dunkin Donuts coffee, We recommend laptop users drink their coffee black. No sugar, means less corrosion.

Sewelltech advises that if you’ve spilled liquid on a laptop:
Unplug the computer and remove the battery: Your computer uses electricity, even when the main power is off. The presence of that electric current accelerates the corrosive process that damages the circuit boards inside.

Don’t try to stick it in a bag of rice to dry it out, it does not help. This just prolongs the circuits boards contact with corrosive material that will make the damage worse. Also we will have to pick out rice chunks from the inside of the unit.

DO ship it overnight or bring it to us immediately. Liquid spills that are cleaned professionally within days can save your computer 90% of the time.

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TOP-10 Liquid spills that kill laptop computers (Part 1 )

Liquid spills are the root cause of most (60%) laptop repairs, Here we lists the Top 10 list of liquid spills that damage laptops and notebook computers, and offers advice to laptop owners on what to do if they spill liquid on their computer.

We recommend laptop users drink their coffee black. No sugar, means less corrosion.

The average cost to fix a dead-on-arrival laptop computer from a liquid spill? About $600. And while liquid spills represent fully 60% of laptop computer repairs, these Top-10 liquid-culprits may surprise you.

#10: Nail Polish Remover (less than 1% of spills). This liquid is designed to dissolve lacquer, so it easily dissolves the coating on your notebook computers’ internal logic board, faster than you can accidentally change lanes while painting your toenails.

#9: Bodily Fluids (1% of spills). Yes, one woman claimed breast milk killed her laptop. Most common bodily fluids that kill laptop computers cannot be listed here–way too gross.

#8: Hard liquor (2% of spills). Hard liquor runs the gamut from pure ethyl alcohol (Grey Goose or Kettle One vodka) to syrupy, sugary goodness (brandy, White Russians, Pina Coladas, and other drinks served with an umbrella). The more sugar in the drink, the worse the corrosion that occurs to laptop’s internal parts. The sugar, usually sucrose, dries to form a natural bridge across circuits, assuring a very sweet short-circuit.

Expert lush tip: The more likely the drink is to be served with an umbrella (you tough guy) the more important it is that you keep it away from your laptop.

#7: Hot Tea (3% of spills). The tannic acid is again a effective conductor that will bridge circuits, create shorts, and burn out components.

#6: Sea Water (5% of spills). Salt water is among nature’s best conductors, and one of the most corrosive liquids known to man. It’s the NaCl (Sodium Chloride) that works the magic. Ever wonder why most ocean going vessels not painted faithfully look like floating buckets of rust? Dear Lord, leave your computer in your hotel room on vacation. Ocean versus laptop? Ocean wins. Every time.

#5: Beer (6% of spills). Beer drinkers can’t seem to hold their liquor around their laptops, either. Beer is part water, part sugar, part brown goo. American lagers, as well as Mexican beers such as Corona or Dos Equis, are lighter than many imported brands, and may do less damage to laptops.

#4: Wine (10% of spills). It seems laptop owners drink even more wine than beer. Wine is the double-fisted Kung Fu punch of liquid spills–sugar and acid combine into a corrosion stew. Like the hard liquors mentioned above in #9, wines contain ethyl alcohol (12-20%), along with remnants of the processing including yeast, sugar, sulfite preservatives, grape parts, and acetaldehyde. Together, these work as both a corrosive soup and a circuit shorter.

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Liquid spill repair tips ( Part 2 )

HOW TO CLEAN UP LIQUID DAMAGE

Wipe it out liquid with a soft cloth. Ideally, use an air compressor to dry the motherboard.

Be very careful wiping the motherboard because it has too many small components.

If you find any corrosion, you can clean it up with a toothbrush and 91%-99% isopropyl alcohol.

Make sure the motherboard (or any other internal component) is completely dry before testing it.

IF YOU SPILLED SOME LIQUID ON THE SCREEN

If you spilled liquid on the screen, wipe it out clean as soon as possible. The liquid might get inside the screen and damage it.

In one of the previous post I explained how to clean the screen with liquid damage. Believe me, it’s not easy. But if it happens, just replace the whole screen.

HOW TO ASSEMBLE THE LAPTOP AFTER CLEANING

You’ll have to assemble it back together step by step.

First, assemble just main components: motherboard, CPU with the cooling fan and RAM modules. Now turn it on and test basic image on the screen.

If it turns on and you can see the image, start adding other parts one by one and test after each step.

If the laptop doesn’t start after cleaning, take another look at the motherboard and other components. Maybe you missed a small damaged area. Try cleaning it again.

If it still doesn’t turn on, most likely the motherboard (or other component) is damaged.

HOW TO RECOVER DATA FROM HARD DRIVE

Let’s say the laptop is dead and you cannot do anything to make it work. You still should be able to recover personal data from the hard drive. I assume the hard drive wasn’t damaged by liquid.

You can access data using a USB enclosure.

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Liquid spill repair tips ( Part 1 )

IMPORTANT: If you spilled something on your laptop you should stop using it right away, even if it appears to be running good. Right after the spill you should turn it off, unplug the power adapter and remove the battery. The laptop should be disassembled as soon as possible and all internal parts should be inspected for liquid damage.

Liquid spills are very unpredictable. Even a small liquid spill can cause serious damage.

IF YOU SPILLED A SMALL AMOUNT OF LIQUID

Let’s say you spilled less than a teaspoon of liquid on the keyboard and it stopped working properly, but anything else works fine.

In this case it could be enough to remove just the keyboard to evaluate the damage. Turn off the laptop, unplug the AC adapter and remove the battery. Now remove the keyboard and take a closer look underneath.

Search for any liquid presence under the keyboard.

– If you see liquid on the motherboard, you’ll have to disassemble the laptop completely for the further inspection.
– If the motherboard appears to be completely dry, do not disassemble it any further. Replace the keyboard with a new one. Hopefully replacing the keyboard will fix it.

IF YOU SPILLED SUFFICIENT AMOUNT OF LIQUID

If you spilled a lot of liquid on the laptop, turn it off right away. Unplug the power adapter and remove the battery as soon as possible.

Most likely it will be necessary to remove the top cover and inspect the motherboard for the damage evaluation.

Search for any liquid presence on the back side of the top cover and motherboard.

If the motherboard is wet, remove it from the laptop and inspect the other side.

What should I do after I spill liquid on my device?

Pull the power cord and remove the battery if possible.

No hair dyers or any forced air on/into a closed device! you'll only be spreading any liquid not drained around inside where you can't see or get at it.

In my opinion 72hrs is a conservative wait time for drying- hours or a day mean nothing Best way to dry it is to seal it with a desiccant like silica packs (though even something like pasta can work in a pinch) or in a room with a dehumidifier.

Liquid and electrons don't mix. You really ought to open and dismantle the device as much as possible so that you can clean up, rinse off any residue that's right if it's already wet you can wash it and clean it so that there will be no corrosion occurring later. Spraying with a DIELECTRIC electronic contact cleaner, and/or 99% alcohol will also speed the drying process (70% alcohol contains too much water).

Forced air on the open parts is OK, but if you're in a humid environment packing up with desiccant in a trash bag or rubbermaid container and making changes over three days or so would be better.

There's been a lot of well I spilled on laptop my keyboard, but itstill worked at first..., If you're lucky enough not to kill it straight off, then at least remove, clean and dry the keyboard best as possible before continued use.With many laptop designs there's ''nothing between the bottom of the keyboard and the RAM, FAN, Optical Drive, and all the other parts of the logic board but AIR.

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