They say that nothing wakes you quicker than a morning coffee... spilled onto the keyboard of your computer. Accidents like this happen all the time. If some liquid finds its way onto the keyboard of a desktop station it is not that troublesome; but what if you pour some water onto a laptop?
I will never forget the panic attack I have experienced when I accidentally spilled some Coke onto a brand new laptop; it displayed the Blue Screen of Death and turned off.
If such a misfortune strikes you the first thing you ought to do is to turn off the computer. Sometimes your laptop will do it by itself, but you have to unplug it anyway.
Don't waste time on turning off the programs and looking for Start Menu. Just press Power button for a while and make the computer turn off faster. Then you should plug it off to make sure no electrical currency enters the battery,
Next you should unplug all the peripheral devices such as the mouse, pendrive, or an external hard drive. This way you will be able to manouevre with the laptop later on, and you will also protect these components from being damaged by the spilled liquid.
Once you have unplugged any extra devices you have to lift the computer with the screen at around 90 degrees angle to the keyboard and remove the battery.
Keeping the computer tight in your hands turn it upside down so it look like a ^ symbol. The keyboard and the ground should make the angle of around 45 degrees.
Hold the computer in this position for a couple of minutes until it stops dripping. You can shake it - delicately! - from time to time. Later swipe the keyboard with a paper towel, remembering to clean also the space between the keys with the edge of a towel.
Finally, leave the computer to dry completely - this may take from 12 to 24 hours. Don't turn it on before, don't try to speed up the process by using a hair dryer, the sun, or air conditioning. Don't use compressed air devices.
To make the drying process more effective you can put some raw rice onto the keyboard - it has hygroscopic properties, so it easily absorbs water, also from eletric and electronical devices. Throughout the drying process the laptop should be open.
If you have also spilled some liquid onto the battery or the hard drive you can put it whole into a containter with rice. After drying the laptop you should plug it in (without the battery!) and turn it on. Look for anomalies (such as BIOS beeps, strange sounds, or keys that are no longer working) when it starts. If there are no problems you can turn it on once more with the battery plugged in.
Remember that if you are not sure whether you can fix the computer on your own you should immediately go consult it with a professionalist, especially if there are some anomalies. If some keys are not working or the laptop works much louder than it used to it may mean that the motherboard has been damaged!
