When we start our work or study sessions, we like some coffee or water to accompany us. At some point, we have all had the experience of that “oops” moment when we spilled water all over the keyboard. No, you are not the only one.
It may seem to be the expiration of the laptop, but it is not. Every problem has a solution- that applies to this case, too!
It is a good idea to learn about what to do if you come across this problem if you haven’t already. You won’t freak out if you do, keep your calm, and deal with it.
So we will present to you the solution if you have a water-damaged laptop and how you can get back the laptop to its normal self.
What Do If I Have A Water Damaged Laptop?
There are a few common steps that will ensure that your laptop has good health. If you have a little clumsiness in you, you can note down these on your phone so that they can help you whenever you are in need.
1. Turn off the laptop
A common mistake is that people check the condition of the laptop, rather than turning it off immediately. Do not take any risk and turn the laptop off immediately using the power button. The laptop may have a short circuit if it is powered on for longer.
2. Remove the battery from the laptop
Removing the battery from the laptop is a very important step and cannot be neglected.
Some laptops have batteries connected which can be removed after opening the backside of the laptop. Some require more work involving opening parts of the laptop to reach the battery. You can take it to a professional if you are not confident to do this, but it has to be done as soon as possible.
Ensure you unplug everything from the laptop before taking it to a professional. This needs to be removed because these wires may pull out power from the laptop and it could damage the laptop.
3. Take safety precautions
Your laptop may be in danger, but you will be in more danger if your laptop gets a short circuit and you are in contact with it.
So to be safe, unplug the device from any power source and switch off the circuit breaker. Do not touch the device if you smell burning plastics or see smoke. Ensure that the device is disconnected from any electrical source, and then you can handle it.
4. Turn the laptop upside down
Now, you can turn the laptop upside down to get the water out from it. When you do this, you can also take a dry cloth to wipe any excess water remaining inside. Then you can take out the backplate, pat the components inside for drying faster.
5. Let it be
After you have completed the steps above, you have to let the laptop rest. Wiping the device may remove most of the water from it but some water may get too deep inside the laptop, so it is important to wait for some time.
Professionals recommend waiting for 24 hours to make sure that there is no water inside the device. However, if you have an emergency schedule and you need the laptop, waiting for a minimum of 4 hours is necessary.
6. Take it to a professional
Once you have dried the laptop, it is not the end of the story. Your laptop may be working as fine as before, but it may not be risk-free, so going to a repair shop and showing it is what you can do to ensure that your laptop is okay or not.
It needs a thorough check-up to see if there is any damage inside it and if there is any area where water is still present.
The case gets more problematic when you have spilled something other than water on your laptop. Coffee or soft drinks contain more than water, which will result in corrosion as time passes by, and you will never know about it before the laptop is completely damaged.
Professionals can get rid of these residues using chemicals and cleaning machines and your laptop can lead a longer life.
What Do I Do If I Don’t Want To Go To A Professional?
You may not have the budget to take your laptop to a repair shop and you can be someone who can do it by yourself but need some guidelines on how to do it. So for those confident people out there, we would give our best to help you.
You need isopropyl alcohol, with 90% or more concentration. You will need to open up all the parts of the laptop. Next, you will have to rub off all the parts using the alcohol. Take care of the smaller parts and don’t knock them out of the device.
Also, make sure to pay attention to ribbon cables and connectors because they can corrode faster. You can take a magnifying glass and check for corrosion. Finally, rebuild it and turn the laptop off to check.
Safety Notes
One thing to take note of is if you see that the battery of the laptop has some water in contact with it, even if it is moisture, it has expired. It will need to be replaced.
It may be unnoticeable at first, but the battery will slowly affect the laptop and damage it. It will be very dangerous to use. However, you can always seek professional help if you are in confusion.
Tips For Fixing Your Water Damaged Laptop
By now you are expected to know what to do if your laptop gets in contact with water. Now we will give you some guidelines on how to separate each part of the laptop to save it from being damaged.
• Ground yourself
This is probably the most important safety precaution you can take when working with any electrical object. This will remove static electricity so that there won’t be any risk of you harming yourself.
• Let the manual guide you
The manual that comes with devices nowadays often has pictures with a very detailed description. The process involves a lot of screws to open the parts of the laptop. Use the manual to help you be organized while you are at it.
• Take your time
Laptops come with a lot of parts, so it will take time to open up all of them and then reconstruct them. Please be patient and do not rush. If you are stuck somewhere, do not worry and go to a repair shop to get it back together.
• Keep away from the Sun
One thing most people do is leaving the laptop to dry in the sun. This will surely do the drying but may damage the heat-sensitive parts of the laptop. Let the laptop rest and air dry.
How To Prevent Spill Damage?
The first step to avoid spills is that you have to be careful. Keep away any type of liquid from the device.
You can also find transparent silicone cases for your laptop which can protect your laptop from these spills.
Whatever you use, make sure that it does not block the airflow of the laptop.
Conclusion
While we wholeheartedly hope that you don’t experience the panic of spilling water on your laptop, we also want to ensure you know what to do if you do.
It can be a huge panic attack, but try to remain calm and follow the steps stated above. If you can do it all by yourself, that’s amazing. If you cannot, hurry over to the nearest repair shop. Both you and your laptop will thank you for it!