As the good weather has turned up, the drinks come out and invariably get spilt over electronics that may not be grateful for such hospitality !

I get a number of laptops in where this has occurred and the majority of clients have panicked, looked on the internet for ‘what to do’ and proceeded with various rituals and methods with interesting results.

What to do :

I would suggest doing the following if liquid has been dropped into a laptop

1. Act quickly… time is very important
2. Turn the device upside down to where the liquid entered (normally over the keyboard) and, with the screen open, place the laptop on a flat surface with the screen hanging over the side. If possible, place the laptop on a cloth or towel.
3. If the device is plugged into the mains, then unplug it.
4. If at all possible, remove the battery, if not, switch the unit off by holding the on/off button (whilst the laptop is still upside down) until the laptop powers off.

Allow to dry – this can take between a day to a week depending on how much liquid was spilt.

Things not to do :

1. Stand the laptop on one side hoping the liquid will poor out.
2. Put on a hot radiator/heater.
3. Throw a handful of rice over the spilt area.
4. Shake the laptop until no more drops come out !
5. Turn it on after a couple of minutes to see if it still works !

To help protect the laptop when it is ‘dangling’ over the side of the flat surface, tape the base to the surface, or use some other method so that it can not be easily knocked onto the floor.