01-29-2012, 09:33 AM

I posted in the official I spilled liquid but I thought I would put a post up since I assume people wont look there unless they have the same issue (Here's the story quoted from my other post)

Thought I would share my story with you guys since it seems I am the luckiest person in the world.

First off I was having worst luck lately (crashed car, gf broke up with me, university messing my classes up, 2 year old nephew pooped in my bed-put it outside to bleach-it rained-matress ruined) and then 5 days ago I was looking for something on my bed and there was a SOLO cup full of water on my bed...just someone (maybe me) decided it was a good idea to balance in on the bed. My macbook was there, plugged in, shut, in sleep mode. Well a bit later I noticed my bed was soaking.....

Opened macbook, pressed power button...Caps Lock button goes green but no start, press power AGAIN, same thing...plug into charger again and press power, bam....hear clicking from the macbook.

Tried to play stupid with Apple store but obviously they could tell and boy did I put up a fight with them. My macbook was Early 2011 15", I got quoted $1250 to fix it. Ended up buying a new Macbook 15".....

Hard-drive on my other one was fine, so I transfered all my data fine to my new macbook....well about 8 hours ago I was searching on ebay and getting ready to try out one of these repair people....but I decided to open my old macbook up and take a closer look...thought, what the ****, apple marked it as water damaged so no warranty and its probably fried....

Took the logic board out, and the DC adapter (which clearly showed some liquid goo) out, dumped them in isopropyl 70% and switched on my electronic tooth brush and went around the whole board, I blew on it to dry it...plugged everything back in....and tada!

Everything is working...for now.

Any opinions on if it'll last? Wondering if I should keep my new MacBook Pro, I mostly use it for gaming and my new one has the 1GB video memory compared to my old 256mb.

(I really hope this is a sign of my luck turning around!.....or I just jinxed it? )

01-29-2012, 09:48 AM

Originally Posted by GenuineOne

Any opinions on if it'll last?

It's absolutely impossible to predict whether your MacBook will continue to world or not...we have no crystal ball that predicts the future. You've already gotten VERY lucky to get it working again after the spill...so consider yourself fortunate so far!

- Nick

01-29-2012, 09:53 AM

Originally Posted by pigoo3

It's absolutely impossible to predict whether your MacBook will continue to world or not...we have no crystal ball that predicts the future. You've already gotten VERY lucky to get it working again after the spill...so consider yourself fortunate so far!

- Nick

I Know.

If it works fine for a week straight am I in the clear? Or does (could have) had some issue that would shorten the life span?

01-29-2012, 10:04 AM

Originally Posted by GenuineOne

I Know.

If it works fine for a week straight am I in the clear? Or does (could have) had some issue that would shorten the life span?

It's really hard to say. Firstly..."dumping" everything in 70% isopropyl alcohol was an ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE idea!!! So who knows what sort of trouble this may cause.

But...if you got it to work that's a positive sign...and just consider yourself lucky every time it comes on!

- Nick

01-29-2012, 10:07 AM

Originally Posted by pigoo3

It's really hard to say. Firstly..."dumping" everything in 70% isopropyl alcohol was an ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE idea!!! So who knows what sort of trouble this may cause.

But...if you got it to work that's a positive sign...and just consider yourself lucky every time it comes on!

- Nick

I reapplied the thermal paste on all areas just to contribute that I am not a COMPLETE idiot :-( but ya...like I said, i went into it with a "what the ****" attitude. Never expected it to work.

01-29-2012, 10:16 AM

Please do not double post. I've removed your duplicate from the Sticky. Thanks.

01-29-2012, 11:09 AM

Originally Posted by GenuineOne

I reapplied the thermal paste on all areas just to contribute that I am not a COMPLETE idiot...

"Dumping" everything in 70% isopropyl alcohol can affect more than just the thermal paste on the heat sink. It wasn't a very good idea...and could potentially have (or did) cause more damage than good.

If you wanted to "clean" things...you should have just used water...and then dried everything completely before use. Alcohol is a solvent...and "melts/dissolves" almost anything that is plastic or epoxy-based...which there is a lot of in computers.

