Spilled medium amount of beer on laptop, still worked

[Bigje99]

I will described as best as possible.

Asus ROG i7, 2014.

Spilled okay amount on it .. Like 10cm2 (4inches2), maybe one quarter of the keyboard received beer.

I cleaned it with scottowels right away but i was drunk so didnt think right away to shut it down. Took me maybe 30-40 seconds do it.

Everything was working perfectly during those 30 seconds and while shutting down. I then unplugged everything linked to it and removed the battery. Made Sure it was dry (on the outside). Its upside down now.

What do you recommend ? Im travelling right now but my job is on it so i am working so i need it and its a very good laptop so i love it. If i need to wait 72 hours i will even tho i badlyy want to avoid that.

I have nothing in the appartment i rented and i dont speak the langage of the country but if you tell me i really need to open the computer and do stuff, i will. Would be very appreciated if you could tell me what to do when i open it .. From what i remembered i can withdraw the hdd and the ssd. I read that i should use a dielectric contact cleaner but how and where ? If rather avoid that cause im not sure i could find this here but anyway thank you very much if you answer !!

 

[Harvey]

The first problem is the beer. It's sticky with all sorts of stuff suspended in an alcohol solution. When the alcohol dries, whatever it was carrying sticks where it is.

Cleaning inside your machine will require various cleaning agents and solvents and a knowledge of which of those will work and can be used safely on which parts.

Unless you are very skilled at disassembling and cleaning the inside of a laptop, and you have the tools and materials to do the job, I strongly recommend taking it to a reliable laptop repair service that is equipped to do the job.

Good luck.

 

[Bigje99]

Lets say i try powering it on in 2 hours (i wont but lets say). If it works, would u say theres a very strong chance it will work 'forever'? What about 12 or 24 hours? Its probably too late in the day to go buy screwdricer, rice, ziploc and other stuff, i hope tomorrow morning will do.

My girlfriend says she spills things 'all the time' on her laptops and she never has problems (no beer tho but great deal of coffee and water, many times) .. Since my laptop showed no signs of anything when i shut it down, would u say that there is a 20-40% chance that its already fine and that apart from future dried beer (that could do nothing?) , no problem will ever arise ? Or 100% chance that problems will show ?

Thank you very much for the answers btw very appreciated

 

[Harvey]

Lets say i try powering it on in 2 hours (i wont but lets say). If it works, would u say theres a very strong chance it will work 'forever'? What about 12 or 24 hours? Its probably too late in the day to go buy screwdricer, rice, ziploc and other stuff, i hope tomorrow morning will do.

Anything other than taking it to a competent repair service is gambling. There are so many ways beer can screw up the innards of your machine. It could leave crud that will eventually cause a short circuit between pins or change the effective values of some of the passive components (resistors, capacitors, etc), it could gum up the spaces inside any mechanical device, such as a switch or moving lever or gear, and more... and in combination with each other.

It may work for a long time, or it may quit within the hour, but you can believe the corallary to Murphy's law that it will quit on you at the worst possible moment.

My girlfriend says she spills things 'all the time' on her laptops and she never has problems (no beer tho but great deal of coffee and water, many times) .. Since my laptop showed no signs of anything when i shut it down, would u say that there is a 20-40% chance that its already fine and that apart from future dried beer (that could do nothing?) , no problem will ever arise ? Or 100% chance that problems will show ?

Your girlfriend is probably not an electronic design engineer. I am. If you want the best chance that your machine will continue to work, please trust my experience over hers.

Thank you very much for the answers btw very appreciated

You're quite welcome. Again, good luck.

 

[Bigje99]

Ok so i took out the hdd, the ssd and the battery and they were all dry. The laptop is upside down since it happened .. If i let it be like that for 72 hours and then power it on and it works perfectly that day .. You'r saying it could still have problems after that? Is there a good chance? :/

 

[Harvey]

Ok so i took out the hdd, the ssd and the battery and they were all dry. The laptop is upside down since it happened .. If i let it be like that for 72 hours and then power it on and it works perfectly that day .. You'r saying it could still have problems after that? Is there a good chance? :/

I already explained the physics and chemistry of stale spilled beer in electronics, but there is "a chance" of anything. As an engineer, I try to eliminate such "chances."

You can buy a decent new laptop for around $350. If having your computer working while you're travelling means enough to you, and your current machine is reasonably new, and it costs you $100 to keep it running by having it professionally cleaned, you're ahead of the game.

You already did something dumb while drunk. Now, you sound like you're just feeling guilty and sorry for yourself and being cheap about paying for the damage you did.

Nothing you can say is going to change my advice. Either live with the very good chance that something will fail due to the beer spill, or fix it, get over it and move on. You can laugh about it when you get home.

 

[Bigje99]

Sorry i wasnt clear: no tech or professional that can fix this where i am. Its not that im guilty or wetever .. Its that i need the computer (for my job), so i am gonna take a chance because the other option is buying plane ticket and ending my trip. Now, i wanted to know the difference between waiting 6, 24 or 72 hours. I know its tough to estimate but if someone were to told me well 72 hours is MUCH better than 24, i would wait but id rather not obvsly

 

[Harvey]

There is no set time limit on how long you have to wait until you can assume it's safe. If it's important enough (work), and a competent tech can turn it around quickly, get it done. If not, you're on your own. Buena suerte y que sera sera. (Good luck, and what will be will be.)

As an Admin, I can view your approximate location. I sent you a Private Message with more info.