Tag: Nerd Beach

What do you do if you spill liquid on your laptop?

A lot of NerdBeach readers no doubt eat and drink while they are using their laptops, and spills do happen, regardless of our attempts otherwise.  Common sense advise, such as those we gave for an accidental cell phone dunking, should be followed.

Opening up a laptop can expose the user to high voltage and potentially life threatening situations, and the combination of liquid with power can cause fires and other damage.  Nerd Beach does not warrant the information contained here, and any action you take should be considered done on your own behalf. If you are not 100% sure  of the actions to take and the actions to avoid, please seek professional assistance.

A quick rundown:*

1. DO NOT POWER UP THE DEVICE AS A TEST.  Water compromises an electrical circuit, and adding power at this point will more than destroy the device.

2. Remove the battery from the laptop (if possible). This assures that it will not accidentally power up as well as stop any other electrical activity  from taking place while wet.

3. Remove all water from the laptop as quick as possible.  First shake, then use  a towel and get the major water off the machine. Do not use a blow dryer or other forms of heat, since this will ruin the electronics and the display, as well as possibly warp the laptop itself. Instead you can use compressed air and blow ACROSS the laptop, pulling water out form the device in the same manner it entered.  A wet dry vac is great to use as well.

4.  Disassemble the laptop, and separate it into the major pieces.  Depending on the liquid source it might be prudent to rinse the components that were exposed, since any salts or sugars left behind after the drying process could short out the circuit, causing damage or fires. Do not rinse or introduce any additional water if not required, but if it was covered in wine, juice, saltwater, etc.  you need to get the residue off any boards affected. Rinse the affected components with distilled water (please no mineral water).

5. Allow the components to completely dry, at least overnight.  You can consider placing the mother board and other electronics in a container with some form of desiccant, such as silica gel packs or, in a pinch, uncooked dry rice. Leave it there overnight.

6. Reassemble the laptop, insert the battery, and with your fingers crossed flip the switch on. With luck the machine will boot up, but at this point you are no worse off for trying. If it does not boot up, check connections , verify the battery, and retry.  Hopefully you will find everything working, but if not be prepared to accept the fact that a lot of warranties do not cover water damage.

The video below illustrates a computer that had wine and lemonade poured on it, and yet was cleaned and continued to work., Please note the first action they take, which is to pull the battery (if possible).  I hope you never have need of such advice, but if you do please remember, above all else, Do not power up a wet computer if not designed for it.

 

 

 

 

For more information, we suggest checking out Grynx.com‘s excellent writeup on actions to take when accidentally spilling liquids on your laptop.

via

What do you do if your cell phone gets wet?

Let’s face it – it happens.  We carry our cell phones everywhere we go, and we occasionally drop them, despite our best efforts. Now, depending on where we are when we drop them, the effect of the drop can vary.  If you are in a carpeted room or on grass, chances are the phone is perfectly okay. If you were on concrete, there is a chance that you may have broken something or left a good scratch. However, what if you were on or around water, and the phone makes a splash landing?  Well, you can consider following the steps below:*

1. Don’t panic. Take stock of the situation and proceed slowly, but  DO NOT TURN ON THE DEVICE.

2. Remove the battery immediately if the device allows it. This is important, since it stops anything of an electrical nature from happening, and at the moment the phone is pretty much compromised along those lines.

3. What kind of water did the phone fall in?  If it was anything besides more or less clear water consider rinsing the phone off gently, removing the residue. This is especially true if it was sea water, since the salt left behind will serve to cross out the circuits. However, use a rinse only if truly warranted, since you want to avoid introducing any more water into the phone’s chambers than absolutely needed.

4.  Dry off the phone and battery the best you can, without using heat devices. A hairdryer is out of the question, since it can produce enough heat to ruin the electronics and the display, as well as warping the phone itself.  Consider using an air source like a compressor to blow off the unit, and try to blow ACROSS it instead of into it, allowing water to be pulled from the device. Also great to use is a wet dry vacuum, which can suck the bulk water right out of the device.  You want the water to leave the phone as quickly as possible, and hopefully through the same means and channels that it entered the phone.

5. Deep dry the phone using material that can absorb the water.  If you have any desiccant, such as those packs of silica gel you see in electronics, then you are in good shape. If not, grab a container of dry uncooked rice, which will work well in a pinch. Place the phone and battery in the drying medium, covering it completely, and leave it there overnight.  The important thing is to get the drying process started as soon as possible.

6. The next morning, and with your fingers crossed, extract the phone and battery from its desiccant home, wipe it off (rice may leave some powder on the phone), and  insert the battery (if it was removed).  With a little luck your phone will come back to life, and all will be good.  If not, you are no worse off for the trying, but I do have to tell you that most electronics warranties do not cover water damage.

These are steps not just for cell phones, but for practically anything electronic.  The rule of thumb is to pull the power without turning it on, remove any water or foreign material, and dry well.  The faster you do this, the more likely no corrosion will take place and the electronics equipment will survive.

 

*disclaimer: Nerd Beach does not warrant the information contained here, and any action you take should be considered done on your own behalf. If unsure of the actions to take please seek professional assistance.