It can happen in an instant. Your coffee spills, your water glass falls, and suddenly your costly MacBook is soaking wet.
Don’t panic; but think about what actions you take over the next minute that will determine whether your laptop lives or dies. Liquid damage isn’t an immediate death sentence, but electricity mixed with liquid causes shorts and corrosion.
Follow these steps immediately to protect your data and your logic board.
Step 1: Force a Hard Shutdown Immediately
Do not waste time saving your open Word document, closing tabs, or properly logging out through the Apple menu. Each minute that the laptop is turned on means that electricity passes through elements that might be wet and thus the risk of a short circuit becomes very high.
What to do:
Press and keep pressed the Power Button (Touch ID button located in the upper right corner of the keyboard).
Press the button for about 5-10 seconds until the laptop goes dark and stops working (fanning noise stops).
Step 2: Disconnect All Power Sources and External Devices
When the laptop is dead, you should cut off any additional sources of electrical current and accessories that may pass the moisture.
Disconnect the laptop from power outlet.
Disconnect all accessories: Unplug USBs, mice, headphones or dongles. Otherwise, they will prevent moisture escaping from the logic board connectors.
Step 3: Flip the Laptop Upside Down to Drain the Liquid
You want to pull the liquid away from the delicate internal logic board and keyboard circuitry, letting it drain outward.
- Grab a dry, clean towel and lay it flat on a table.
- Open your MacBook screen as wide as it goes.
- Flip the laptop completely upside down so it forms an inverted “V” or tent shape resting on the towel.
- Leave it in this position. Do not shake the laptop, as shaking spreads the water into hidden crevices inside the casing.
The Never Do List: Say NO to Rice and Hairdryers
There is a lot of terrible advice on the internet. If you want to save your MacBook, avoid these two common myths at all costs:
Never Immerse It in Rice
Placing a damp laptop in a bag of rice won’t do anything to get the trapped moisture out of the sealed aluminum MacBook enclosure. To make things worse, rice powder and starch particles will get inside your MacBook’s vent openings, keyboard keys, and charging port. Once this powder reacts with the liquid, it forms an impenetrable paste-like substance, damaging the inner parts of your laptop.
Never Use a Hairdryer
Using a hairdryer on your keyboard is one of the most obvious solutions, but the high air pressure will push the water droplets even further into the internal vents and parts of your laptop. Besides, the heat generated by the hairdryer may damage your keycaps made of soft plastic.
Bring It to MacGuys for a Professional Cleaning
Get Your MacBook Looked At Right Away with our expert Macbook Repair Services
In order to clean up any damage that the fluid may have caused to your laptop, you need to open the laptop’s casing and remove its battery and then clean the logic board using specialized ultrasonic cleaners.
If you are in South London, don’t leave it to chance. Bring your wet MacBook straight into our Tooting workshop. Our technicians will safely open it up, dry it out completely, clean the components, and protect your precious data before corrosion permanently takes over.