[TriLUG] OT - cleaning laptop after coffee spill

[Matt Pusateri]

On Fri, December 17, 2004 1:42 pm, Aaron S. Joyner said:
> Mike Norwood wrote:
>
>>My wife called me at work to say that she was ambushed by our cat
>> causing
>>her to spill coffee into her laptop.  Has anyone had any luck (either
>> good
>>or bad) in trying to clean liquid from a laptop?  Just looking for
>> any
>>hints anyone can offer.  In searching online I have seen mention of
>>something called Contact Cleaner which may be available at Radio
>> Shack
>>that some people say they have had luck with.
>>
>>Thanks in advance.
>>
>>Mike Norwood
>>
>>
>>
> My wife soaked her laptop in an inch and a half of Coca Cola for 45
> mins
> during a class in grad school.  Being a hardware-type guy, I stripped
> the thing entirely to the chassis, pulled every motherboard component
> off, pulled the screen out, cleaned every screw and crevice, etc.  All
> of this was futile, because the first thing she had done when she
> lifted
> it from her waterproof backpack (note: holds coke in as well as water
> out), was turn it on to see if it was okay.  Other than that, I don't
> think the screen would have made it, but I think everything else would
> have survived.  As she was a student, her laptop was covered under a
> nice warranty, which for a $250 deductible, pretty much replaced the
> entire laptop.
>
> So I suppose my advice is, if she hasn't turned it on yet, let it dry.
> Once it's been a few days, if you feel comfortable disassembling it,
> give that a try.  Clean what you can with alcohol or a light detergent
> (something like a drop or two of dish washing liquid in a big bowl of
> water).  Depending on how much liquid was involved in the spill, you
> might not even have to worry too much -- but if, as is likely, the
> computer was on and running during the spill... if it wasn't turned
> off
> pretty-much immediately, you might be out of luck.
>
> If you want to provide more info on the current state of the laptop,
> perhaps we can provide more advice.
>
> Aaron S. Joyner
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Aaron's advice is much better, but I would try using what's left of
the cat after I got done killing it.  Nothing soaks up coffee better
than a dead cat.