Studio XPS 1647 touchpad stopped working

I recently spilled some water on my XPS laptop (hence the username "knucklehead") and now the touchpad won't respond. Of course, this is a non-warranty issue therefore Dell charges $199 and would keep it for 7 to 10 biz days. That just won't do, so can anyone guide me to a site for performing a self-repair or is this better left to a professional?

 

Water will not harm your Touch-pad palm rest as long as you do not try to use it while it’s wet! If you download the tech/service manual, remove the palm rest/ (with the touch-pad) and run a hair drier over it (with medium heat) for a few minutes then let it air-dry over night (and reinstall) you should be fine. Yes, you can go out to RadioShack and buy contact cleaner to remove the contaminants, but since this is just some H2O, this is likely the best and cost-effective way to deal with your issue. Please let us know how this turns out for you, it’s what we’re for… Peace

 

Uh.., did I say water? I meant wine. Chardonnay to be exact. And it's been about three weeks. Does this change the dynamics of the fix? Please don't tell me to break out the cheese and crackers.