What to do if you spill water on your Mac?
What do you do if you accidentally spill water or liquids on your Mac? Many people’s first response if their Mac shutdowns down and refuses to boot is that they have a water-damaged Mac, has suffered a short-circuit, and that is it permanently damaged and requires an expensive repair, such as a logicboad replacement.
Indeed, this is what Apple Authorized Service Providers would probably tell you. They will probably tell you that your logicboard, which is the main component inside your Mac is damaged and requires a $800 – $1000 replacement.
They are not wrong per se, but the damage can be easily reversed. MacBooks that have suffered water spills may have corroded parts, but they can be easily revived by chemical washes and by doing component level repairs on the board.
Using industrial cleaning machines with the right chemicals, corrosion on the logicboard can be cleaned off. The board is then flushed with 100% alcohol to remove any water, moisture and impurities. It is then left to dry. The board is tested and any short-circuited chips on the logicboard are replaced.
At Mac Plus, we have a high rate in reviving Macs that has water spilled on them. One customer even spilled beer on his Macbook Pro Retina (ouch) and was glad he didn’t have to buy a new one!
So, what should you do the next time you spill water on your Mac, or any other gadget?
- Remove all power, such as the magsafe connector
- Wipe dry the liquid as much as possible
- Shut it down immediately
- Do not turn the device on again
- If you are geeky, remove the backplate, battery, and dissemble your Mac
- Send in it to a professional repair shop that explicitly states they do chemical washes and logicboard repairs. Some shops might offer logicbaord replacements and charge you a higher price for it.
One of our customer brought in hers, which was declared dead by the service providers. The board even has algae on it. It was eventually revived by Mac Plus.