Motherboards (or logic boards) are coated in a layer of resin/epoxy which helps to protect the delicate pathways between components from physical damage (scratches) and exposure to the atmosphere (oxidation).

By "dumping" the logic board into 70% isopropyl alcohol...you may have dissolved some of this protective coating...and you could have damaged anything that is "plastic-based" on the motherboard/logic board.

- Nick

p.s. In post #1 you mentioned that a SOLO cup of water was the liquid that was spilled. You also mentioned something about "liquid goo". A water spill would not have caused any "liquid goo" to form. This "liquid goo" could have been the result of exposing everything to the isopropyl alcohol...since the alcohol could have "melted/dissolved" something...causing the "liquid goo" to form.

01-29-2012, 11:20 AM

Originally Posted by pigoo3

"Dumping" everything in 70% isopropyl alcohol can affect more than just the thermal paste on the heat sink. It wasn't a very good idea...and could potentially have (or did) cause more damage than good.

If you wanted to "clean" things...you should have just used water...and then dried everything completely before use. Alcohol is a solvent...and "melts/dissolves" almost anything that is plastic or epoxy-based...which there is a lot of in computers.

Motherboards (or logic boards) are coated in a layer of resin/epoxy which helps to protect the delicate pathways between components from physical damage (scratches) and exposure to the atmosphere (oxidation).

By "dumping" the logic board into 70% isopropyl alcohol...you may have dissolved some of this protective coating...and you could have damaged anything that is "plastic-based" on the motherboard/logic board.

- Nick

p.s. In post #1 you mentioned that a SOLO cup of water was the liquid that was spilled. You also mentioned something about "liquid goo". A water spill would not have caused any "liquid goo" to form. This "liquid goo" could have been the result of exposing everything to the isopropyl alcohol...since the alcohol could have "melted/dissolved" something...causing the "liquid goo" to form.

Looks like Ill be keeping my new macbook just in case

And for the P.S. I was thinking the SAME exact thing, I admit I opened it up before bringing to Apple store and I dont recall the residue being there but it most likely was because it wasn't dried yet. Then they showed me it when I went in to pick it up. I know for a fact it was water that was spilled and I opened it up only to tilt it on the side so air could get in and dry it. The "goo" is now gone after cleaning it however. But ya, Apple "Genius" pointed to the Mag-Safe DC-IN jack and said it was corrosion from liquid spill

EDIT: So next time (I don't know why I am predicting there will be a next time) I should clean it with just plain water? How about distilled water? Or how about 99% isopropyl (picture is MB in 99%)? And any reccomendations on how to wipe motherboards down? Q-Tips and cotton balls are horrible cause it leaves strains of cotton that get caught on the "chips" or whatever.

[IMG]http://braineater.kicks-***.tv/miscshite/liquid1.jpg[/IMG] Replace *** with another word for buttocks.

01-29-2012, 11:29 AM

Originally Posted by GenuineOne

Looks like Ill be keeping my new macbook just in case

And for the P.S. I was thinking the SAME exact thing, I admit I opened it up before bringing to Apple store and I dont recall the residue being there but it most likely was because it wasn't dried yet. Then they showed me it when I went in to pick it up. I know for a fact it was water that was spilled and I opened it up only to tilt it on the side so air could get in and dry it. The "goo" is now gone after cleaning it however. But ya, Apple "Genius" pointed to the Mag-Safe DC-IN jack and said it was corrosion from liquid spill

Hey...we're just having a friendly discussion here...so no worries!

I only wanted to mention that using alcohol in a manner mentioned in this thread was pretty darn risky! The bottom line is...the MacBook is working. Whether the cleaning contributed to this...or simply drying it out & getting rid of all water may have done it as well.

Good luck...hopefully the MacBook continues to operate...and operate normally. Please keep us updated on it's condition. We usually don't hear too many positive stories after liquid spills.

