What To Do If Water Enters Your Laptop: If there is any device that abhors water the most, it has to be computer, and more particularly, laptop. Laptop is a unified and simplified computer. Every component is simplified and enclosed in one rectangular hardware of different and insignificant partitions. And as technology keeps advancing, laptops are being simplified the more such that the components are more unified and sophisticated. Laptop components may be so related that what affects one may likely affect another.
The principal measure of laptop maintenance is the avoidance of water or any liquid at all. In fact other liquids will even cause more damage to laptop than water because, water does not contain acid, but other liquid substances may contain acid. Once a single drop of water enters you laptop, be rest assured that you are about to have the most frustrating experience of your life with the performance of your laptop.
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Most often, the problem won’t even start to manifest immediately. It may take up to one month before you start seeing the signs, and at that point you may have forgot that your laptop came in contact with water. That ∙is why it is best that from the very moment you know or suspect that your laptop has been exposed to water, there are certain things to do in order to prevent damage or at least whittle down the effect.
The quantity of water which your laptop was exposed to, will definitely contribute to the degree of its malfunction should the necessary steps not be taken. See what to do if water enters your laptop.
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What To Do If Water Enters Your Laptop: 10 Tips To Save Your Laptop From Water Damage
1. Turn off your laptop instantly: The moment you notice that your laptop has come in contact with water, the first thing to do is to turn off your laptop instantly. Depending on your laptop setting, you can press or hold the power button for the laptop to go off. If your system setting is set to shut down upon pressing the power button, then you can shut down from there. If not, it is best to shut down your system properly before anything further.
Go to your start menu or system settings and select “shut down”. Wait for the shut down process to complete. Taking any further step while your system is shutting down can crash the system. After the shut down process has completed, quickly unplug the laptop from electric socket if it is plugged in with the power cable.
Leaving your laptop turned on when water has contacted it will affect the circuit and cause more damage than it ordinarily would, had it been turned off.
2. Steer clear from any liquid: Now, take your laptop far away from any liquid substance and from such surroundings that exposes it to water contact. This is a further proactive measure to ensure that more water does not touch the laptop.
You are just about to unbundle your laptop just like a patient in the hospital whose body is torn open for operation.
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3. Unplug all connected devices: If there are external devices like flash drive, card reader, external Bluetooth and so on, you should eject them safely and unplug them.
Also unplug the mouse, keyboard and any accessories that are plugged in to the laptop. Check if they have come in contact with water too and dry them if yes.
4. Remove the battery: The next thing to do is to remove the battery. Also check if water has touched the battery and take the necessary measure if yes. Here is how you can remove the battery for most laptops: There are usually two latch switches at the both ends of the laptop battery space. Laptop batteries are usually located at the bottom of the laptop.
So, you will have to turn the laptop over to its bottom to identify the battery and the latch switches. Now, push the latch slides towards their opposite direction by applying a little force. The laptop battery will then be released for you to unplug it gently. There are some models of laptop that screws are used to tight the battery. You can use the appropriate screw-driver to loose it if you can, or you contact a professional for help.
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5. Turn and keep it upside down: Turn and keep your laptop upside down to see if water droplets would fall out. There are certain openings in your laptop where you can bend the laptop towards, such as the ports, Vents CD-drive and keyboard.
Check out for water droplets in these areas and dry them with a dry cloth. Even if there are no visible waters in those areas, dry them anyway.
6. Unscrew your laptop: Apart from the outer hardwares which you can see and touch without opening the laptop, it is in fact must important to clean the inner parts of the laptop components. It is not difficult to unscrew a laptop. The matching screwdrivers are usually common and available. You could have one in your house, and all your laptop screws are always the same except for certain few parts which you don’t even need to go there unless you are an expert.
Now, get the matching screwdriver and gently unscrew your laptop. After unscrewing all the knots, gently open the casing. We are not taking about the screen area but the bottom; that same area where you found your battery. Gently unpack the casing and keep it separate from the laptop. Observe it to check for water drops.
Clean it anyway even if there are no visible drops. Then remember to keep your knots safe. Now the main job has begun. Use a dry cloth and gently dry up water drops in your laptop. Do the same for the upper casing. You can use high volume alcohol such as isopropyl or methylated spirit to dry up the affected areas of your laptop.
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7. Do not use a drier: There are electronic or mechanical driers that are used to dry liquid substances. It may be advisable to be used for other devices but certainly not for computers, particularly laptops.
Electric driers will expose the laptop to a degree of heat that is more than required for its best operation. Subjecting your laptop to such heat will broker further damage to the system. Instead of using a drier, you can use air blower.
8. Keep in a ventilated area: Having unbundled and dried the affected areas, you should afterwards keep your laptop in a well ventilated environment. You can keep it around a fan or you can take it outside but not under a hot temperature.
Computer performs better when it is subjected to a cool environment. Keeping it directly under the heat will be counterproductive. Leave the laptop in a ventilated environment for at least 24 hours, for the best result. You can also choose to screw down the knots but then your computer still needs some space for about 24 hours.
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9. Reassemble your laptop: Now that your laptop has dried, or at least you have done what is necessary to make it dry, you can then reassemble your laptop in the manner inverse to the way you unbundled it.
Then turn on your laptop, check it through and continue using.
10. Take to an expert: If it is too risky for you follow the procedures recommended by yourself, it would be best to get an expert then. If after observing the recommendations and sometime afterwards your laptop develop an unusual conduct, it is also recommended that you take it to an expert.
It could be that the drying was not thoroughly done because water entered the inner components that you could not manage, or that damage has been caused already. In such a case, the expert may recommend replacing the affected parts.
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Conclusion
It is necessary to be familiar with the recommendations as to what to do if water enters your laptop. No person wakes up in the morning and decides to pour water on a laptop. It always happens by accident or out of recklessness. This may happen regardless of how meticulous you have been with handling your laptop. The recommendations in this article are substantive.
Edeh Samuel Chukwuemeka, ACMC, is a lawyer and a certified mediator/conciliator in Nigeria. He is also a developer with knowledge in various programming languages. Samuel is determined to leverage his skills in technology, SEO, and legal practice to revolutionize the legal profession worldwide by creating web and mobile applications that simplify legal research. Sam is also passionate about educating and providing valuable information to people.