Getting rid of water damage

[cbennett926]

Ok,


So my tv stand happened to fall over, I had a cup of soda and my laptop on it. The soda surprisingly (and luckily) didn't get into my computer. However, when trying to clean it some water (2-4 drops) got under the screen and there is now a 3in x 4in water quarter-circle in the bottom right of the screen. I am open to (almost) any suggestions. I have tried the fridge for 20 minutes and haven't seen anything spectacular, I put it under a heated towel and it seemed to help, although not sure if it was just the time. I have sat it in a warm room for about an hour and it also seemed to help, although I think this was once again time.


Does anyone know the best way to have the laptop sit for best evaporation?

[Slimey]

Put it in as dry a place as you can - somewhere warm that doesn't feel humid. Your guess is as good as anyone's...

[Jakin]

My suggestion for any liquid may have got in a laptop, to try taking its battery out unplugging for wall, and let it sit over night, hopefully it evaporates on its own after that time. I have done the same thing, actually probably worse... the lappy would refuse to boot, maybe some kinda short with the liquid, it set over night, and the next morning everything as fine... I never had a problem with it after that, and never put any liquid near it again.

[cbennett926]

My suggestion for any liquid may have got in a laptop, to try taking its battery out unplugging for wall, and let it sit over night, hopefully it evaporates on its own after that time. I have done the same thing, actually probably worse... the lappy would refuse to boot, maybe some kinda short with the liquid, it set over night, and the next morning everything as fine... I never had a problem with it after that, and never put any liquid near it again.

What orientation did you have it sit like this?

My laptop looks like it has a bunch of bubbles under it, the bubbles are growing and connecting,which is a good thing I think...

The inside of the bubbles look like the rest of my screen, out side of them it is brighter. When I look at the screen from a side angle it seems as though it is on a layer higher than the actual screen, however I cannot slide the bubbles to the slide, like I would with air bubbles on a screen protector.

[Jakin]

What orientation did you have it sit like this?

My laptop looks like it has a bunch of bubbles under it, the bubbles are growing and connecting,which is a good thing I think...

The inside of the bubbles look like the rest of my screen, out side of them it is brighter. When I look at the screen from a side angle it seems as though it is on a layer higher than the actual screen, however I cannot slide the bubbles to the slide, like I would with air bubbles on a screen protector.

I just let it normally on the kitchen table, with its lid open as far as it would go, so that it could do it's thing.

[mips]

I would remove the lcd panel from the housing and leave it in a dry place for a few days.

Might end up with marks though as water contains all sorts of elements that once evaporated leaves the elements behind making marks.

[sdowney717]

People put phones in a bowl of dried rice which absorbs water.
You can try bagging the laptop overnights with mucho lots and lots of rice.

[Paqman]

I would remove the lcd panel from the housing and leave it in a dry place for a few days.


This. If you've not disassembled your machine before you should be able to find a video online showing step-by-step instructions. You'll need small screwdrivers and probably a spudger.

Open it up, remove any obvious water with a paper towel and sit the affected bits somewhere warm and dry for a day or so. You can use isopropyl alcohol on a cotton bud to remove any residues. Should be no problem.


People put phones in a bowl of dried rice which absorbs water.
You can try bagging the laptop overnights with mucho lots and lots of rice.

I would be worried about rice getting into the air ducts and fans. I suppose you could blank off the ventilation holes with tape, but that would just inhibit the water drying up. Easier just to pull it apart IMO.

[LuciferRex]

I agree with the rice, as it is a dessicant (They LOVE water). Warm air, plus either rice or those little packets that come in a new pair of shoes will help dry it.

[mattyasaurus]

):P Silica Gel could be a good option! http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=silica+gel&hl=en&tbo=u&source=univ&tbm=shop&sa=X&ei=Ub3-ULTGMMmGhQf89YCwAg&ved=0CLoBELMY&biw=1366&bih=625

[CharlesA]

This. If you've not disassembled your machine before you should be able to find a video online showing step-by-step instructions. You'll need small screwdrivers and probably a spudger.

Open it up, remove any obvious water with a paper towel and sit the affected bits somewhere warm and dry for a day or so. You can use isopropyl alcohol on a cotton bud to remove any residues. Should be no problem.

This would be the best way to deal with it imho. Granted trying to disassemble a laptop can be a pain in the butt, it is better than having the water just sit there.

[cbennett926]

Thank you all for your wonderful help! The screen has shown no signs of improvement, however the system itself is now back to 100% safely operational, I have ordered a new screen and thanks to you guys I feel safe installing it safely! (Sorry for the redundancy)

[LuciferRex]

):P Silica Gel could be a good option! http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=silica+gel&hl=en&tbo=u&source=univ&tbm=shop&sa=X&ei=Ub3-ULTGMMmGhQf89YCwAg&ved=0CLoBELMY&biw=1366&bih=625

agreed, which is contained in the packets I mentioned. The best part of silica gel is that it can be microwaved to release its' moisture content and reused.

[mattyasaurus]

agreed, which is contained in the packets I mentioned. The best part of silica gel is that it can be microwaved to release its' moisture content and reused.

I didn't see you mentioned that, sorry about that!
Also I never knew it could be microwaved to be honest. So thanks for that, I shall keep that one in mind! ;)

[Paqman]

I didn't see you mentioned that, sorry about that!
Also I never knew it could be microwaved to be honest. So thanks for that, I shall keep that one in mind! ;)

A normal oven is probably better than a microwave.

[mattyasaurus]

A normal oven is probably better than a microwave.
Why you think that? Also just out of interest how many times would you think you could do this drying out process?

[cbennett926]

Why you think that? Also just out of interest how many times would you think you could do this drying out process?



An atmospheric heat that is more dry is better at drying than a central heating source (things heat up in the middle of the microwave and very intense).

