Nosotros've all had an "oh poopie" moment involving liquids: Fourth dimension slows downward, y'all watch every bit the glass tips over, its contents cascading (beautifully, in another context perhaps) over the rim and onto the tabular array. The rivulets of drink roll in a miniscule tidal wave across the surface, over the edge, and drip to the floor. All in the span of a few seconds.

The worst part is when in that location's a computer between the cup and the table. That'southward when an oops becomes a crisis.

What'south the all-time thing to practice when at that place's a spill on your laptop? Keep at-home and carry on:

1. Don't panic.

Showtime, know that your data is safe. Hard drives -- while not hermetically sealed -- are tightly put together. If you lot act quickly, you can forestall the liquid from getting to your hd, and damaging your valuable data. (I'll save the bad news for later.)

2. Turn off the computer.

Fifty-fifty before you run to go a towel, turn the calculator off. If you can't close information technology downwards normally (the keyboard won't respond for example), try pressing the power push button for several seconds to force the reckoner to shut downwards. Unplug the laptop, and disconnect any cables and USB devices.

3. With the chapeau open, turn the computer upside downwardly.

This prevents the liquid from getting too far into the computer. While the computer is upside down, remove the battery and set it aside.

4. Wipe up the liquid.

All joking aside: use toilet newspaper. Ounce for ounce, it's the virtually absorbent material you're likely to take handy. It's also thin, so it tin can reach downward into crevices in and around your keyboard to soak upward the liquid. This is peculiarly important for sugary drinks similar colas and juice: Sugars are sticky, and if they dry, you'll accept a bigger problem.

Next: If you're prepared, y'all can have your computer apart to make clean upwardly whatsoever liquid inside.

5. Disassemble and clean the computer.

You tin find plenty of information online for how to disassemble your Mac. MacRecycling.com offers videos showing how to disassemble plastic 13-inch MacBooks, and iBook G4s. iFixIt has PDF guides for how to take apart almost any MacBook, MacBook Pro, iBook or PowerBook. Make sure you're electrically grounded, too, before working on your computer. Lightly affect the screw on the outside of a wall switch to ground yourself, or use a grounding strap (if you lot accept one).

Y'all'll almost likely desire to remove the top instance, the part of the computer that includes the keyboard and trackpad. In many some cases, you'll accept to offset at the bottom of the figurer and remove many, many screws, ribbons and parts. Using a notebook and an empty ice cube tray to proceed track of the many different sizes of screws is a good way to make your life easier when it comes time to putting the computer back together.

With your reckoner autonomously, endeavour and find where the liquid has seeped to, and sop it up as best y'all can. Whatever liquid you spill is going to have the ability to comport electricity due to metals, sugars, and salts within. Colas, especially, are very acidic, and tin can corrode sensitive electronic parts. Even if y'all drink nothing but food-grade de-ionized water, material on the surface of your computer can be carried past the liquid inside your computer, meaning possible conductivity. Of course, unwanted conductivity is bad for your computer.

If what yous spilled was oily or glutinous, y'all can utilise dilute isopropyl alcohol (IPA, or rubbing alcohol) to endeavor and clean areas with the oil on it. Dip a lint-free cloth in a modest amount of alcohol and utilize the tip of your finger to gently clean areas within the estimator.

half-dozen. Permit everything dry.

Y'all tin can employ a desk-bound lamp and incandescent seedling to gently warm and dry out the disassembled calculator. Remember, make sure to clean upwards anything that will become sticky before you dry the reckoner. You lot'll want to brand sure everything is completely dry before trying to turn on your computer. No matter how not bad the compulsion, yous should wait at least a day earlier trying to boot your laptop again.

7. Reassemble the computer and try to boot it.

Take you considered prayer? Prayer sometimes works, too.

viii. Exam information technology out.

The keyboard and trackpad will probably be virtually afflicted by a spill. Attempt all the keys and all the functions of the trackpad (like scrolling and tapping). If something isn't working right, there are two possibilities: Either it's not completely dry, or its permanently damaged. Give it another day to dry out, and if it isn't working, chances are it needs to be replaced.

If nothing works, you can still accept the hard disk out of the computer, put it in an enclosure and connect information technology to another Mac. That way, you'll take access to your critical files if y'all need them.

9. Get Service.

Remember the bad news I mentioned in step i? Well, here it is: Many warranties (including AppleCare) don't comprehend liquid harm. In fact, newer Apple laptops include moisture sensors to tell repair technicians if something has leaked inside the example. These sensors -- small dots adhered in specific places within the laptop instance -- are white when dry, merely turn ruby-red when exposed to liquids. If liquid damage isn't covered, then you have to pay the cost to repair any damaged components. Lamentable.

With that difficult lesson under your belt, I'yard sure you'll make sure to continue drinks abroad from your computer from now. Even and so, there are times when fifty-fifty the most careful among united states fall prey to liquid damage: The laptop pictured at the top of the article had an unfortunate encounter with a (what was thought to be tightly capped) bottle of cranberry juice inside a haversack.

Do you lot take a liquid damage horror story? Vent your spleen and leave a comment.

[with help from WikiHow.]

Besides see:

How to salve a wet laptop (via Switched)