How to Save a Laptop From Liquid Damage and Remove Residue From Inside

If you accidentally spilled your coffee, glass of water, or a liquid on your laptop, don't panic, even though you might, because such accidents do tend to happen quite often. In laptops, the chances of liquids getting underneath your laptop keyboard keys and inside circuit board are less avoidable compared to a desktop system. So whenever you spill a liquid on the laptop, don't panic, just follow the below-mentioned steps and at the end of the day, you'll have a big smile on your face.

• Turn off and remove the battery!

The first thing you should do is to turn off your laptop immediately and unplug the device and remove the battery. Because water or liquid, as soon as comes in contact with an electrical circuit, it will short circuit, with this, it could possibly overburden wall socket and interrupt your home lights. To remove the battery, turn your laptop upside-down and depress the latch tab and slide the battery out.

• Disconnect external connections and turn the laptop upside down

If any external device is connected to the laptop, immediately disconnect it and turn it upside down so that water doesn't travel inside the machine too much and drain any remaining water out. Make sure you keep something like a towel to absorb liquid that comes out of a laptop and wipe off liquids on any external area of a laptop so that it doesn't travel again inside when you turn upside up. Clean laptop screen properly.

• Unscrew your laptop

Turn your laptop upside-down and remove all screws to remove residues from inside. After removing the screws, take a picture of all arrangements of components so that you don't misplace them while reinstalling them back. Take out components like RAM, hard drive one by one and clean them with a lint-free cloth, make use of a blower to remove any moisture on them.

• Rinse off and remove residue

If anything other than water has got spilled on the laptop, rinsing it properly is most important after initial drying. You can use a small soft toothbrush or soft cloth to take off dried residues. If you've spilled something which is water-soluble, rinse components/parts with deionized or distilled water and if you've spilled something oily, first rinse it with denatured alcohol then with distilled/deionized water to clean it properly.

• Let your laptop get dried thoroughly

After rinsing all components leave them for around a few hours in a cool and dry place. Do not place your laptop in a hot atmosphere, nor use a hairdryer to dry, instead, use a vacuum cleaner for around 30min over components to take off all residual moisture. If you still find residue inside, use solvent containing 99%-isopropyl alcohol to clean computer/laptop parts.

• Reinstall all parts and turn them on

After all, components get dried completely and when you don't find any residue inside, place all components back and screw it. Turn it on. If your laptop doesn't turn on, take it to an expert technician or the customer service center instead of experimenting with anything serious. Make sure you have recorded the unscrewing process of the laptop and follow the same to assemble them back.