Helping people with computers... one answer at a time.
Spilling liquid into your laptop or keyboard can cause serious damage. The first step is to dry it thoroughly, and we'll look at one possible solution.
While I was asleep, my cat must have tipped over a part full cup of water on my new laptop computer. The computer lid was closed and the AC power cord was connected when my daughter tried to turn it on in the morning. It did not turn on (and it hasn't ever since, even after leaving it to dry out for a couple of weeks). There was also a small pool of water under the computer (about 5cm in diameter) and drips of water come from the keyboard when tipped over. What should I do to maximize my chances of getting it working?
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I'm going to recommend an obscure long shot as something to try.
I'm also going to ask for help.
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First, readers, if you have any suggestions to help in a situation such as this, please feel free to leave it in a comment below. I'm particularly interested in techniques that you've tried that have been proven to work.
Which is unlike what I'm about to suggest. 
First, I need to set a some expectations.
The problem is that water conducts electricity. So the moment you turned the computer on while it was still wet inside, the computer likely experienced a number of short circuits and crossed connections. It's possible, perhaps even likely, that some of the electronics were damaged. The only solution, if that's the case, is to isolate and replace the damaged components. That'll require someone looking at the machine and attempting to diagnose the specific failure.
It's worse if what was spilled is anything more than plain water. If it's soda, coffee, tea, milk ... whatever ... when it dries it's going to leave a residue. Be it a sticky sugary residue, powder of some sort, or who knows what else, anything but plain water is going to be much worse, and much less likely to be fixable.
Now, on to my off-the-wall idea.
It's actually not that off-the-wall, as I've heard it recommended repeatedly for people who've dropped their cell phones in water. But I'll throw it out there to use at your own risk...
Rice.
Place your laptop in a sealed container filled with uncooked rice for a few days.
My concern with this approach, of course, is that rice grains are small enough that they might end up in your laptop instead of around your laptop, which is what you really want. Perhaps you should bag the rice in nylon or some other very porous material.
The theory, that apparently works well for cell phones, is that the rice acts as a desiccant - absorbing moisture out of the air. If the container is properly sealed, the only place that moisture can come from is your laptop.
It's a long shot, but given that the laptop's not working, and as long as you can keep the rice outside of your machine, it couldn't hurt.
But as I said, I'm interested in what other ideas people might have. This is not an uncommon situation.
Article C3610 - January 3, 2009
Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he
was required to take a programming class in 1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed.
After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers
to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.
Hi,I have sprayed a body deodorant over a dell laptop keyboard for cleaning the keys when power is ON at night. When i got up morning when turn on my laptop, i found my keys are not working.... Please suggest me anything....
08-Oct-2011
Hello just now my new laptop got wet during my sister was drinking pepsi and she spilled it all over the laptop i just left the laptop lid open and turned it on and after a minuter it starded
Posted by: Awais Tanvir at October 10, 2011 7:17 AMA few years ago I spilled sugared coffee on my favorite Toshiba laptop, it died instantly. Fortunately I'm well versed in hardware maintenance so taking the machine apart was not a big deal. I carefully cleaned each part affected, including the keyboard, and got back 99% of normal operation. Occasionally I'd lose the letter m (M worked), indicating that a new keyboard could have helped.
As to cleaning, only the hard drive and parts which could be harmed by soap didn't get submerged and scrubbed. All other parts I washed and rinsed until the water ran clear. Then I dried them; Leo's idea of a bag of rice holds water! Just be careful, rice in a bag can create a static charge, potentially harmful to components!
Posted by: Mike Rice at November 2, 2011 11:02 AMWARNING, disassembly can permanently damage your computer! Even before you add water!
With a Dell home premium laptop less than a year old, I suddenly had a key that wouldn't register on the screen when pressed. I panicked since I was in the middle of big publishing project. I read that sometimes you can blow away some particle that may have fallen into the keyboard (my problem was not a liquid). First I blew on it with my breath. Nothing. Then I thought of the hair dryer. With the hair dryer on, all of a sudden that key partially melted! Oh no! I called Dell and wondered if I was still under warranty. I was, but not for that. The Dell person talked me into buying extra insurance on my laptop, which would cover my problem plus anything else that might happen with one year. I stupidly went for this. They overnighted a new keyboard to a local technician who works with Dell's customer service, and the next day this man came to my house with a new keyboard and installed it. I had no idea at all (this being my first laptop) that a laptop keyboard is all of one piece, so that if one key gets stuck, they can't replace the one key. It's just a thin thing. But after the man left, another key on the new one wouldn't work properly. Yikes! Now I did what a friend does. I went to Radio Shack and for about $20 got a regular keyboard with a USB hook-in. This was actually to my advantage, because I don't take my laptop anywhere (I should have gottend a traditional computer), and when I typed on the laptop keyboard, the palms of my hands got so warm. That's not a nice feeling. But the traditional keyboard certainly worked better than the laptop keyboard ever did. Better yet, I took two large old atlases and put my laptop on top of them as they lay flat, and thus I was able to get farther away from the laptop screen (another thing I figured was hurting my eyes). Now I'm much happier using my laptop, but I'm out several hundred dollars I'll probably never get to use under the hardware warranty. This was a "live and learn" lesson. Somehow I thought that a wireless laptop wouldn't have to go through a provider, which is why I got it in the first place. Water over the dam.
Posted by: Jean Agate at November 3, 2011 4:36 PMHey,
I was really annoyed by my brother. His laptop was really dirty and had all the food he had eaten on it. So, I switched off the power, took some wet tissues and wiped his keyboard and his mouse pad. After a few minutes, I switched on the laptop. It worked perfectly for a few minutes . After which the screen became blurred. I offed the laptop and switched it on yet again. Only this time there was no response. I might mention this too, the second time I switched on the laptop, the plug sorta short circuited. As in sparks came out of the plug !!
His laptop is an older model of the Macbook.
Any advise ??? Please !?!?
Posted by: Joseph at January 25, 2012 11:11 PM