Did you spill something on your laptop keyboard and need to know how to try and remove the spill? Here are some tips for removing your choice beverage from your laptop components.
The first thing to do to attempt to prevent a fatality is to unplug the power supply from your laptop, turn it over and remove the battery. The purpose for doing this is to prevent the liquid from making its way to the motherboard. If there is no sparking or smoke you may very well be on your way to a successful recovery. You will also want to remove all components including the keyboard and optical drive. In perspective, it is much cheaper to replace a keyboard than it is to replace a motherboard. If you do not feel comfortable removing the parts yourself, the best thing to do is to keep the computer upside down and let it air out for a few days before bringing it to us to fix.
Please note: The purpose of turning the computer upside down is to prevent the liquid from running down into the motherboard. So, do not use any sort of compressed air and certainly not anything like a hair dryer to dry your laptop. This will only move the liquid further into unwanted places. Also, some household appliances, such as hair dryers, emit an electromagnetic field (EMF), which can also be damaging to your computer.
After removing your battery, keyboard and other components, lightly pat them dry. You must then identify the liquid that was spilled. For example, any liquid that is not sticky (water, most diet sodas, etc.) can get rinsed with warm water then with 100% Isopropyl alcohol. After drying, it should be fine.
For sticky liquids, generally anything with sugar in it like coffee, non-diet sodas or beer, you will want to use a soft bristled, small, clean (preferably never used) paint brush to massage out the goo. The sugar from the beverage will deteriorate some circuits in your motherboard if not thoroughly, yet very carefully, cleaned. Again, after a soft rinse and good dry time (opened to air for about 48 hours) try restarting your laptop.
Hope this was helpful!
