My laptop has a drinking problem--and I am paying for it!

Contributor: js250 js250
I spilled 12 ounces of Dr. Pepper on my laptop yesterday when I went to move a few things out of the way. I upended it and dried ii off almost immediately but now my computer will run about 30-45 minutes and then automatically puts itself through shutdown and turns off. I can use it again in about an hour. It seems to be getting better but I do not know if it will recover--I hope so since this was an expensive one and I do not have the money right now to grab a replacement.

Anyone else do this and have a good tale to tell or did I just screw up?

What is your WTF did I do that for moment?
07/17/2012
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Contributor: JBee JBee
Next time,take the battery out and throw it in a bag of rice for 24 hours! Clearly, I do it too!
07/17/2012
Contributor: Femme Mystique Femme Mystique
My laptop didn't have a drinking problem, it was just an adrenaline junkie. I fell asleep watching TV on my laptop in bed, and at some point I rolled over and my laptop decided that it would like to try skydiving. Unfortunately its parachute failed and it suffered from a paralyzed LCD for the rest of its days.
07/17/2012
Contributor: Mamastoys Mamastoys
My work laptop is crazy. It will open and load just fine in the docking station but when I take it out, it may or may not open up at all and it may or may not save my stuff as I type it in. It's not the battery as I plug it into an outlet.. just crazy I guess..
I had heard about the rice too!
07/17/2012
Contributor: Kitten has left the site Kitten has left the site
I guess my WTF moment with my desktop was when my old monitor started to flicker something bad and I kept thinking it was my tower =_= Nope. The monitor finally died.

Now this one shimmers every now and then and I think it may be time for this one to start. Thank god I have another monitor!
07/17/2012
Contributor: Melan!e Melan!e
My partner spilled a whole beer on my laptop 5 years ago. Apparently mine had a serious drinking problem We dried it off right away and crossed our fingers. Only one key wouldn't work on my keyboard. I was a freshman in College so I didn't have 2 cents to rub together. I suffered through it a while and I eventually had the keyboard replaced. Though it's a dinosaur now and I've since gotten a new one, we still use that old laptop every now and then.

Chin up, your laptop might still be ok Sounds like yours is overheating. Might be the fan.
07/17/2012
Contributor: Vanille Vanille
I've had a laptop decide to dive off the couch, which separated the casing a little bit on the top and a few months later kill its SSD. Sucks because that lappy was PERFECT for travel. RAWR.
07/17/2012
Contributor: Zombirella Zombirella
This is really stupid and embarrassing, I was writing a review for some warming lubricant and had it next to me just for reference. I decide to put a drop on my finger to refresh my mind and I wasn't thinking about how runny it was and how just tipping the bottle would get some out. Well.....it went ALL over the keyboard. The laptop starting going nuts. I tried drying it with a tissue and holding it up to a fan but that didn't work. Luckily, my laptop is still under warranty and I was able to send it in to be fixed. I just reported it as a spill on the keyboard, no need to go into details , I would have lied though!
07/17/2012
Contributor: Incendiaire Incendiaire
Quote:
Originally posted by js250
I spilled 12 ounces of Dr. Pepper on my laptop yesterday when I went to move a few things out of the way. I upended it and dried ii off almost immediately but now my computer will run about 30-45 minutes and then automatically puts itself through ... more
Even when it dries out you're going to have a syrupy residue all over the circuit board, and this will heat up and get burnt on as electricity flows through all the components.

Try to back up all your files while you can, the laptop may keep working for a while and lull you into a false sense of security, but eventually it'll just refuse to turn on and that'll be the end of it.
07/17/2012
Contributor: js250 js250
Thanks to all of you--I still feel stupid, but it reassured me that others have made this mistake as well. I do back my files up every hour--I have a program that puts everything I work on on my external drive. When building a website, this was a priority--I do not want to lose what I have figured out!!

Lets get some more stories going, it will make me feel less stupid and I really need the reassurance. My computer seems to be sobering up from its sugar high--it will run for about 2 hours now.
07/18/2012
Contributor: Scrawberry78 Scrawberry78
Quote:
Originally posted by js250
I spilled 12 ounces of Dr. Pepper on my laptop yesterday when I went to move a few things out of the way. I upended it and dried ii off almost immediately but now my computer will run about 30-45 minutes and then automatically puts itself through ... more
My laptop had kool-aid spilled on it and my son dumped a cup of kool-aid on it. When that happened I tipped my computer over so the kool-aid can drain out of the key boards and everything. It ended up making my key board sticky so I took the keyboard pieces off and cleaned the keys and the keyboard with rubbing alcohol because it just evaporates. I left my computer upside down for about a couple hours so it could dry in the inside.

My laptop worked after I let it sit or a while. I would also be careful because ants loved my computer with it being sticky and sugary. My laptop did work after that with no problems but about 3-4 months later my hard drive went bad. But I found one on amazon for $15.

I also took the battery out and let it dry separately.

My laptop is still working to this day. The kool-aid incident happened over a year ago.

Hope it helps! Sorry about your computer.
07/18/2012
Contributor: Chilipepper Chilipepper
My laptop is on a tray on my sofa, so I just grab it and put it in my lap. Unfortunately, the dogs like to hang out around the sofa - so when they get excited, they tear around the sofa and sometimes end up running over the keyboard. My last laptop had issues with this - the keys popped out every time this happened. Apparently, the keys weren't supposed to pop out that easily, as the laptop had been recalled/junked because of keyboard issues.

One of my dad's friends called him in to fix a computer tower once ... turned out the friend's kid had stuffed a peanut butter sandwich into the disk drive (the kid was two). What was worse was that my dad's boss (in his 50's) kept trying to stuff a disk between the cracks of the disk drive and shell on the work computer. *facepalm* My dad's boss knows he has to retire when my father retires, because he knows he's not bright enough to run a business without my dad ...
07/18/2012
Contributor: G&L G&L
My coworker poured coffee on hers. Tech had her take out the battery, flip it upside down while open and let it sit for a day. It works fine now.
07/18/2012
Contributor: SMichelle SMichelle
I've spilled things on my laptop before... I guess I've been lucky though, as there's been no noticeable issues.
07/18/2012
Contributor: bayosgirl bayosgirl
My ex spilled a glass of water on my old laptop. Try as we might to dry it out, even using a hair dryer, it was fried. He promised to replace it but never did. Just one reason why I hate that loser.
07/18/2012
Contributor: ToyGeek ToyGeek
When liquid spills on a laptop, immediately close all programs and turn it off. Pull the battery and stuff that in a bag of rice for 24 to 48 hours. If the liquid was sugary, use distilled water to very very carefully clean away all stickiness. Leave the computer off and unplugged until you are positive it is dry. Only then should you try it.

Most of the liquid damage on computers happens not when the spill first happens, but when the liquid moves around inside and creates short circuits while the user repeatedly reboots, which also causes software errors.
07/18/2012
Contributor: js250 js250
Thank you!! I took the computer in for 'treatment' and had shorted out the on/off button. Replaced it and now have a recovered computer. I have since changed my habits now that my computer is recovered!!!
07/19/2012
Contributor: HippieFeet HippieFeet
I'm glad you got the computer working again. My old room mates poured me a huge drink and I spilled it on one of their laptops. It still worked later.
07/19/2012