What to do if water spills over your laptop
Oh no! A glass of water, all over your laptop! What now? The experts at Swaptop give you advice!
Nowadays, everyone has a laptop. For work, streaming, gaming, you name it. Of course, you don't want tea, coffee or other drinks to spill over your laptop. Laptops don't do well with moisture. But accidents can happen. That's why you can read in this blog, made with the help of our Swaptop technicians, what you can do if water or another liquid spills over your laptop.
Steps in water over laptop
Step 1: Turn off the laptop and disconnect it from power
To prevent short circuits and electric shocks, first turn off the laptop as quickly as possible and disconnect it from the power. Make sure that your hands are not wet and that the on/off button is also dry, so that you do not get a shock, or quickly grab some rubber gloves.
Step 2: Remove laptop from water
Lift your laptop or Macbook out of the water, tea, coffee or other liquid that you have spilled on it. Then immediately place the laptop on a dry surface. A good idea is to place the laptop on a towel that can immediately absorb the water that can be removed from the laptop.
Step 3: Disconnect peripherals
Is there anything else connected to your laptop? A mouse, a USB, an SD card, an adapter etc.? First check if the connection is dry. If it is dry, immediately disconnect the device from the laptop and put it in a dry place. If necessary, check again thoroughly if it is really dry.
If the connection is wet, leave the peripherals in place for a while.
Step 4: Remove the battery (if possible)
Does your laptop have an easily removable battery? Disconnect the battery and check thoroughly whether it is dry. Also make sure that no water from the wet chassis runs into the laptop while removing the battery. Once you have removed the battery, you can discharge the remaining power and static electricity from the laptop by holding the power button for a few seconds.
If your battery is not easy to remove, such as if you have to unscrew the bottom, skip this step.
Step 5: Drying the laptop
Never use a hair dryer to dry your laptop. This can cause components to overheat, static buildup, water to blow into the laptop, and more.
Instead, grab a towel and gently dry just the outside of the laptop by blotting. Try not to wipe, as this will spread the water around and potentially get it inside the laptop.
Step 6: Disconnect peripherals 2
During step 5, also dry the connections of the peripherals. As soon as you think that they are dry enough and that no water can flow into the connections, disconnect them. Then check the connection thoroughly on both sides. So the laptop and the device. Do you see moisture? Then dry this carefully, without the water getting into an opening.
Step 7: Remove the battery (if possible)
Are you handy with technology, or do you have experience with opening a laptop? Then you can try to remove the battery. Usually, you will have to unscrew the bottom and disconnect a cable. NOTE! Always consult a manual to know how to do this and whether the warranty on your laptop will not expire if you unscrew it.
With this step you can also check if water has entered the laptop. Do not try to dry it with the towel! This can cause static electricity. The best thing you can do in this case is to let the water drain out of the laptop with gravity or to “blow dry” the water with a fan.
Are you really handy with technology? Then you could take all the parts out of the laptop to let them dry better.
Step 8: Let the laptop dry further
Place the laptop on a towel in a dry, warm place. Look carefully where the ventilation openings are and place the laptop in such a way that any water on the inside can drain out through these openings.
The old rice truck works pretty well so if you think it might help you can give it a try. Rice can get between the keyboard or in gaps though so it's not ideal.
Instead, you can use silica gel packets. These are the little balls that you often find in the packaging of technical devices. It is a good idea to keep these somewhere (away from children) to be able to use them in these cases. The silica gel packets are extremely good at absorbing water and you could therefore use them in different places on the laptop to absorb the remaining moisture.
Step 9: Wait Patiently
It may take a while for the laptop to dry completely. We recommend letting the laptop dry for 24 to 48 hours before trying to turn it on again.
Laptop broken after all?
Did your laptop still get damaged by the water? Don't worry! You can quickly get back to work with a laptop from Swaptop. From 19 euros per month you can have a laptop or Macbook that always works! With repair service and the option of a flexible, monthly cancellable subscription after 3 months.
Laptop leasing for self-employed persons at Swaptop
By leasing a laptop at Swaptop, you worry less about spilling water over your laptop. All our laptops are equipped with a spill-resistant keyboard! This means that water over your laptop will not be a problem so quickly and you can usually continue working after drying the laptop.
Laptop broken? Swaptop will fix it within 48 hours and can even replace the laptop during this time, so that you don't go without for too long and can't continue your work for a while.
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