01-18-2010, 04:28 AM

I know the "I spilled liquid on my MacBook" thing has been done a thousand times before, but I need resolution on this issue. My 13.3 in white MacBook was pretty dirty: the palmrest and keyboard needed cleaning. I sprayed some orange-based cleaner onto a paper towel and wiped it down, but it didn't do a very good job of cleaning the keys. I sprayed the cleaner onto the keys and wiped it up. Presto, my Macbook was looking shiny.

Hitherto, my MacBook had always worked great, no problems whatsoever. After I cleaned it, I fired it up and the keyboard wasn't working. At all. None of the buttons. Thinking I may have done something wrong, I turned it off immediately and set it on the back of its screen, keyboard up in the air. I pointed a fan at the keyboard and let it air dry for two hours. I came back and pressed the power button. It made the Mac noise and shut off. Horrified, I pressed it again. It booted this time, but only after a staccato series of blinks from the white power light. Keyboard still wouldn't work. Got a USB keyboard, and I could type.

I found out that the blinking power light is usually indicative of RAM problems, so I pulled out the RAM to see what was up. There was a powdery white substance all over the gold connectors. I wiped it off with a q-tip. I put the RAM back in and it booted up into OS X, albeit briefly, before shutting down. Now, it will make half the Mac noise before shutting off abruptly.

Did a few droplets of orange cleaner do this to my MacBook? Am I borked?

01-18-2010, 05:52 AM

why would you spray anything on your keys...? not trying to be harsh but that is your problem...I usually use a tv cleaning cloth to wipe mine down.
iSkin ProTouch for MacBook/Pro/Air - Common Features <--about to go buy myself one of these...

**Short of like pouring water on a Mogwai...don't do it!

01-18-2010, 07:00 AM

I must say........ what a bad move, not only spraying something onto the keyboard, but to top it off, a citrus based spray! Short of dropping it in an acid bath, this is the beginning of the end of your Macbook.
I'm not saying this to belittle you, just to let you know that you can say goodbye to it.
The damage is going to be progressive, so it's time to research the cost of replacing the board Vs the cost of a new Macbook.
I say this not only as an ex sparky (electrician) who used to see the many cleaning "methods" that brought me income, but also knowing the damage that birds, possums, and bats would do to my car's paint job after eating what they do and decorating my car with it.
In other words, your MB's a gonner, whether, it's today, tomorrow, next week, month or year....... it's being eaten away as we speak (type).

01-18-2010, 07:43 AM

USED Macbook white 13.3 inch - what price should i ask?

01-18-2010, 01:28 PM

mr.clean magic eraser is the greatest thing for the white macbook

01-18-2010, 03:43 PM

All so called orange cleaners use a citric acid based solvent which will destroy your MB alas. It is mighty powerful stuff and should be kept well, well away from anything electrical period!

01-18-2010, 04:21 PM

Originally Posted by harryb2448

All so called orange cleaners use a citric acid based solvent which will destroy your MB alas. It is mighty powerful stuff and should be kept well, well away from anything electrical period!

Not quite as bad as the fellow who reported on here that he cleaned his MacBook with "Goo Gone" (a highly volatile cleanser which can even remove glue). It wound up eating through the plastic case. Needless to say, his MacBook was ruined.

Regards.

01-18-2010, 04:56 PM

Thanks for the posts, everyone. You've told me what I need to know. I feel like an idiot right now, and I'm pretty sad because I loved the little guy.

At least I have an excuse to upgrade to a unibody MacBook, right?

01-18-2010, 05:03 PM

Oh yes, love it that you see the silver lining as reading your post I feel your pain.... Go and upgrade, you know it makes sense!!!

01-18-2010, 09:03 PM

Let's all collectively facepalm for this guy. You're MacBook may be shot, but you could sell it for parts, maybe keep the hard drive and put it in an enclosure. Use the money you get from parting it out to help with your upgrade.

01-18-2010, 09:12 PM

That is the way to look at it and who knows another year or two and you would be pining for a newer model anyway. Keep smiling.

01-18-2010, 09:31 PM

i've repaired laptops before as a tech. the wait stuff is from liquid that you probably sprayed. without testing the mac, i can't tell you if the motherboard has been affected or not. but to me, with the keyboard not working, your motherboard may have been affected.

01-18-2010, 09:54 PM

Probably worth mentioning:

MacBooks, including the Pro line are not dishwasher safe.

01-19-2010, 12:46 AM

Originally Posted by vorps

At least I have an excuse to upgrade to a unibody MacBook, right?

I think you will really appreciate the unibody models. I have a 2008 MacBook Pro that I thought was destroyed recently. I had it sitting on my desk on top of one of those aluminum riser stands. I had headphones connected to it by wire and didn't notice the wire was tangled in my wheels. When I backed up the who shebang hit the floor!!! Not a scratch on it when I picked it up