What to do if your laptop gets wet

Somehow you’ve managed to get your laptop wet. A spilled drink, a slip by the pool.

These things happen.

What to do next

1. Immediately unplug the Laptop from the power adaptor. Time is of the essence.
2. If the laptop has a battery that you can remove, pull it out. If not, power off your laptop. Don’t worry about saving files or shutting down nicely, just hold the power button until it cuts power.
3. Open up the laptop and place on a flat surface with the Keyboard and screen facing down.  This should resemble the shape of a pitched roof.
4. With a dry towel, dry off any excess water on the laptop. Run the towel over the keyboard too.  You can pick the laptop up and gently tilt to see if any further liquid can come out. Wipe again with the dry towel.
5. If you have access to a hair drier, on a low heat, try and get some warm air going through the laptop in an effort to evaporate any excess water.  Also any type of air movement will help, be it a desk or pedestal fan.
6. Do not power the laptop back on until you are certain it is 100% dry.  This could be a few days wait using this method. Depending on how much you value the device or the data within, you may opt to take it to a Laptop repair centre, where they can strip the device down to dry and clean it properly.  This is probably your best option if it was anything other than water that got in the laptop, as it will dry tacky and be difficult to clean.