A spill on a laptop is serious because the keyboard sits directly over the motherboard, and most laptops have no seal between them. Act in this order, quickly.
The first two minutes
- Pull out the charger. Then hold the power button for about ten seconds until the laptop is fully off. Do not stop to save your work.
- Turn it upside down in a tent shape, screen open, keyboard facing the floor, so the liquid runs out rather than further in.
- Remove what you can: USB drives, cables, and the battery if it comes out without tools.
- Blot, do not wipe. Press a cloth or tissue onto the keys and the surface. Wiping spreads the liquid.
Then leave it alone
Leave it upside down, off, in a dry room with a fan running, for at least 48 hours. Do not switch it on "just to check" before then. Do not use a hair dryer on heat, and do not put it in the sun.
Water that is clean can dry out harmlessly. Tea with sugar, soft drinks, milk, beer and juice cannot: the residue stays on the board and corrodes it over the following days. For anything other than plain water, take it to a technician within a day and ask for the board to be cleaned with isopropyl alcohol.
When you switch it back on
- If it starts normally, back up your files first, before anything else. Damage from corrosion can appear a week later.
- Sticky or repeating keys are common after sugary spills. The keyboard can usually be cleaned or replaced on its own.
- If it will not start, starts and shuts down, smells of burning, or the battery swells, stop using it and take it for repair.
Your files
The storage drive often survives even when the laptop does not. A technician can remove it and copy your files to another computer or an external drive, so ask for that before any repair that involves replacing the motherboard.
Next time
- Keep drinks on a different surface from the laptop, not beside it.
- A cheap silicone keyboard cover stops small spills.
- Keep your important files backed up to Google Drive, OneDrive or an external drive, so a spill costs you a laptop and not your work. See backing up a laptop.