If a laptop gets wet is it ruined? Do you think you’re the lazy and reckless one when it comes to gadgets? If it is, then this article is the right one for you. Spilling liquid on our laptops or other devices is a widespread practice but excess liquid damage to wet laptop damage the laptop’s internal components which can not be repaired by a repair shop.
As much as these inventions make our lives easier, technical issues can be of real concern to consumers, whether it’s a dramatic drop from a smartphone height or something like that.
Spilling something over your laptop, phone, or tablet while you’re working is yet another incident that must have happened to almost everyone in their lives at least once.
If a laptop gets wet is it ruined?
It can take place at the most unexpected time, despite being careful. Under such circumstances, however, do not lose your cool and save your gadget from being completely ruined. As people panic, they don’t know what to do and start to do anything to protect their devices which will further mess up the situation.
It’s important to note that time is essential if your laptop gets wet. You have to turn a wet laptop off, unplug it, and immediately split the battery. A Paper towel can help as well; moreover, turn the laptop upside down. It’s counting every second. Do not worry about taking the appropriate steps to turn it off, either–press the power button until your PC shuts down.
What to do if the laptop gets wet?
Unluckily, if your laptop gets wet by coffee or any other liquid then you have to follow the below-mentioned steps to save your laptop:
Step1: Unplug any easily detachable components, flash drives, and DVDs. You have to also unplug your mouse and other cables. Leave your laptop bare.
Step2: Dry the machine outside. Hold it upside down and wipe any wet surfaces you see with a towel or other lint-free absorbent fabric, open your laptop as far as it goes.
The type of liquid matters: the least corrosive is water, while the most harmful are sugar and alcoholic liquids. Either way, by drying the computer immediately, the aim is to mitigate its effects as much as possible.
Step3: At this point, if it is still applicable, we would recommend that you take advantage of the warranty or take your machine to a repair shop.
But, if you don’t want to have a professional look at it for you, you can take a few more steps to try to dry out your laptop. Please note, however, that neither Digital Trends nor the author assumes any responsibility for the damage caused by separating your laptop.
Break it down
While years of laptops have made it easy to open them and remove components, modern-day laptops don’t. Unless yours makes the process relatively painless, we wouldn’t recommend doing them a lot, as it’s easy to damage a laptop by taking it apart, and the last thing we want to do is make the situation worse. That said, if your computer allows, here are some steps you can take. Accidents happen, but liquid spilled needs one to act quickly to save from permanent damage. One needs to completely dry the laptop, so the laptop turns on without the help of a repair technician.
Step 1: If you have not already, and your laptop allows, remove your battery, usually by pressing a switch or button on your laptop’s underside.
Step 2: If you are concerned about liquid flowing through the entire system to components such as your memory and storage drive, you can also remove the parts. You will find panels on some laptops that enable them to be removed on the underside.
However, in most situations, you’ll need to remove them using a Phillips or Torx screwdriver. Press the side clips with the memory to eject each stick. You’ll probably need to undo more screws to free it from the frame with the solid-state drive or hard drive. Be sure to detach it carefully from the ports or cables for power and data connection.
Step 3: To check for any sign of wetness or corrosion, examine each component you have removed. Any wet parts must be dried, but if the liquid is anything but water, you’ll want to wipe it off with 99 percent isopropyl alcohol (you can use a cotton swab)–this will dissolve gunk without causing any damage and evaporate without leaving any residue.
Step 4: Once you’ve finished, in a warm, dry area, you’ll want to leave everything alone to air-dry for 2-3 days. A fan will accelerate the drying process. Please do not use a hairdryer because it may cause static problems.
Once your machine has been picked apart, and the components have been given time to dry, you can follow the reverse instructions to put your laptop back together and see if it works.
Hopefully, everything is going to be okay, but if not, you’re going to want to take it to the repair center.
What to do if the laptop cannot be taken apart?
What if you have a MacBook or Surface Book 2 or any other laptop that refuses to be removed? This situation reduces your options dramatically, so you’ll need to take it to a repair center.
Between the times you spill liquid on your keyboard and the time you take it to the store, here’s what you can do: keep your machine upside down, and wipe away with a towel any visible wetness.
