What to Do If You’ve Spilled Water on Your Laptop

PDF download Download Article
Immediate steps to save your water-logged device
PDF download Download Article

This wikiHow teaches you how to prevent your laptop from sustaining damage immediately after spilling a liquid on it. Keep in mind that, while the information below provides the best way to handle a spill yourself, there is no way to guarantee without fail that your laptop can be saved; similarly, seeking professional help is a far better solution.

How to Fix a Water-Damaged Laptop

Turn off your laptop and disconnect it from power. Wipe any liquid from the laptop, then open it as wide as possible and set it facedown on a towel. If you can, remove the battery and internal hardware and dry them with a microfiber cloth. Let your laptop air dry for at least 24 hours before reassembly.

Steps

PDF download Download Article
  1. To do so, just hold down the laptop's power button. If the liquid touches the circuits on the laptop while they are active, your laptop will most likely short out, so time is very much of the essence. [1]
    • To disconnect the laptop from a power source, simply remove the charger cable from the laptop. It's typically on the left or right side of the laptop's housing.
  2. This will both minimize your laptop's exposure to more liquid and decrease the risk of electrical shock. [2]
    Advertisement
  3. You can typically do this by turning your laptop upside-down, sliding a panel off of the bottom of the laptop, and gently tugging on the battery. [3]
    • This step is not possible on some laptops, including MacBooks without first unscrewing the bottom of the laptop from the rest of the housing.
  4. This includes the following items: [4]
    • USB devices (flash drives, wireless adapters, chargers, etc.)
    • Memory cards
    • Controllers (e.g., your mouse)
    • The laptop charger
  5. This is where you'll place your laptop for the next couple of days, so make sure you choose a warm, dry, unobtrusive area.
  6. Depending on your laptop's flexibility, doing so will result in anything from a tent-shaped laptop to a completely flat one. To speed up the process of drying the liquid you can angle a fan at the liquid to help evaporate the liquid faster. [5]
  7. Places to wipe include the fronts and backs of the screen, the laptop's housing, and the keyboard.
    • Make sure your laptop is still partially facing down while you do this so that any excess liquid continues to drain.
  8. Ground yourself before touching your computer's internals. Grounding yourself will remove any static electricity from your clothing or body. Static electricity can easily kill circuitry, so performing this step before touching the RAM cards or the hard drive is crucial. [6]
  9. If you're uncomfortable or unfamiliar with the notion of removing RAM, your computer's hard drive, and other detachable internal components, consider taking your laptop into a professional repair service instead. [7]
    • You can typically find manuals for your specific computer that detail hardware replacement and removal online. Simply search for your computer's make and model number followed by "RAM removal" (or whichever component you need to remove).
    • For a MacBook, you'll first have to unscrew each of the ten screws holding the base of the housing together.
  10. To do this, you will need a microfiber cloth (or an otherwise lint-free rag).
    • If there is excess water in your laptop's internal areas, you first need to drain it.
    • Be extremely gentle while doing this.
  11. Use a lint-free cloth to buff out any non-water stains gently, or use compressed air to blow away dust, grit, and any other non-liquid residue. [8]
  12. You'll want to leave it alone for at least one day. [9]
    • Consider storing your laptop in a dry, warm place. For example, a dehumidifier may improve drying time.
    • Never use a hair dryer to speed up your laptop's drying process, as a hair dryer's heat concentration is intense enough to harm your laptop's internal parts.
  13. If it doesn't boot up or you notice distortion in the sound or display, you'll need to take your laptop to a professional repair service (e.g., a Best Buy tech department). [10]
  14. Remove any residue if necessary. Even if your laptop is up and running, you may have to contend with sticky or greasy substance left over. You can remove this residue by gently buffing the afflicted area with a damp, lint-free cloth as you used earlier when drying the laptop.
    15. Advertisement

