PSA: After You Spill Your Tea in Your Laptop...

[jesse_the_k]

From Small Dog Electronics' maintenance horror stories archive:

So You Spilled in Your Laptop By Matt Klein

Portable computers go everywhere their owner goes [... snip ...] As I am advising all of you reading to take extreme caution with liquids around your computer, I will also give you a few simple steps to follow should you spill liquid into your computer to attempt to minimize or potentially avoid damage.

Remove All Power Immediately: Hard power down your machine and remove the battery and power cord. If you are working on a project, do not attempt to save it, unless your project is of greater value than the computer itself.

[... snip ...] [I]f you have a portable machine open the display to a 90 degree angle and place it upside down. You are better off having the liquid settle in the keyboard or track pad than the logic board. A keyboard may cost around $85 but a logic board will cost about $800 to replace.

More helpful details in this newsletter (scroll halfway down)

Comments

[were-duck.livejournal.com]

Is this preventative or did you do this to your computer? I hope not to your new lovely lappy!

Either way, good tips--I will keep them in mind if the unthinkable occurs.

[jesse_the_k]

Oh, it's only preventive.

The final advice in the article is: any fluids in covered container below laptop level (on the floor or low table) which I think is Truefax!

[joannkatana.livejournal.com]

*blink* oh, hey - I think I did all of that when I spilled, without, uh, looking up the information.. (I'm hard on my computers).

[redbird]

Many years ago, a friend of mine started drinking his coffee black when at the computer, after a spill and the discovery that what did the real damage to the keyboard was the milk and sugar, not the hot liquid and caffeine. I have not followed his path—I drink the tea I like with or without milk, but sugarless only iced or under pressure of medical tests—but figured I might pass it along. If nothing else, anyone reading this who already takes their tea or coffee black may be slightly reassured.

Having said that, I should note that "many years ago" in this case is long enough ago that we were mostly dealing with remote terminals connected to the campus mainframe.