DID YOU ACCIDENTLY SPILL LIQUID ON YOUR LAPTOP OR CELLPHONE?

I am a computer technician at a small computer store in Mississippi.  Sometimes I think I have seen it all when people bring their computers in for service.  One of the more scary issues that comes through my doors is when a customer brings in a water-logged laptop or cellphone.  I would have to say that over the past 3 years, I have seen about 15 laptops/cellphones that "would not turn on" after a spill or some sort.  After applying the following simple steps, I was able to repair most of these systems/cellphones to a fully functional state.  So, if you went swimming with your cellphone, or spilled your drink on your laptop, you may be able to follow these simple steps to revive it.

::RESOLUTION::

STEP 1: Immeditaley unplug it from the power outlet and remove the battery.

STEP 2: Dry it with a towel.  Do not use toilet paper or paper towels as they will tear and fall apart.

STEP 3: Get a hair dryer and, while ensuring you have the cool button pressed, blow the product dry for about 30 minutes.  Do not allow the product to get hot, otherwise you may melt the buttons, keys or other plastic pieces.

STEP 4: Let the product sit under a running fan throughout the night.

STEP 5: The next morning, insert the battery back into the product. 

STEP 6: Try to power up the product.  If it powers up, then hopefully it will stay that way.  If it does not power up, see STEP 7.

STEP 7: Didn't power up?  No worries, yet.  Many times after liquid comes in contact with a laptop or cell phone, it will just fry the battery.  So, pull the battery out, and then try to power it up just using the power outlet.

STEP 8: If it powers up after removing the battery, then you may need to replace the battery.

Hopefully this will help you out if you have fallen victim to a water-logged laptop or cellphone.  It has for my customers AND me. 

Two quick examples in which it happened to me:

(1) On wedding day, I was a bit nervous.  On the way to the church, I set my cellphone down into a cup of coffee.  I quickly noticed it and performed the steps above.  It turned out the only thing wrong with it was it needed a new battery.

(2) On this very laptop I am using now, I opened a 2-liter root beer beside it.  Aparently it was a little shaken up due to the ride from the grocery store.  After opening it, root beer spewed all of the laptop.  I immediately performed the steps above, and it turned out my laptop was perfectly fine after drying it out.  However, after about three days, I had to replace my keyboard due to sticky keys.