What to do with a wet laptop
 

You are at a coffee bar, using your laptop while drinking your coffee when someone suddenly jerks your arm and you spill it all over your computer and cellular phone, not to mention your lap. What do you do?

First of all, turn off all the gadgets affected. That means your cellular phone and your computer. Remove batteries, CD’s, memory cards, etc.

Then dry off all liquid from the affected areas. If you hear a sloshing sound when you try to shake your computer or phone, it must have penetrated the interior of your computer or phone. If possible, open and disassemble the computer at once to be able to dry off the parts immediately and lessen the risk of destroying it. You have to get it dry completely, both the interior and exterior, as fast as you can although this is not a guarantee that no damage has been done to the device. You can also apply the following suggestions.

1. Desiccants are substances that absorb moisture. Try putting the wet device in a sealed bag with several new silica gel packets. These will hopefully absorb the moisture in the device. If you don’t have any silica gel packets with you, you can use regular uncooked white rice. Salt can also help. To make sure that the salt or rice does not get inside the device, wrap the device in tissue paper.

2. Water evaporates due to heat. Knowing this, you can place the wet device on the dashboard of your car for an afternoon, making sure that the temperature does not hit more than a hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit. You can also try putting it inside an oven and setting the heat at a hundred to a hundred and fifty degrees for an hour. You can also place the cellular phone in your front pocket to let the heat of the body warm it and make the water evaporate. You can also try using a hair dryer on low to remove the moisture. Just make sure that you have removed the batteries before attempting to heat it or it will cause more damage not to mention an explosion.

3. Another idea that might help is using alcohol. Alcohol attracts water therefore if you place the device on a container full of 99% rubbing alcohol, water will be forced to pour out and evaporate. Unfortunately, some plastics are easily damaged by alcohol and it is quite expensive to buy that much alcohol for you to be able to dunk your laptop in it.

4. Put the keyboard upside down to drain the liquid that may have run into the crevices of the keys.

5. If some liquid other than water was poured on the computer or cellular phone, and it dries up, chances are that it will feel very sticky and leave a lot of residue. Use a cotton tip applicator stick, dipped in alcohol to clean it off or else risk it having a short circuit.

The next time you try using your laptop near any liquid, make sure that it is spill proof or you can use a plastic cover to be able to protect it from further harm.