Spilled liquid on your laptop — what to do in the first 10 minutes

The next 10 minutes are the most important of your laptop's life. Liquid has already made its way to the motherboard, and mineral salts are beginning to corrode metal traces within seconds — even with plain tap water. Every minute you delay, the repair gets harder and more expensive. Follow these steps in order; don't skip anything.

1. Power off immediately (within 5 seconds)

Do not shut down from the menu. Do not save your work.

• Hold the power button for 5 seconds until the laptop goes fully dark.
• Unplug the charger.
• If the battery is removable, take it out now. Most modern laptops have internal batteries; skip if yours does.

Why the rush: as long as power is flowing, wet PCB traces are electrolysing. Every second of live power turns a cleanable spill into a dead motherboard.

2. Unplug everything

USB devices, external drives, headphones, HDMI — disconnect it all. A powered peripheral can back-feed voltage into the laptop and undo step 1.

3. Drain, don't wipe

• Flip the laptop upside down, open it in a tent shape (like an inverted V).
• Place it on a clean, absorbent towel.
• Let gravity pull the liquid out through the keyboard and speaker holes.
• Leave it like that for at least an hour. Ideally overnight.

Do not tilt it the normal way up — that carries liquid deeper into the motherboard.

Do not dab with kitchen roll from above — that pushes liquid further in.

4. The things that will destroy your laptop

Old myths that ruin laptops:

• Rice — doesn't absorb liquid that's already inside the case. Dust from the rice gets into the vents and fan. Never worked, never will.
• Hairdryer / heat gun — warm air spreads the liquid to areas it hadn't reached, melts plastics, and speeds up corrosion.
• Shaking the laptop — actively spreads liquid across more of the motherboard.
• Switching it on "just to check it's OK" — this is the single most common cause of a repairable spill becoming a dead laptop.

If anyone (YouTube, well-meaning friend) tells you to try any of these, ignore them.

5. What to do if the spill wasn't water

The danger level depends on what went in:

• Plain water / tap water — least bad. Still corrosive within minutes because of dissolved minerals.
• Tea, coffee (black, unsweetened) — slightly worse due to tannins.
• Sugary drinks (Coke, juice, wine) — bad. Sugar dries to a sticky, conductive film that short-circuits components even after the water has evaporated.
• Milk, cream, milky coffee — very bad. Proteins denature and glue themselves to the board. Requires thorough cleaning.
• Salt water / sea water — worst. Ionic corrosion happens in seconds.
• Alcoholic drinks — the alcohol actually helps (it evaporates quickly), but the sugar content makes it net worse than water.

For anything beyond plain water, don't try to "dry and hope". Skip to step 7 and send it in.

6. If it's just water and you want to try drying at home

Only viable for plain-water spills caught within 30 seconds, and only if you've followed steps 1-4 correctly.

• Leave the laptop upside-down and open in a warm, well-ventilated room (not a bathroom) for at least 48 hours.
• Do not power on for 72 hours.
• Before powering on, visually inspect the bottom vents for droplets. Any visible liquid = not dry.
• When you do power it on, have the charger plugged in (so it's not running from the battery). If you see smoke, smell burning, or hear any pop, power off immediately.

If it boots and works normally, you got lucky. Be aware: residual corrosion can cause failure weeks or months later.

7. Send it in for cleaning (the safest path)

A professional liquid-damage repair isn't "dry it". It's:

• Full disassembly.
• Motherboard removed.
• Board ultrasonically cleaned in isopropyl alcohol to remove corrosion and contamination.
• Visual inspection under microscope for blown components, corroded traces, lifted pads.
• Any obviously-damaged components replaced.
• Full function test before reassembly.

Costs vary by damage: £80-120 for a clean spill caught fast, £150-400 if components need replacing, more if the motherboard is beyond cleaning and a replacement board is needed.

Will my data be safe?

In most cases yes — the SSD is a separate component and liquid rarely reaches it. Even on dead laptops, we can usually pull the SSD and image your data. Tell us it's a priority when you send the laptop in.

When to send it in

If you spilled anything sugary, anything milky, or a lot of water, send it in today. Corrosion worsens hour by hour. Post it to us and we'll ultrasonically clean the motherboard, replace any damaged components, and return it tested. The sooner it arrives, the cheaper the fix. Free diagnosis, no-fix-no-fee, 90-day warranty.