T60 'Spill Proof' Keyboard Works!!!

I received my T60 from Lenovo just four days ago. I bought it because of the build quality and attention to detail with items such as the solid keyboard, the rigid case, and the motion sensing hard drive. I noticed the spill proof keyboard and thought it was a nice touch but I never dreamed that I would need it for a spill. Maybe it would work just as effectively at keeping all the other dust and junk away from the motherboard. I've been using computers daily since 1985 and I have NEVER even come close to spilling anything on a computer component of any kind.

Tonight I was reaching for my computer and I didn't notice an opened bottle of beer next to the machine. At least 3-4 ounces spilled right on the keyboard before I could do anything about it. I immediately unplugged the AC adapter and hit the power button which I had programmed to hibernate (in the future I would unplug the AC and just pull the battery ASAP).

I felt sick. I tipped the machine on its side. Drained off as much of the liquid as possible. I then mopped up as much of the remaining liquid as I could. I pulled the battery and wiped it down and then I let everything dry. Three hours later I anxiously started up the machine. Everything seems to be working just fine. The only issue is that 4-5 of the keys are a bit sticky (require slightly more pressure to depress and don't rebound quite as quickly as they did before the bath). I don't know if there is any way to repair the effected keys but I'm just pleased and impressed that I won't be ordering a new machine tomorrow morning.

Shane

 

maybe you should pour some water on it... that will rinse off those nice beer in the keys. hey, it is spill resistant right? just don't soak it on water. just the right amount will do

 

tough call id put a little water on there too

 

I would take the keyboard out (nice thing about a Thinkpad, very end user friendly, just undo 4 screws on the bottom marked as for changing the ram, take off the palm rest, then undo one more screw on the bottom which is marked with a keyboard symbol, keyboard comes right out) before doing another rinse with water. Another nice thing about thinkpads is that even though they are laptops, the keys can be popped off. So you could pop off the affected keys and clean them with a swab.

 

I've heard that taking out the keyboard is easy. If this is true, I'd take it out clean and dry it, then put it back in.

 

If you want to keep a shred of warranty, I would HIGHLY suggest getting some 90%+ isopropyl alcohol, and rising off the keyboard as well as the "tracks" that guide the liquid out of the laptop.

If you look at the way the keyboard is designed, along with the slant of the laptop, its made to direct all fluid from the keyboard to the bottom edges, and dump down. The area it dumps into is part of the magnesium frame with little ducts, that funnel to those drain holes on the bottom side of the laptop. The problem with warranty work comes in and if they see any residue, they will instantly void your warranty even if it is not a direct cause to that problem. Washing off the residue take care of that issue, with alcohol being the best to remove it, leave barely any residue, and be safe around the electronic parts.


QUICK EDIT:

YOU TIPPED IT ON ITS SIDE?!?! Ugh, now you probably have whatever you spilled inside the inner non-protected areas, and its going to be close to impossible to clean off. Get that keyboard off, and survey the inner parts of your laptop for liquid residue. Take some pictures if you can. You need to get it properly cleaned out to prevent any rust/corrosion later on.

 

Yes, I absolutely agree... remove the battery and AC and get some isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol and scrub/rinse the affected area down. It will have even better cleaning abilities than water, plus it will displace any remaining liquid and then eventually evaporate, meaning no corrosion of parts.

This is standard procedure for any electronic device that has come in contact with water or water-based liquids.

In your case it's unlikely you'll NEED it, other than for your sticky keys, but it's certainly safer, and safer is better.

 

You could ask Lenovo for a new keyboard because some of your keys don't work as they should.

 

But that would only be ethical if you purchased the accident protection.

 

take out the keyboard and have it rinsed off properly with 90% alcohol. clean every keys especially those that don't work properly.

i hope ants won't get into your system. ants here in the philippines tend to like the inards of laptops and computers. they'll probably like yours more, beer!

 

When my friend spilled grape juice in his Dell, we just took the keyboard out and rinsed it out with hot water. After letting it dry for a couple days it works great.

 

Hi Everyone,

First, I want to thank those who took the time to write in with their thoughts, experience and suggestions. The following is simply my experience but it may prove valuable to someone in the future.

Some suggested to simply pour water over the keyboard in a controlled and careful manner. After getting the machine apart I would not suggest doing this. While the keyboard directed a majority of the beer away from the internal workings of the machine (especially the motherboard), some liquid did manage to get past the edges of the keyboard and on to the fan housing, the ExpressCard housing, and the area directly below the space bar. Pouring water over the keyboard while it was in place would most likely put all the sensitive boards in danger of shorting out or corroding. In addition, the residue did not simply wash off when contacted by the water. I had to scrub a bit (a q-tip with isopropyl alcohol) to remove all of the residue. I can not see how you could get all of the residue off without removing the keyboard and the residue did appear to be corrosive (much better safe than sorry).

