HELP!- Water spill on new MacBook Pro

pixie68 · 23-11-2014 3:56pm #1

I can't believe I was so stupid but I was. On Thursday evening I knocked over a glass of water and a small amount spilled onto my 3 month old MacBook Pro. I immediately turned it over and let it dry onto a towel and have had it upside down ever since in the hotpress. I turned it on this morning hoping that all would be well but it although it is starting up and has the correct time - it is starting in "Safe mode". This is written in red writing in the top right hand corner. It won't accept my password and I can go no further. I intend to bring it to Mactivate first thing tomorrow but I guess I am really looking for reassurance......It was brought on a CU loan so the thoughts of it being written off before its paid for is naturally killing me and secondly I have my first teacher training assessment on Friday and all of my material is on the laptop! Any thoughts gratefully received.
S

sw33t_r3v3ng3 · 23-11-2014 4:13pm

pixie68 wrote:

I can't believe I was so stupid but I was. On Thursday evening I knocked over a glass of water and a small amount spilled onto my 3 month old MacBook Pro. I immediately turned it over and let it dry onto a towel and have had it upside down ever since in the hotpress. I turned it on this morning hoping that all would be well but it although it is starting up and has the correct time - it is starting in "Safe mode". This is written in red writing in the top right hand corner. It won't accept my password and I can go no further. I intend to bring it to Mactivate first thing tomorrow but I guess I am really looking for reassurance......It was brought on a CU loan so the thoughts of it being written off before its paid for is naturally killing me and secondly I have my first teacher training assessment on Friday and all of my material is on the laptop! Any thoughts gratefully received. S

Worst things you can do when you spill water on electronics is to turn it on without being 100% positive that no moisture remains on the motherboard.
There is a chance of short circuiting the motherboard when water gets in there. In this case you seem to be lucky enough as it turns on. Bring it to a repair shop as soon as you can!

pixie68 · 23-11-2014 4:16pm

Hi, thanks for taking the time to reply. I guess I should have just taken it to repair shop instead of turning it on myself but for some stupid reason, I really hoped that my quick action at the time meant that all would be well and that it hadn't even needed to dry out! I will be waiting outside the door for the shop to open in the morning and praying like mad in the meantime.

sw33t_r3v3ng3 · 23-11-2014 4:50pm

pixie68 wrote:

Hi, thanks for taking the time to reply. I guess I should have just taken it to repair shop instead of turning it on myself but for some stupid reason, I really hoped that my quick action at the time meant that all would be well and that it hadn't even needed to dry out! I will be waiting outside the door for the shop to open in the morning and praying like mad in the meantime.

The chances are it will be alright, after a cleaning with some isopropyl alcohol and left to dry it should be fine. Is there a way to enter the bios on the boot screen like in windows where you press f8 or something?
That may have an option for safe mode!

pixie68 · 23-11-2014 4:56pm

To be honest I don't even know what the bios is! This is my first Mac and I have been handling it with kid gloves. I was just overtired and overworked when this happened. Petrified to do anymore damage right now so I think I will leave it to the experts and hope I was lucky this time.

sw33t_r3v3ng3 · 23-11-2014 5:02pm

pixie68 wrote:

To be honest I don't even know what the bios is! This is my first Mac and I have been handling it with kid gloves. I was just overtired and overworked when this happened. Petrified to do anymore damage right now so I think I will leave it to the experts and hope I was lucky this time.

Just a word of advice for future referance, If you spill water on electronics turn it off and leave it off and also I'd advise you to get some sort of mat or something to raise up the MacBook so if that happens again at least it would be some bit protected! Hope I was of some help

Murphy7777 · 23-11-2014 5:03pm

If there is water damage they won't be able to repair it for free, but they will be able to repair it so it def won't be "written off". Cost of repair will really depend on what is actually damaged in the macbook, but I think they charge a flat fee of like 65 or something to send it off for diagnostics etc when it is out of warranty, and in this case they would classify the repair as out of warranty as there is water damage. So hopefully no major damage to the hardware.

sw33t_r3v3ng3 · 23-11-2014 5:11pm

Murphy7777 wrote:

If there is water damage they won't be able to repair it for free, but they will be able to repair it so it def won't be "written off"..

Technically yes, but sometimes it costs more for replacement parts than it's financially justifiable.

Murphy7777 · 23-11-2014 5:13pm

sw33t_r3v3ng3 wrote: »

Technically yes, but sometimes it costs more for replacement parts than it's financially justifiable.

True, but the fact the device is still turning on and there was only a small amount of water spilled on it according to the OP this would be highly unlikely, in fact I would be confident in saying this will definetely not be the case.

sw33t_r3v3ng3 · 23-11-2014 5:23pm

Murphy7777 wrote:

True, but the fact the device is still turning on and there was only a small amount of water spilled on it according to the OP this would be highly unlikely, in fact I would be confident in saying this will definetely not be the case.

Agreed but still worth getting it looked at none the less.

pixie68 · 23-11-2014 5:50pm

Thank you both so much for taking the time to post. 1400 + on a laptop is a HUGE outlay to me and one I really had justify, so to do something so stupid really grates on me. I had hoped this machine would see me well into the first few years of my teaching career and still hope that may be the case. Fingers crossed the damage is slight and it can be repaired. Obviously even a cost of a couple of hundred euro would be way preferable to being told the machine is a write off to say nothing of all of the lost data. Many valuable lessons learned - don't try to work late at night when you are exhausted, absolutely no liquids anywhere near the laptop and finally back up all data! Thanks again. I'll update when I get the official verdict.

huggs2 · 23-11-2014 6:37pm

Take out the battery and turn the laptop upside down in the hotpress until the morning. Fit the battery again and try it before you take it in for repair.Keep your fingers crossed.Try to keep the hotpress quit warm tonight. Good luck.