- Nick

01-29-2012, 11:35 AM

Originally Posted by pigoo3

Hey...we're just having a friendly discussion here...so no worries!

I only wanted to mention that using alcohol in a manner mentioned in this thread was pretty darn risky! The bottom line is...the MacBook is working. Whether the cleaning contributed to this...or simply drying it out & getting rid of all water may have done it as well.

Good luck...hopefully the MacBook continues to operate...and operate normally. Please keep us updated on it's condition. We usually don't hear too many positive stories after liquid spills.

- Nick

Ya, Im only appreciating the responses because I thought I was pretty tech savvy as I always have built my PC's and done my own repairs but with Desktops I never worried about liquid spills and such, (this MacBook Pro was my first laptop ever and I got it for first year of college, boy was it surprising to everyone I got a Mac because I always showed such hate for them, but .... I .... sorta .... ugh, love my macbook )

I cant believe how badly I messed up with panicking and trying to turn it on...it's just that I stupidly had no back-ups and the data on here is my life since.

If everything works out then Im happy this happened as its been a very good learning experience.

I also added stuff to the post before yours, if you could advise on those questions I would be much grateful.

-Kai

01-29-2012, 11:38 AM

Originally Posted by GenuineOne

EDIT: So next time (I don't know why I am predicting there will be a next time) I should clean it with just plain water? How about distilled water? Or how about 99% isopropyl (picture is MB in 99%)? And any reccomendations on how to wipe motherboards down? Q-Tips and cotton balls are horrible cause it leaves strains of cotton that get caught on the "chips" or whatever.

Water is always your first best choice. If you need something "stronger"...then you can try using a very small amount of soap (liquid dish soap is a good choice). I would almost NEVER suggest any kind of alcohol...and I would NEVER suggest "dumping" everything in it!

99% alcohol would be even worse than 70%...since 99% alcohol is more concentrated...and would do more damage more quickly. I'm not saying that using alcohol to clean cannot (in rare circumstances) be ok to use...but it's usually not a good idea to use alcohol on plastic, rubber, or epoxy coated surfaces. Surfaces like glass or metal can be cleaned with alcohol (if absolutely necessary)...but even then I would suggest water or water + soap first.

Most people don't need to clean motherboards/logic boards. Usually they just get dusty or fuzzy with dust/dirt...so a shot of compressed air is usually all that's needed. But if some sort of spot cleaning is necessary...a Q-tip is one of the best things to get into tight areas...even though the cotton fibers can get caught on things.

The "name of the game" is NOT to need to clean a motherboard due to spills!!!

- Nick

01-29-2012, 11:42 AM

Originally Posted by pigoo3

Water is always your first best choice. If you need something "stronger"...then you can try using a very small amount of soap (liquid dish soap is a good choice). I would almost NEVER suggest any kind of alcohol...and I would NEVER suggest "dumping" everything in it!

99% alcohol would be even worse than 70%...since 99% alcohol is more concentrated...and would do more damage more quickly. I'm not saying that using alcohol to clean cannot (in rare circumstances) be a ok to use...but it's usually not a good idea to use alcohol on plastic, rubber, epoxy coated surfaces. Surfaces like glass or metal can be cleaned with alcohol (if absolutely necessary)...but even then I would suggest water or water + soap first.

Most people don't need to clean motherboards/logic boards. Usually that just get dusty or fuzzy with dust/dirt...so a shot of compressed air is usually all that's needed. BUt if some sort of spot cleaning is necessary...a Q-tip is one of the best things to get into tight areas...even though the cotton fibers can get caught on things.

The "name of the game" is NOT to need to clean a motherboard due to spills!!!

- Nick

You got that right!

Ill shoot you a PM in a week to let you kno what happens with the macbook, meanwhile maybe Ill see you around other parts of the forums

01-29-2012, 08:23 PM

Nick is right on target with his advice about cleaning printed circuit boards. Having worked in the computer repair business for years and electronic repair, the recommended cleaning for PC boards was to (in the absence of a professional cleaning station) use a common home dishwasher. Mild detergent, and warm (not hot) water.