Keyboard cleaning after a spill

I hope you got her name and ID and have the incident documented. The airlines should pay for any cleaning needed and any eventual issues that may occur in the future. This way you can have an Apple tech check it out and have the airlines pay the bill.

The first thing you shouldn't do is turn it on. Remove the battery and let it sit for several days. To clean the key board I would use a damp lint free cloth. The problem is the potential damage that may show up down the road as apple juice has sugar in it and that'll corrode electronics.

In reality, the keyboard should be cleaned or replaced, and the computer inspected to be sure the juice did not penetrate any further. I don't know about MBP keyboards, but if it had happened to my iBook, I would take the keyboard out and rinse it thoroughly with deionized water until all traces of the juice were gone. I'd probably remove the keycaps to do this. Then I would let it air dry until it was bone dry, maybe setting it up with a fan blowing on it. But removing the MBP keyboard is a lot more involved than the iBook keyboard, and I don't even know if it's feasible to clean it this way. It may not be.

To see what might be involved, you could find your MBP on this link and download the service manual for it:

Index of Stratton Service Manuals

http://node123.cit.geneseo.edu/~stratton/ServiceManuals/

The airline should pay for whatever needs to be done. Even though you didn't get the name of the flight attendant at the time, you still have your flight information and the airline will know who was on duty then. It would be worth a call to the airline's customer service department. I would imagine that they have insurance for this sort of thing. I think calling them is worth a try.

Good luck!

I would hesitate to suggest something to you that might be deleterious. Best to take it to an Apple tech and have them check it out.

I also spilled a soda on my keyboard. I found on You Tube a video showing the steps to taking off the keyboard. So I did it. It was a HUGE pain and very difficult. It is impossible to get it apart without destroying the little tabs and other plastic strips. Don't attempt it. The back lighting never worked the same after. I had to end up sending it to Apple for a new keyboard, which they covered under warranty by the way.

I spilled juice on my keyboard and I was under the impression the applecare warranty would not cover this. I also went through the tedious process of removing the keyboard and I know it needs to be replaced. Did Apple make a big fuss about your keyboard when they realized you had tampered with it?

I would use a damp microfiber cloth for the exterior parts. Shinex makes great ones, which are available at the Home Depot.

To clean the interior yourself, you could try the DIY guides from the following websites.

http://www.ifixit.com

http://www.powerbookmedic.com

I would also go after the airline. They owe you compensation.