We all know that drinks and electronics don’t mix but it’s just so practical to have your drink on your desk … and then the next thing you know your computer or laptop is drenched!
Act Fast (we mean seconds!)
- Disconnect any power-cords (no need to add 240v into the mix!) and pop out a laptop battery asap – don’t worry about shutting down, this is trying to avoid a short
- Pop off any covers you can, eg. if it’s a laptop remove the little piece of plastic blanking out the SD Card slot, remove the battery (if you haven’t already) and anything else that can be removed
- Rotate your keyboard or computer so the offending drink is exiting broadly the way it came in (you don’t want it to soak through), ideally coaxing the fluid away from the processor if you know where that is (Hard Drive isn’t so bad as it’s hermetically sealed). Most laptops do a good tent-impression without damaging them.
- Leave it for a good 20-30 minutes, probably on some kitchen towel, draining away. Your desk is easy to clean, inside of a computer or keyboard isn’t. Keep an eye on how much you think has come out.
- Now leave it for longer!
Don’t be tempted to turn it back on, however urgently you need it, as you basically need to wait for fluid to slowly drain and for the temperature inside your computer to cool back to room-temperature for a while, quickly heating it back up could cause fluid that hasn’t drained to move further in other directions.
Once you reckon the fluid has gone cold, drained and/or evaporated you can try a turn on but be ready at the first sign of trouble (eg. unusual flickering, funny noises) to turn it off and get some real help.
Sticky Coffee Keys
If the drink didn’t get too far then a good drying out should mean that your worst problem is ‘sticky’ keys. Most keys can be ‘popped off’ the keyboard with a little effort (be careful not to damage any springs or force too hard – especially on laptops). Next a gentle clean with a cotton ear-bud should sort stuff out.
Try to be careful and just clean with dry stuff that doesn’t leave flakes everywhere. It can take longer but avoids the common causes of damage, eg. adding more water!
Warning: be prepared to be grossed out at how disgusting your keyboard really is – you use it day after day but rarely if ever clean it and you’ll be amazed how much hair and gunk gets under there!
Or Complete Death
Yes, this can happen and it’s usually because the fluid has caused a short somewhere. DO NOT try to keep turning it on and off again hoping it’ll work, this could fry things completely.
DO get help, as this will probably mean opening up your machine, cleaning it with care (avoiding static and ionised water) or touching bits that weren’t affected. Most ‘geeks’ should have half an idea what to do and more importantly can tell you when it is time to call it a day or if you can just replace one little bit.
The likelihood is that this will take a few days to do well and if a laptop that your data is fine on the Hard Drive. If it’s a keyboard then it’s probably just time to upgrade to a new one – look out for the ‘Ergonomic’ ones as this is much cheaper than trying to get it fixed.
Got Any Tips/ Stories?
Let us know any stories about your experiences and we’ll add them on.