Next, it had been just under 24 hours from the time of the accident to my opening and cleaning the interior. It appeared that the liquid had already started to corrode a small spot of the copper chip cooling assembly as well as the frame near the ExpressCard holder. Removing the corrosion took some scrubbing. Both these areas are within 0.5 inches of the motherboard. I was extremely lucky. Had this corrosion taken place on the motherboard, I’m sure it would have been irreparably damaged.

There was a surprising amount of residue on the underside of the palm rest. Again, the keyboard directs fluids away from the motherboard but there is not waterproof seal. Enough fluid and your board will take a bath. This might have been made worse by tipping the machine to remove the liquid.

Right after the accident I removed several keys and washed them with a q-tip and water. This seemed to help but several hours later (after the water had evaporated) the keys got sticky again. Thoroughly rinsing/submerging the keyboard in alcohol seems to have done a much better job. All the keys now seem to be in new condition. I depressed the sticky keys several times to work the alcohol into the tight spaces. Be sure to give the keyboard time to dry before reinstalling it. Several web-sites recommend allowing 72 hours if you’ve cleaned the keyboard with water. I let the alcohol dry for 10 hours after blowing most of it off with low pressure compressed air.

Someone suggested that tipping the computer on it’s side may have caused more problems than it solved in shedding some of the liquid. It’s possible that this was the case but I’m not entirely convinced. As I stated earlier, the seal between the keyboard and the rest of the housing is not water (or beer) tight. Too much liquid and it will probably find its way to your motherboard. I did have several sticky keys on the side that tipped the machine towards (the down side). However, very little fluid made it past the edge of the keyboard and into the machine. The right action here may actually depend on how much fluid you’ve spilled on your machine. I might also recommend tipping it with the DVD drive up as I’d rather replace a fan than a much more expensive DVD drive.

I ended up cleaning some residue off of the battery and the internal surface abutting the battery. I also needed to work some alcohol into one of the lid’s hinges.

Finally, in case anyone was wondering. I won’t be calling Lenovo and requesting they replace a faulty keyboard. First, there is no need as the cleaning returned it to good as new shape and second, I doubt that most of you would appreciate my adding a few extra dollars to the cost of your machines as you covered for my defrauding the company.

The cleaning took about 1.5 hours. The machine is very easy to service and the directions in the “Help Center” file were very clear.

Again, thanks to everyone that took the time to comment.

 

I almost forgot. Ants aren't much of a problem for me right now. It snowed 6 inches yesterday and the temperature outside is 15 F. I'll have to keep an eye out for (drunk?) ants this upcoming summer. And finally, my wife is getting me a new 'sippy cup' for Christmas.

 

wow congrats man! i hope we could get some snow here in the philippines. it's not like christmas here, much like summer in the morning, 25 C in the evening. weird

merry christmas! congrats with the sippy cup

 

Ewwwww. That's just disgusting!

Chris

 

instead of using plain water to rinse it out, I would use distilled water...tap water has many impurities in there that cause corosion

 

...eyecon, it has been a year

 

i know..but i'm sure bringing up this topic is helpful in someway..

 

Helpful for the next person who has an accident. ;-)

 

I never understand why people have open drinks close to there laptops, asking for trouble sooner or later.

 

don't drink and drive and don't drink and use computers

 

Well, I usually have a soda, water or juice to sip on during the day, but I try not to have it right next to my keyboard or reach over my keyboard with it in my hand. I've never had an accident, but, of course, now that I've said that....

 

I remember spilling beer on my Thinkpad R51 about 2 years ago while it was on. I quickly wiped it off with a wet cloth then poured a little water on the KB and again cleaned it up and let it dry up for a couple of hours. Never had a problem with the laptop. These things are really built for small mishaps/accidents.

 

In eyecon's defense, it was probably my linking to this thread which turned his attention to it. Once he read it, he probably could not resist posting in it

 

lol..thanks...

 

I definitely would not hesitate to clean out the keys with running lukewarm water. I just would NOT use it for a few days though.

 

distilled water is better...no minerals or any impurities in it versus normal water

 

Indeed...there is a reason why distilled water is needed for certain applications in a chemical lab. Think likewise with these precious laptops

 

i can dodge for this. the keybroad actually works. i call lenovo regarding me my brand new keyboard and with out any quesiton they sent me out another. (ther was nothing wrong with it at first i was just testing ther customer service) and the new one that they send out to me i just wanted to found out if the keyboard was really water resistant and i am telling you i have droped from coffee to beer to malt and even honey and it all works. and it is really easy to clean of to. lenovo just rules when it come down to customer product satification i really love my thinkpad. well ibm is the one that just puts the cherry one top