Spilled white wine on my MacBook: Need cleaning & maybe new keyboard

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

I have a late 2009 MacBook, 2.26 GHz Core 2 Duo, 500 GB Hard Drive, 4 GB RAM, Mavericks operating system.

The amount of wine I spilled on it was the equivalent of 2 shot glasses.

The following day, the laptop was still able to power up. But when I
tried to type in my password, the keys were somehow screwed up because I
kept getting the wrong password in.

I then read, to my horror, that one is not supposed to power up a laptop
after a spill. So I let it dry out in an upside V position.

I have just found out that my laptop still works with an external keyboard.

I'm now desperately wondering whether the keyboard can be cleaned and made to work again. I simply don't know.

However, if I have to get a new keyboard and the rest of the computer can be cleaned and made to operate smoothly I'll be very happy as I would love to save my laptop.

Has anyone ever had such a problem? If so, how did things turn out?

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Comments (6)

zep516
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
You're lucky the computer boots and works with an external keyboard. That indicates that there was no apparent motherboard damage. I was not so lucky in a water spill. I'd replace the keyboard and take it from there.
mikie_gw
5 years ago
Spilled hot cocoa a few times on one laptop before I learned not to hold my daily mug of hot cocoa when sleepy.

Each time required a new keyboard sooner or later which can be had fairly reasonable off ebay. One laptop died about 6 months after a spill, which I blamed on the cocoa even though I had taken it partially apart and cleaned most everywhere I could & aired it out in front of a box fan for a few days at various different angles.
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mike_kaiser_gw
5 years ago
You can try to take the laptop apart and clean the keyboard. Working on laptops can be a challenge because the connectors are pretty small and fragile. Apple likes to use various security screws as well.

An 8 year old laptop is likely approaching the end of it's useful life so I'm not sure that professional help would be cost effective... If necessary you could probably find parts on eBay.
Elmer J Fudd
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
I partially but only partially agree with both zep and mike k. I don't think an 8 year old PC is worth spending any money on, not a cent's worth. Tomorrow it will be something else that will go kaput. And you don't know if the damage is restricted to the keyboard.

Use it if you can with an external keyboard but first be sure to take backup copies of any files that are important to you.

Yes, I did that once (with red wine) with a brand new net-top PC I'd bought to travel with. Fortunately, the manufacturer's US sales and service HQ is in my area and I felt comfortable having them do the fix. In my case, the damage required replacement of the keyboard AND the motherboard. The cost was just a bit less than half of the purchase cost brand new, so I figured it saved me some money to have the equivalent of a new unit. Again. It taught me to be more careful. Today, I know to never have liquid anywhere near a PC or keyboard. It's not worth it.
bostonoak
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks for the feedback, folks.

1) Since I may have to order a new keyboard, should I
search for one on eBay and Amazon or does anyone recommend another
source? I'm assuming that given my laptop model I'll most like have to
settle for a used keyboard?

2) When ordering a keyboard what is the best
way to ensure that I get the right one? Maybe I have to re-start the
laptop and go to "About this Mac"?

Sorry to sound so stupid and incompetent but I'm learning slowly and
don't want to make another costly mistake like spilling wine and turning
the computer on!
mikie_gw
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Need to find your model number like A1342 and read carefully... quick search ebay shows https://goo.gl/SVAdKQ & https://goo.gl/E9LA3A just as examples. Notice the 2nd one is BackLight only.

Spilled white wine on my MacBook: Need cleaning & maybe new keyboard

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Spilled white wine on my MacBook: Need cleaning & maybe new keyboard

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