Spilled soda.

So being the idiot I am I managed to spill half a glass of soda on my r1. It shut off instantly and I unplugged everything. At the moment it is disassembled so it can dry. I was told I should actually was all the parts with the exception of the battery and hd in water and let it completely dry. Is this a good idea or should I try something else or just give up on it. Oh btw the liquid didnt reach the hd or the battery as I flipped it upside down as soon as it kicked off.

 

rubbing alcohol, and a lot of it.

 

You probably shorted something as it turned off. Not much you can do except give it an isopropyl alcohol bath or dip it in water to remove the soda residue, give it a few days to dry and hope you haven't damaged anything.

 

yep - already said - IPA (rubbing alcohol, isopropyl alcohol) is preferred over water, the soda has sugar etc which will short out the unit so clean everything so it's spotless and totally 110% dry.I have recovered units in the past by following this process so good luck.

 

do you guys call all fizy drinks soda. if it was soda water(the only thing in the english language known as soda) then you should be fine once the parts are dry- if its coke or something like that you may have a problem as they contain certain acids and stuff which you need to clean off

 

i have recovered issues like this before by using hot distilled water and a tooth brush. don't forget to rinse after brushing.

 

oh, and whatever you do, do not use a hair dryer to make it dry faster lol.

 

If you want to make it dry faster, put your laptop in rice (The rice, as I know, absorbs the humidity). I have follow this method when some clocks and cellphones are accidentally spilled with water (no soda).

 

They make pressurized electronics cleaner in a can. Works well and gets to those hard to reach areas.

 

Everything still works except for my keyboard and the led lights for the speakers, power button and the alienware logo. I am gonna order a new keyboard from ebay for around 40 bucks, and I believe the leds arent working because a ribbon is loose. They worked when I first put it back together. Any other ideas?

 

THIS! I went to the dollar store and bought a pack of toothbrushes and like a half dozen bottles of rubbing alcohol. Higher alcohol content the better (same is true with drinking ), preferably 99% of higher because less % can leave residue.

I spilled wine on my last laptop and lots of patience, alcohol (both types), and some good scrubbing saved its life. I just had to wait a day before I turned it on, actually maybe 12 hours, alcohol dries quickly.

I had to replace my touchpad and keyboard on my laptop that I spilled wine on because some got in the ribbon cable connector that I just couldn't clean.

 

iv also had to do this with my very old eee pc 701 (celeron 900 overclocked to 1.2ghz) and it worked, i was happy.

BUT, since im upgrading the the R2 very soon, i might get one of those rubber keyboard protectors

 

Yeah this happened to my E1705. Recovered but with dead mem slot. It was a bit "moody" after that too. Made it maybe 8mo before it died for good.

THAT is a big reason why I started using the kb covers. Benefits include:
keys off screen (ha!)
no grit, dirt, hair, pet hair, food, or other bits under keys.
key lettering not damaged

Downside is they look like crap.

 

Downside is you can't touchtype with them very well either!

 

true, but its worth it. id rather keep my m11x rooster booster, or mountain dew free. =P

 

After you get use to the silicone keyboard cover - you can touchtype well.

I simply don't like them at all though. But I'm very careful with my toys. Especially when they set me back over $1k.

 

Are you sure the keyboard isn't working?

I spilled a small amount of beer on mine a few months ago, and the top right corner keys were very sticky, and annoying. Finally I decided to pull it apart and fix it last week.

First I pulled the keyboard out and washed it as well as I could with warm soapy water, to get rid of the residue. Then to rinse out the excess suds, and finish of I completely submerged it in distilled water (while holding the two connector leads out of the water) for a good few minutes, wiping gently while it was submerged with a clean cloth.

Dired it of with some paper towels, and after 12 hours sitting in front of a gentle room fan I plugged it back in but found some keys were dodgy, and some didn't work at all. So I unplugged it all and gave it another 36 hours in front of the fan, plugged everything back in and now its back, completely functional with no issues whatsoever.

 

Yea every KB ive cleand needed a little more than 48hrs to be completely dry. mabey even more if its humid out. canned air & a fan helps speed this up but it still takes a long time.

 

A few threads already exist saying exactly that. Too tempting to get in a hurry I guess but it seems a few days is best.

 

I've dropped/spilled stuff way to much, so I always get Complete Care (or whatever they are calling it now) with my laptops

 

I'm always tempted to get the accidental warranty, but it's always so dang expensive. Usually if I can replace a screen or a motherboard for the same amount I don't bother with the warranty. That's where Asus machines are nice since most come with at least one year of accidental protection.

 

Agreed. im handy with stuff so to me it just doesnt make sence if any waranty cost more than the most expencive part.