How to repair a water damaged laptop

So many individuals use laptops every day and many find it very difficult to function in their day to day life without them. It is not just people in the business world that treasure them. But no matter how careful you are with your laptop, you’re bound to run into problems at some point. Because of the portability that you can get from them, there can be the potential for loss, it being taken, or having damage done to it.

Spilling water or any other liquid over your laptop is one of the problem since we use it very often everywhere from homes, offices and schools. The following scenario is especially common: in a moment of clumsiness or distraction.

When this scenario occur, don’t panic. Many laptops have suffered water damage but are still working perfectly today. All that matters is how fast and quick you are to minimize the damage.

 

How to save your laptop from water damage.

When this spill happens, time is of the essence. The longer your laptop is exposed to liquid, the more likely it is to suffer permanent damage. How you respond in the first few minutes after a spill may determine whether your laptop can ultimately be revived. It all boil down to you selling your laptop or to invest in a full replacement.

This guide is here to help you, so read through and follow these tips.

Turn off your laptop.

The very first step is to power off the laptop as soon as possible. If you’re working on a crucial document, save it immediately, then hold down the power key for around five seconds and the computer will shut all power off.

  

Unplug Any Accessories

Try to take your laptop apart as much as you can. Remove the battery if you have a removable battery and dry it briskly with a cloth. This will prevent any possible short circuit in your laptop.

If you have a mouse, keyboard, or external hard drive connected to the computer, remove it immediately. This prevents damage to external accessories and keeps your data safe. The objective is to leave your laptop bare.

 

 Turn it upside down.

Be very swift with this. Take a dry cloth and wipe up any excess liquid from the surface of the laptop especially near the keyboard, vents or ports and open the lid as far back as it will go. Then turn the laptop upside down to prevent the water going further into the machine (upside down V). This will prevent water from making its way deeper into the computer. The ideal time you should leave it in that position should be twenty four hours but if you don’t have the time to do that, a minimum of 5 hours should do. Make very sure it is completely dry before trying it out.

Extra tip: Never attempt to force dry it (using a hair dryer). Open-air drying is best in this situation.

 

Turn it on and inspect.

 

Finally, after your laptop has been cleaned and dried thoroughly, reinsert the battery and connect the power cord. Turn your laptop on, if it comes on, you’re in luck! But watch out for minor issues, connect necessary accessories to see if they’re working. The Bluetooth connection, CD-ROM and USB drive, or even its keyboard.

 

Ways to keep your laptop safe from water damage.

 

They say prevention is key. We can’t talk about ways to repair a water damaged laptop without discussing tips to prevent the damages. Read on to find out more.

Never leave drinks unattended on your desk.

Leaving a glass of water abandoned on your desk is a big risk for your laptop. If and when you need to leave the room, don’t leave your drink on the desk. Better still, take your drink along with you.

 

Always use your laptop case.

Laptop cases are there to use for a purpose. They serve as a shield for laptops.

Buying a laptop can certainly be costly, so why not add buying a laptop case to serve as a precautionary shield. Much like dirt and dust, they protect your hardware from nasty spills

Extra tip: Always put your computer back in its case when you’re done using it.

Conclusion

Sometimes, water damage is severe enough that, no matter what you do, your computer won’t turn back on. In this case, it’s important to call your local computer repair shop. An expert will be able to evaluate the damage to your system and help you save or backup your data if it’s still accessible.

If you applied all the tips above and you get your laptop working again. Well done! Your laptop just survived a major damage.