Community Q&A

Search
Add New Question
  • Question
    My laptop got wet and I dried it out for several days. The touch pad is the only thing that seems to be affected, occasionally it doesn't respond. Is it worth having it checked out by a professional?
    Community Answer
    The circuitry may be damaged on your touchpad and it is probably worth getting a check, if you haven't already, try seeing if your touchpad was disabled by accident first.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 19 Helpful 36
  • Question
    My brother spilled juice over my laptop. I cleaned the surface and didn't turn it off because I was confused but after 5 minutes the screen went black and colorful lines appeared on the screen and now it will not turn back on. What should I do?
    Community Answer
    You should have turned it off right away. It sounds like your laptop has shorted out and likely won't recover from this. Bring it in to a repair shop to find out if its fixable.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 44 Helpful 105
  • Question
    If I immediately unplugged my computer when liquid was spilled on it, could it be all right?
    Community Answer
    It could, but every situation is different. I spilled milk on mine and turned it off and then back on 20 minutes later and it was fine, except for some speaker damage. So it really just depends how bad the spill was, where it got into the machine, etc.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 18 Helpful 60
See more answers
Ask a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Submit
      Advertisement

      Video

      Tips

      • Just because your laptop is working after drying does not mean it has been fixed. You should absolutely back up your data and take your laptop in for a thorough check-up.
        Thanks
        Helpful 5 Not Helpful 2
      • YouTube both tend to have comprehensive, advanced tutorials on stripping down a broken laptop.
        Thanks
        Helpful 2 Not Helpful 1
      • If at all possible, attempt to take a video of the entire disassemble process so you don't have any trouble reassembling the laptop.
        Thanks
        Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
      Show More Tips
      Submit a Tip
      All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
      Name
      Please provide your name and last initial
      Submit
      Thanks for submitting a tip for review!
      Advertisement

      Warnings

      • Water and electricity do not mix! Make sure all plugs and other points of electrical contact are completely dry before connecting your laptop to a power source.
        Thanks
        Helpful 12 Not Helpful 4
      • Don't turn on your laptop in the middle of the drying process.
        Thanks
        Helpful 16 Not Helpful 13
      Advertisement

      Things You'll Need

      • Towel
      • Various small screwdrivers
      • Plastic bags to hold small parts and screws
      • Lint-free cloth

      You Might Also Like

      How to
      Ionize Water
      How to
      Save a Wet Cell Phone
      How to
      Clean the Inside of a Computer
      How to
      Ground Yourself to Avoid Destroying a Computer with Electrostatic Discharge
      How to
      Diagnose and Replace a Failed PC Power Supply
      How to
      Take Good Care of Your Laptop Computer
      How to
      Recover Data from the Hard Drive of a Dead Laptop
      How to
      Fix a Stuck Pixel on an LCD Monitor
      6 Easy Steps to Replacing or Fixing a Dell Laptop Keyboard Key
      4 Easy Ways to Enter the BIOS on a Lenovo Laptop
      11 Simple Ways to Fix a Dell Laptop with a Black Screen
      How to
      Reformat a Laptop
      10 Simple Ways Keep Your Laptop from Overheating
      How to
      Repair a Laptop Key
      Advertisement

      References

      1. ↑ http://www.pcworld.com/article/3067332/hardware/when-water-coffee-or-liquid-spills-on-your-laptop-do-this.html
      2. ↑ https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac/what-do-if-you-spill-liquids-on-your-mac-3662982/
      3. ↑ https://www.computerrepairltd.co.uk/immediate-steps-to-water-damaged-laptop/
      4. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/29/smarter-living/what-to-do-if-you-spill-on-your-laptop.html
      5. ↑ https://www.isumsoft.com/it/fixed-spilled-water-on-your-laptop-keyboard-some-keys-not-working/
      6. ↑ https://blog.macsales.com/2225-discharging-static-electricity-for-safe-computer-upgrading
      7. ↑ https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/what-to-do-if-you-spilled-water-on-your-laptop/
      8. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/technology/askjack/2012/jul/05/drink-spilled-on-laptop
      9. ↑ http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/you-just-spilled-water-or-coffee-on-your-laptop-heres-what-you-should-do/
      1. ↑ https://www.engadget.com/2009/05/12/dont-panic-liquid-damage-and-what-to-do-about-it/

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      1. Unplug the laptop and turn it off.
      2. Remove the laptop from liquid.
      3. Turn the laptop upside-down and remove battery.
      4. Unplug external hardware.
      5. Open the laptop and lay it down on a towel.
      6. Wipe any obvious remaining liquid.
      7. Remove all hardware you can.
      8. Pat dry internal components and remove residue.
      9. Let dry for at least 24 hours before turning back on.

      Did this summary help you?
      In other languages
      Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 3,023,557 times.

      Is this article up to date?

      Advertisement