Creamy Goodness · 23-11-2014 7:42pm

don't think any of the new MacBook Pro's have a detachable battery. The older ones, sure, but none of the new ones do.

huggs2 · 23-11-2014 8:03pm

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

don't think any of the new MacBook Pro's have a detachable battery. The older ones, sure, but none of the new ones do.

Well thats a bummer then.

Tokyo · 23-11-2014 8:29pm

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

don't think any of the new MacBook Pro's have a detachable battery. The older ones, sure, but none of the new ones do.

They don't. You can disconnect them internally, but you need a pentalobe screwdriver to take the back cover off...

pixie68 · 23-11-2014 8:38pm

Yes I had a look and I can't see any way of removing the battery. The whole back of the laptop is one pice if you know what I mean? I definitely don't feel up to trying to remove the whole cover - god knows what damage I'd do!

huggs2 · 23-11-2014 8:47pm

pixie68 wrote: »

Yes I had a look and I can't see any way of removing the battery. The whole back of the laptop is one pice if you know what I mean? I definitely don't feel up to trying to remove the whole cover - god knows what damage I'd do!

The idea i am trying to get at is if you spill water in any electronics you should disconnect all power immediately, turn it upside down and put it in a very warm place i.e. hotpress. To improve chances of success it should be left for 3-4 days before turning it on and there is a chance it will work if it is fully dry. Its still worth having it in the hotpress tonight and trying it in the morning.

SpaceTime · 23-11-2014 8:52pm

You should probably take it to an Apple repair centre where they might be able to open it and dry it out.

Failing that I'd try this:

Fill a pillowcase with dry rice. This will act as a desiccant. If you can get access to some commercial silica gel granule packs, the ones used in packaging materials, they're even better!

Put the pillowcase (sealed carefully, you don't want to get rice into the keyboard!!!) and the Macbook into a plastic bag (closed at the end tightly and put it into the airing cupboard (not touching any hot plumbing) )

Leave undisturbed for 3 days.

Ideally put the macbook into a position so that it's upside down with the keyboard facing down and the clamshell open - maybe pack a towel or two under it.

pixie68 · 23-11-2014 9:42pm

Thanks everyone. In fairness it has been turned off since Thursday night and in the hotpress, upside down on a towel. I only turned it on this morning for the first time since then to discover it was starting in safe mode. In hindsight I should have left it for a few days more. Anyway it is now back in the hotpress but heading straight to the Apple repair people in the morning. I really need it in working order by midweek if at all possible due to the fact I have my first teaching practice assessment and need to prepare lesson plans, presentations, worksheets etc. as well as access all of my previously stored material and notes. I am so mad with myself. It is very kind of you all to take the time to reply.

whiterebel · 24-11-2014 12:36am

pixie68 wrote: »

Thanks everyone. In fairness it has been turned off since Thursday night and in the hotpress, upside down on a towel. I only turned it on this morning for the first time since then to discover it was starting in safe mode. In hindsight I should have left it for a few days more. Anyway it is now back in the hotpress but heading straight to the Apple repair people in the morning. I really need it in working order by midweek if at all possible due to the fact I have my first teaching practice assessment and need to prepare lesson plans, presentations, worksheets etc. as well as access all of my previously stored material and notes. I am so mad with myself. It is very kind of you all to take the time to reply.

Have you got house insurance? Its probably covered on it, if you do.

2ndchance · 24-11-2014 4:49pm

Quick update - thanks to the very helpful Alan in Mactivate the MacBook is now up and running again. There were two wires that needed to be cleaned and dried out that were preventing the keyboard from operating properly and made the machine start up in Safe Mode. Once sorted, everything appears fine, thank God!! The alternative was a whole new keyboard unit which (shudders to think) ran into hundreds. Thanks to everyone who replied.

sw33t_r3v3ng3 · 24-11-2014 6:58pm

Glad you got it sorted! was it expensive if you don't mind me asking?

pixie68 · 24-11-2014 7:50pm

75 euro in the end but would have been a hell of a lot more if part had needed to be replaced, as in hundreds.

pixie68 · 24-11-2014 7:52pm

Apologies for the 2 usernames - I seem to have one on the Ipad and a different one set up on Macbook for some reason. Probably forgot my username or password at some stage!

sw33t_r3v3ng3 · 24-11-2014 8:10pm

pixie68 wrote:

Apologies for the 2 usernames - I seem to have one on the Ipad and a different one set up on Macbook for some reason. Probably forgot my username or password at some stage!

No worries lol, I kinda figured that was the case!

tossy · 25-11-2014 7:00am

2ndchance wrote: »

Quick update - thanks to the very helpful Alan in Mactivate the MacBook is now up and running again. There were two wires that needed to be cleaned and dried out that were preventing the keyboard from operating properly and made the machine start up in Safe Mode. Once sorted, everything appears fine, thank God!! The alternative was a whole new keyboard unit which (shudders to think) ran into hundreds. Thanks to everyone who replied.

Very apt username there, glad you are back up and running.

Blazer · 25-11-2014 2:08pm

missus spilled tea over her macbook air the other day and no power whatsoever..told her to turn it off, turn it upside down and put it in the hotpress and not to go near it for at least 4-5 days . luckily enough it's working ok now and she won't be drinking tea with it anymore on the couch.
From reading online we both got very very lucky as most people blow their board and cpu depending on whether they switch it on again.
A minimum of 4-5 days in the hotpress is required without turning them on at least for them.

HELP!- Water spill on new MacBook Pro

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