CF-18....Is it really waterproof??

Okay, so here's the thing....the 2.5 year old spilled coke on the keyboard of the CF18, the keys are now sticking down sometimes.
How do I clean it?
Do I just sit the lappy on it's side, and rinse fron the top to the bottom with a little shower head using warm water, then leave it rendering a large video file to dry it?

Cheers,

Fraser

 

i would advise to pull all the keys off (gently, dont break anything)
and clean it with a damp cloth

 

I sometimes take a shower with my CF-18 when its really dirty. Once it failed to start after it got wet inside. After waiting a couple of hours (in panic) it started again....

Rinsing the keyboard gently shouldn't be a problem. But you need to be sure all seals are in good shape. Disclaimer: I'm not responsible if its broken....

 

I used to clean the keyboard of my CF-19 (identical to the one in the CF-18, I believe) using an old toothbrush, warm water and some detergent. This was fine for a while, but one day the keyboard stopped working properly, and it never got better no matter how long I left it to dry, and I had to replace it. So yes, if you are careful and follow the recommendations in the previous posts, then you are probably fine. But I don't think the keyboard is really, truly waterproof.

However, the keyboard is thoroughly separated from the insides of the computer, so the important parts are much safer. That being said, if mibru still got water inside, then that has me worried a bit, so better be careful.

 

Thanks guys, I gave it a little rinse with a small hand shower I'm now doing some nice large video file processing to heat it up!
"`1234567890-=qwertyuiop[]\asdfghjkl;'
zxcvbnm,./"

All good!

Cheers,
Fraser

 

nice to hear

 

The problem is that Coke is not water, it is acid. I will be surprised if you can salvage this keyboard and get it back to the pre-spill condition.

If it was mine, I would have pulled the keyboard and tried to clean while it was not mounted on the CF-18.

Good Luck!

 

CF-18's aren't waterproof - at least the LCD housing isn't. Those plastic covers on the sides of the housing give no sealing of any sort and are basically cosmetic pieces of crap. The way they are secured to the nice cast metal housing leaves a lot to be desired.

I suspect that even if a system gets something like coke all through the kbd, unless it's a rubberised kbd then it's going to be ruined, even though the main system housing is probably fine.

Craig.

 

In a word, no. None of the toughbooks are billed as water-proof only water- resistant. Most of us have likely seen the commercials and youtube videos, but I wouldn't risk my machine like that.
If it has been working for years there may be no permanent damage. As Az said above I would try removing the keyboard assembly completely and attempting to wash it separate from the machine. If that does not work you may try soaking it. I would let it dry for a least a day or two after washing (longer if soaking) to be completely sure there is no water inside of it to short anything. Panny's keyboards are built to be highly water resistant but not for immersion. There is no guarantee it will work after cleaning.
You may want to get a replacement keyboard just in case the cleaning process does not go well, you could always flebay it if it's not needed after all.

 

Nice it worked out okay! But maybe its better to just let it dry without turning it on next time.. If it leaks inside there could be an electrical shortcut on the motherboard that will damage the thing. Don't forget to take out the batt.

I use to dry it with a bath towel and leave it on the heather for a while. Got no problems with it. Keyboard is still okay. Only problem is water getting between the screen and screen protector. A really cheap protector it is....

Like the others say, its definitely not submersible. Taking a shower with it is the max you can do with it imo...

 

now that is defenatly strange to me "showering with a notebook"

 

I know they're supposed to be able to take this but I do not have the cojones to attempt it!
And yes, AIR DRY turning on electronics to speed drying is a gamble. Good to hear it worked out.

 

Well all is well, Don't get me wrong, I was very carefull, and just rinsed under the keys with a small hand shower, with warm water.
I've pulled off a couple of keys th check all is well, and It's nice and dry, and clean too.
It converted 9 DVD's overnight, and all is well, the keyboard has never felf so nice, there was a lot of lint that came out too!

Cheers,
Fraser

 

Good to know. Thanks for the update!

 

Good to hear it made it!

I've washed my M34 and my old 27 under the faucet to clean the keyboard. I elevated the laptop so it wouldn't sit in the water however.

 

This is the BEST advice!