I spilled water into my laptop, how do I get it working again?

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Rinse it in isopropyl alcohol, the 93% (rubbing) kind you get from the grocery store, but BE SURE YOU HAVE THE BATTERY REMOVED, as any internal power source could conceivably pose a fire hazard while you're working on it. The alcohol will flow where the water would, but because it evaporates readily, it's much easier to dry it out, and it's electrically non-conductive. Once you've rinsed it thoroughly, put it somewhere warm (on a floor vent, for example) to dry out, for a few days to be safe. I've seen this technique resurrect flooded radio equipment, and I used it to get my UPS working again after a cup of milk was dumped in it. The more you can open the computer up to rinse with the alcohol, the better off you are.

desiccantcity sells a whole line of desiccants. perhaps they have something.

The rubbing isopropyl alcohol, the 93% (rubbing) kind you get from the drug / grocery store is the one that worked on other electronics in our home.

i have used a hair dryer in the past , it worked for me.. mike

I work in an environment where people do just what you have done, spill stuff into their electronics. Now, IF(!) you did not turn the unit on, you are ahead of the problem. Pull out and remove all of the components that you can. Unplug the ribbon cables as well, gently. Laptops come apart quite nicely. You do this so that you can remove any condensation that is lurking in the crevices of the plastic housing as well as on the electronics themselves. Next, get a spray bottle/mister and fill it with denatured alcohol. Spray the entire assembly, electroics, case and connectors. Let it dry throughly. The alcohol will absorbe the water and dry the board at the same time. Be in absolutely no hurry here! Let it dry! Recheck for moisture, recheck the connectors as well. Redo if necessary, you should be good to go from there. Use canned air to help remove any moisture that you are able to see as well as clean the rest of the board. However,if you turned the unit on, you most likely blew up the switch mode power supply that is in the unit. This may/maynot be part of the main printed circuit/mother board. If this is the case, you most likely did damage to other parts of the unit as well and now all you have is a nice looking paper weight. Spilling soda, coffee w/cream and other goodies requires a different approach and technique to restore your electronics. I hope this was of some help in answering your problem.

My cell phone fell out of my shirt pocket into water. 1st thing is to pull the battery! Next I took the phone apart down to the last screw. Spread the circuit board and other stuff out on top of the kitchen stove pilot light (old stove) 4 hours later the LCD lit up. I've done process twice. Now I have a wrist strap attached to the phone, I had to drill a hole in the case for it. Now the phone is always secured to me in some fashion.
This process probably won't work for a extended soaking of a laptop. Best solution, purchase no fault insurance for repairs, I did/do at Best Buy.
Happy New Year.
Den

One trick used by photographers that get their camera equipment wet is to place it in a frost proof freezer for a few days, then give it time to return to room temperature before using. The frost free/proof freezer freeze drys the unit and sucks all moisture out of the unit. The only issue with a computer would be the minerals in the tap water.

As this has not be mentioned so far - my first question would be if there was any data that was not backed up. If there was important data I would remove the hard disk drive and work on it as a separate problem before trying to recover the laptop.

I spilled some lemon-lime soda on my laptop once and did the rubbing alcohol thing to it. I then proceeded to use a can of compressed air to aid in the drying process. Afterward, everything worked like new. I also tried to power-up my laptop beforehand and after the "treatment", all was OK !!

There has been a lot of bad advice posted here, which is typical for a public message board. (There has also been some halfway decent advice).
Firstly, DO NOT apply heat to an electronic device unless you have a way of precisely controlling the temperature and you know the tolerances of the material you are working with. A home oven is not a suitable heat source because its heat output at a given thermostat setting is not constant (there will be drops and spikes). All in all, using any type of heat in an uncontrolled way at best may do nothing for you, and at worst will damage by scorching or melting the plastics making up most modern electronics.

The way you would attack water (or other common liquid)contact with an electronic device (ED) depends on the amount and length of contact (ie whether something spilled on the ED or whether it was completely submerged in water). Most of the preferred methods, usually involving the dismantling of the ED in question, are beyond the scope of this post.

In the above question to Leo it's stated that water was pooling beneath the ED and pouring out when tipped over. Being that the computer was on--and even though water is a poor conductor of electricity--it's possible there was some arcing and consequently shorts in the circuitry, as Leo stated. This would be mean that there is permanent damage to the printed circuit boards (PCB's). It's also stated that "the laptop was left to dry after a few weeks". Most PCB's WILL corrode in the presence of water, sometimes in as short as a few hours time. Weeks later there is likely to be advanced corrosion. So in the case above, there is likely to be NO favorable resolution to the problem.

In almost all cases of water contact with something like a laptop the preferred method of dealing with this would be to act quickly, and first take apart the major parts of the computer to facilitate careful cleaning (case, keyboard, etc).

Barring dismantlement, you can try:

1) Immediately remove all sources of power (if safe to do so) such as transformers, battery, etc.

2) Isopropyl alcohol, as mentioned above, could work as a dryer in a pinch, but its water content (even at 94% volume) can make it a slow dryer in an enclosed space like the interior of a laptop or cell phone. A preferred solution (using things available from a hardware store like Home Depot) would be a mixture of Turpentine and Acetone in an 80:20 ratio. It is a high evaporation, no residue formula which makes it suitable for drying water (or other liquids). Pour this into the contaminated compartments and let gravity drain it out. Do several washes. In the case of let's say, a cell phone dropped in a toilet, you could submerge the entire cell phone in this solution (NO BATTERY!) but you run the risk of damaging some sensitive plastics.

3) After the chemical washes place the ED in an enclosed container (like a plastic storage container with a lid) along with a dessicant like "Damp-Rid" (also sold at Home Depot). Epsom Salt is very hygroscopic and will also work in a pinch. Keep in mind that the more surface area of the drying material is exposed (and the more of it), the faster it will work. So put it in a tray, if possible. If possible, let the ED sit and dry for at least several days.

Finally, take out your ED, examine for any continuing signs of water contamination (like pooling or dampness). If none is visible, attach battery or other power source, cross fingers, and turn it on. If the gods are smiling on you that day, it will work.

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