Then put it on a dry surface; a great option is a large bag of rice because rice is sufficiently absorbent to help extract any water that makes its way into your keyboard’s crevices.
Use a big container, and plenty of rice, and put everything in a warm, dry room. You can switch on a fan to fasten the process until the time when you take the PC to a repair store.
What to do if you spill liquid on a laptop?
Remember, the essence of speed. The faster you follow this guide, the more likely your drowning laptop will be saved.
Step 1 – Turn it off
Power off the laptop as quickly as possible to save it immediately. If you are working on a crucial document hold down the power key for about five seconds and the computer will shut down all power.
Use a keyboard shortcut like Win + T to focus your cursor on the top item on the taskbar to check sure no apps are currently in focus. The Shut Down Windows dialogue box will then appear when you hit Alt + F4. You might by default see Shut down or Sleep in the options box, depending on your system.
If the laptop runs off a power outlet cable, make sure that you switch it off at the wall before removing the power lead.
Step 2 – Turn it upside down
Turn the laptop upside down as quickly as possible to stop the water from entering the machine.
By opening the laptop and placing it as an upside-down V on a flat surface, you can prevent further water damage to the computer or screen.
Step 3 – Remove the laptop battery
Remove the laptop battery from the laptop. This will prevent water from reaching the unit of the battery and may cause an electrical hazard.
Remember; don’t try to do this until you unplug the laptop from a power outlet.
Step 4 – Remove any peripheral devices
Remove any devices that can be mounted on the laptop, such as USB dongles and SD cards. If you can unplug the keyboard from your computer and clean any water.
Advanced steps to follow if your laptop gets wet
If you are dealing with a severe spillage instead of an unfortunate splash, you may need to go to extra lengths to protect your laptop’s internal components.
Step 5 – Soak up moisture
Open your window and continue to mop up as much of the mess as you can with a lint-free towel.
Step 6 – Remove components
If you are confident of what you are doing, unattached your hard drive, and RAM before water damage can permanently harm these components.
Step 7 – Dry your laptop
Leave the laptop in a cool, dry place for 48 hours, allowing as much air as possible to reach the laptop.
Return the parts to the laptop and test it out after two days. Hopefully, these steps were enough to save your equipment, but if your laptop is non-responsive, all hope is not lost–a reputable PC technician may still save your computer.
Frequently Asked Questions about Water Damage to Laptop
What to do immediately if a laptop gets wet?
Shut off your laptop as soon as the liquid touches the keyboard. The longer your laptop is powered on, the more harm could be done as the liquid penetrates the circuitry. Time is of importance. Close files and save progress later; shut down as soon as you can.
Can a laptop be saved after water damage?
If the power is off, most computer hardware can withstand being submerged in water. You’ve (hopefully) severed the circuit that can cause a bad shock and harm your laptop by shutting down the system and, if feasible, removing the battery.
How long will it take for water damage to affect a laptop?
Even though it appears dry, these portions absorb a lot of water, so this only provides any moisture a chance to evaporate. The better, the longer you can let it sit. However, according to Mr. Silverman, if you absolutely must use your laptop for work, four hours is a respectable amount of time.
Should I put my wet laptop in rice?
The gadget can be placed inside a sizable bag of uncooked rice to help the process along if you don’t have a dehumidifier (a bag of desiccant) on hand. It will be safe to attempt turning the laptop back on when the rice helps to suck out and absorb the moisture.
Can I dry my laptop with a hair dryer?
Invert the container to let any extra liquid that you couldn’t reach into the drain. To get into those crevices, if you have access to one, use a blow dryer set to the coldest setting or a can of compressed air. While it’s still upside down, gently dry the laptop with cool air to let the liquid drain.
Conclusion
Therefore, always be alert while using gadgets and use them carefully because if a laptop gets wet is it ruined. If water damage is caused to a laptop and the spilled water gets into the keyboard then immediate steps include turning the laptop off, turning the laptop upside, cutting the power from the device, removing the battery, and try using immediate gadgets at home, such as hair dryer to dry the device and remove the liquid. Other steps have been discussed in the article to deal with a situation.
If you need any more help feel free to contact us.