That and you can actually control the heat of an oven

[Paqman]

Why you think that? Also just out of interest how many times would you think you could do this drying out process?

You can do it pretty much indefinitely. Desiccants are widely used in industry, for example to keep the air in pneumatic systems dry. A pretty typical device is an air drier that contains two canisters of desiccant. Periodically the system switches the air flow from one to the other, and heats the one not being used to recharge the desiccant.

I also used to bake desiccant bags in the oven for packing into missile storage containers when I was in uniform, we had an oven just for that job. Strictly speaking you weren't supposed to use it for keeping pies warm, but you know...

I've never seen or heard of using a microwave to dry desiccant. I'm not saying it's impossible, just that I couldn't be sure there wouldn't be unintended effects. I'd be concerned about uneven heating and damage to the desiccant or packaging.

[cbennett926]

You can do it pretty much indefinitely. Desiccants are widely used in industry, for example to keep the air in pneumatic systems dry. A pretty typical device is an air drier that contains two canisters of desiccant. Periodically the system switches the air flow from one to the other, and heats the one not being used to recharge the desiccant.

I also used to bake desiccant bags in the oven for packing into missile storage containers when I was in uniform, we had an oven just for that job. Strictly speaking you weren't supposed to use it for keeping pies warm, but you know...

I've never seen or heard of using a microwave to dry desiccant. I'm not saying it's impossible, just that I couldn't be sure there wouldn't be unintended effects. I'd be concerned about uneven heating and damage to the desiccant or packaging.


Is there a good ratio of how much desiccant to use versus the space it is occupying?

[Paqman]

Is there a good ratio of how much desiccant to use versus the space it is occupying?

It's not about the space it's occupying, it's about how much water you want to lock up in your desiccant. So that will depend on where your water is coming from.

In an air tight container where you're only concerned with condensation from changes in temperature you only need a small amount of desiccant. In a pneumatic system that's compressing atmospheric air (and is therefore constantly introducing more water into the system) you need quite a lot.

[mattyasaurus]

You can do it pretty much indefinitely. Desiccants are widely used in industry, for example to keep the air in pneumatic systems dry. A pretty typical device is an air drier that contains two canisters of desiccant. Periodically the system switches the air flow from one to the other, and heats the one not being used to recharge the desiccant.

I also used to bake desiccant bags in the oven for packing into missile storage containers when I was in uniform, we had an oven just for that job. Strictly speaking you weren't supposed to use it for keeping pies warm, but you know...

I've never seen or heard of using a microwave to dry desiccant. I'm not saying it's impossible, just that I couldn't be sure there wouldn't be unintended effects. I'd be concerned about uneven heating and damage to the desiccant or packaging.

Thanks for that. I did do an internet search to see if it was possible to use a microwave and apparently it can be done that way. But there was way more information regarding the use of an oven. The fact a oven can be used was valuable information as I don't have a microwave you see :lolflag:.
:-o I never would have thought they would have used it for packing into missile storage container though ...

[Paqman]

:-o I never would have thought they would have used it for packing into missile storage container though ...

Anything that needs to be kept dry in storage really. It's used in food storage a lot, which is why it tends to have "Do not eat!" written on the outside of the sachet.

[mattyasaurus]

Anything that needs to be kept dry in storage really. It's used in food storage a lot, which is why it tends to have "Do not eat!" written on the outside of the sachet.

Yeah I knew it was used for food storage. Just came as a surprise that it is used for missile storage.. :lolflag:

[Jakin]

Sorry to hear evaporation didn't work, cbennett926. Hope the new screen works out ;)

[Double.J]

I know this is basically solved now, but I just thought I'd add my tuppence as it was my old job lol!

Working in technical support for an OEM, I've seen a lot of liquid damage over the duration. As for the LCD, this is fairly standard, the liquid can often dissolve some of the backing dye, allowing more light through from the back light and causing "tide marks on the panel" the tide marks can of course be caused by contaminants in he liquid, but it is very common with alcohol accidents.

There is advice out there that alcohol gel can fix buttons and keys that stop working. This is true; more often than not it is foreign material that brings down the key rather than the key failing. Alcohol gel often breaks this up and returns function. It is also rumoured that the alcohol gels are safe to use as they are less conductive and corrosive than water. However if they ever touch an LCD panel, it's curtains unfortunately; they always react.

The general advice I'd give anyone else who finds themselves in this situation is turn it off, get the battery out right away; even if it seems to kind of work, or you got away with it; liquid = instant power off. Next disassemble and air dry; do not touch internal components, remember ESD safety with exposed boards. You can speed up the drying with rice/silica/dehumidifiers but you want to get it as dry as possible. You can use a fan to circulate air, but do not blow dry it; you risk spreading water further.

Remember water kills in two moves; shorting out the components, and corroding them. It all comes down to luck I'm afraid, but you just have to get the power disconnected and components dry as fast as possible. And I'll be honest; there's little hope when it comes to sea water, it's just too corrosive.

Sorry to hear this has happened, hope everything is okay now!

[mamamia88]

Ok,


So my tv stand happened to fall over, I had a cup of soda and my laptop on it. The soda surprisingly (and luckily) didn't get into my computer. However, when trying to clean it some water (2-4 drops) got under the screen and there is now a 3in x 4in water quarter-circle in the bottom right of the screen. I am open to (almost) any suggestions. I have tried the fridge for 20 minutes and haven't seen anything spectacular, I put it under a heated towel and it seemed to help, although not sure if it was just the time. I have sat it in a warm room for about an hour and it also seemed to help, although I think this was once again time.


Does anyone know the best way to have the laptop sit for best evaporation?

just curious how it managed to get under the screen? that seems like the hardest part to get into on a laptop.