Spilled coffee on Macbook Pro

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MX-JRDN

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Actually, it was the wife that did it, but now that the damage has been done, any ideas as to what my next steps should be? I managed to clean u the liquid and put a hair-dryer to it, but there are some keyboard and trackpad issues remaining.

I'm thinking that I should just take in into an iStore and have them clean it up for me. Does anyone have an idea of how much that will cost?

Thx
 
I managed to spill an entire cup of coffee on my PC keyboard. I opened it up and dried it out, used a hair dryer etc...

But I had to bin it unfortunately.

I don't know how spill resistant macs are, so I hope you come right!

I'd take it to an iStore and see what they say.

Good luck!
 
I Passed out with a beer once which ended up all over my macbook trackpad. Luckily the macbook was afflicted by the cracking wrist pad which Apple replaced under extended warranty. No questions asked about the sticky trackpad. The new top case came with a trackpad. Some time afterwards the wrist pads started cracking again, but I only had it fixed after spilling beer on it again. Apple again replaced the top case under warranty no questions asked.
 
Sputnik said:
I Passed out with a beer once which ended up all over my macbook trackpad. Luckily the macbook was afflicted by the cracking wrist pad which Apple replaced under extended warranty. No questions asked about the sticky trackpad. The new top case came with a trackpad. Some time afterwards the wrist pads started cracking again, but I only had it fixed after spilling beer on it again. Apple again replaced the top case under warranty no questions asked.
Click to expand...

The joys of living in FL where extended warranties are honoured. Here, they sometimes don't even know about issues. Personal experience to back that claim up as well...
 
Ok thanks guys, will pop into an iStore next week.
I did check out the ifixit website which is very helpful too.

FYI:After the spill I decided to try and fix it myself and so removed all the keys and those plastic scissor hinges from my keyboard. There was quite a bit of moisture under there but I got that cleaned up, but i'm not happy with the way my keys are "sitting" now that I have put them back. Seem just a little bit wonky to me and not completely level, if that makes sense.
Also, I removed the back panel to see what could be done there. Well there were precisely two small puddles of coffee which had collected on the battery casing, nothing serious. I however wasn't able to remove the battery to check further because it requires a tri-wing screwdriver tool. First time I've ever come across that.

Anyway, like Nokkie said, don't drink and type. Lesson learned.
 
MX-JRDN said:
Actually, it was the wife that did it, but now that the damage has been done, any ideas as to what my next steps should be? I managed to clean u the liquid and put a hair-dryer to it, but there are some keyboard and trackpad issues remaining.
Click to expand...

That was a bad idea.

You should strip it down and clean affected components with meths or isopropyl alchohol.
 
Ok update: iStores in Sandton don't do hardware maintenance or troubleshooting - they only deal with software issues.
They did give me the details for their technical department which is located in Jet Park so I might resort to taking it in there for a clean-up.

I'm not convinced that there's anything actually wrong with my MBP and it actually seemed to handle the spill pretty well. My trackpad just doesn't quite feel "right" when clicking but that's about it. Oh, and the keys on my keyboard aren't all flush anymore but that's a result of me taking them off and putting them back myself.

Anyway, does anyone know where I might be able to find a "tri-wing" screwdriver? I basically checked everywhere today for one but no computer shops / hardware stores that I went to stock them.
Or perhaps someone knows an alternate method to remove the battery from a 2010 unibody MBP? The screws holding it in place are these new tri-wing variety.
 
MX-JRDN said:
Anyway, does anyone know where I might be able to find a "tri-wing" screwdriver?
Click to expand...

Try www.christensen.co.za If you don't see it on their site give them a call anyway, never known them not to have something.

You do know what happens to spilled coffee when you dry it with a hair dryer etc? I becomes a sticky tar like mess that does not go away.
 
ponder said:
Try www.christensen.co.za If you don't see it on their site give them a call anyway, never known them not to have something.

You do know what happens to spilled coffee when you dry it with a hair dryer etc? I becomes a sticky tar like mess that does not go away.
Click to expand...

No, I did not know that :(
I'm still hopeful though that there isn't much residual spillage once I open it up completely. It seemed as if most of the spillage was superficial as it ran out from beneath the keyboard when I turned it upside down.

Thanks for the christensen link. Checking it out now and it looks promising.
 
ponder said:
That was a bad idea.

You should strip it down and clean affected components with meths or isopropyl alchohol.
Click to expand...

+1

A hair dryer can do one of two bad things - A, you can push the liquid deeper into the device or B - the heat from the dryer can damage the glue or even your silica. If something falls in water, take out the battery and put it in rice. That's why they put rice into the salt in some coastal restaurants - to keep the salt dry. I'm not sure if it will work for coffee, but it's a better idea than a hair dryer.

My cellphone recently took a plunge into the Sondags river. As vis was about 0, I had to use the "search-with-your-toes-until-you-find-it" method to get it. Took me about 10 minutes. Once found, I immediately took out the battery. Once back at the camp, I bought a packet of rice and put the cellphone into it. Only after a few days in the rice did I even try to switch it on. When I did, I was happy to find that the cellphone is still working perfectly.

Liquid damage to electronics is usually because the liquid shorts out circuits. Random short circuits can cause components to blow. That is one of the reasons why you use isopropyl to clean components - it evaporates quickly, meaning that it is self-drying. That is also the reason why you immediately take out the battery - to take away the power source of the short circuits. If there is no power on the device, it should be able to survive most normal household liquids. Just keep in mind that the device itself might contain power storage devices (think of caps and inductors), which might hold sufficient charge to cause damage to the components. I.e. don't try to switch the device on until it is completely dry. Blah, something like that.
 
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MX-JRDN said:
Ok update: iStores in Sandton don't do hardware maintenance or troubleshooting - they only deal with software issues.
They did give me the details for their technical department which is located in Jet Park so I might resort to taking it in there for a clean-up
Click to expand...

I took my MacBook Pro to them and was extremely satisfied with their service. Ask for Tony.
Good luck
 
Thanks for the info Tacet, I'm definitely going to keep that in mind for any future "mishaps".

Thx Basilrsa, Im going to do that next. Ta
 
Hairdryer is the WRONG move. Seem a few laptop in my time where a hair dryer did way more damage than the coffee had done.

Since the damage is done, try out core in Jet Park, but the last time i dropped something off with them i got a quote to replace a mobo that was higher than the cost of the machine new!
 
Yip agree hairdryer is a really bad idea, best thing to do when you mess liquid on an electronic component is to put it in a bowl of rice, no jokes.

Edit: I see Tacet already said it.
 
never use a hairdryer on electronic equipment....

:eek:

you possibly gonna end up paying more for the repairs now.
 
Venomous said:
never use a hairdryer on electronic equipment....
Click to expand...

Depends on the situation and where you live. If your concerns are mostly static related and you live in KZN coastal areas you have no issues as static will never build up in this humid atmosphere.
 
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