How to Clean Up a Liquid Spill on a Laptop

Disclaimer: The following is provided for information purposes only. Use at your own risk. There are NO guarantees that this will work, nor can we make promises that rice won’t get stuck in any of your computer’s parts. Multi-Testing Mommy does not assume any responsibility or hold any liability of any outcomes of trying any of following tips. If in doubt, please consult a professional.

1. Do not spill liquid on your laptop.
2. If you are particularly clumsy, do not bring liquids within five feet of your laptop. (If you are in the late third trimester and your center of gravity is severely compromised by your progeny extending from your midsection – make that ten feet.)
3. OK, so you have ignored the first two steps and have liquid on your laptop. Do. Not. Panic.
4. Unplug your laptop from the wall and remove the battery ASAP. (If you have a Macbook Air, uhm, well, it serves you right for choosing such a poorly supportable design. Just bring it to your local Apple Genius and offer your wallet and/or firstborn and hope.)

5. Tilt the laptop to drain off any excess liquid. (Seriously, if more than droplets come out, this is the point where we start discussing “extreme measures”.)

6. Once the drips stop, put into a bag with uncooked rice and seal shut.
7. Wait. (That means do not keep opening the bag to “check if everything is OK”.)
8. 24-48 hours later, remove from the rice. Make sure you check for stray grains of rice in your ports, as these will cause connectivity issues, since, you know, it’s rice.
9. Try to turn on the laptop. If it turns on and you can log in, you’re welcome. Please make all cheques payable to the amazing man who saved my butt.
10. If you are still reading, that means it did not turn on. Deep breath. Everything will be OK, but to get to OK we have to spend money, and effort. (This is the part where I remind you to read steps one and two again.)
11. If there is nothing important on your hard drive, then you can just dispose of the laptop.
12. Still reading? That means there’s important data. Look up your model information on the web. There is a good chance the manufacturer has some tutorials for self help.
13. If you find the self help site, locate the “remove hard drive” instructions. If you cannot find the self help site, start removing screws. (It is best not to do this in the presence of magnets, massive electromagnetic fields, or the person who spilled liquid on the laptop in the first place.)
14. Head to your local computer parts store (Canada Computers, Tiger Direct, Factory Direct) and purchase a hard drive enclosure. Note that if this is not a laptop, you will likely need a 3.5″ enclosure. If it is a laptop, then a 2.5″ one will fit.
15. Install the hard drive into your enclosure. Now you can access the data that was on it from a different computer by connecting it via USB.

This post was written by my hubby! He says he is “A husband, a father, and an engineer. In that order.”