You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Spilled 99% Isopropyl Alcohol on my MacBook

So almost 5 days ago I did a really dumb thing and accidently spilled 99% isopropyl alc on my MBA. I turned my Mac off instantly and I let it to dry on the side for a few days. It has got better but now the screen is dim on the top half and bright on the bottom. I just wanted to know if anyone who has done this before if your mac is fine or if the alc left mark on the screen.





MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.3

Posted on Jun 15, 2022 1:50 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 17, 2022 5:26 AM

While an alcohol of that strength will most like not damage any electronics on the MacBook Air logic board (I have used it to clean circuit boards after I was soldering stuff on them own my work), it does have the ability to possibly dissolve some seals around the display or seep into the display and cause damage the element within it.


Best bet, take it to an Apple Store or Authorized Apple Service Provider and get a repair estimate. If you have AppleCare+ coverage, make them aware of that when you take it in.

3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 17, 2022 5:26 AM in response to nathanr2007

While an alcohol of that strength will most like not damage any electronics on the MacBook Air logic board (I have used it to clean circuit boards after I was soldering stuff on them own my work), it does have the ability to possibly dissolve some seals around the display or seep into the display and cause damage the element within it.


Best bet, take it to an Apple Store or Authorized Apple Service Provider and get a repair estimate. If you have AppleCare+ coverage, make them aware of that when you take it in.

Jun 16, 2022 2:46 AM in response to nathanr2007

Good question. Alcohol does not conduct electricity because it is a covalent compound. Therefore, it does not have free electrons to flow across it. For this reason, the alcohol will likely do no damage. In fact, it's sometimes used to clean electronic parts. Not being an electrolyte is a very good thing in this case.


However, That 1% water can be corrosive so your Mac does need to be checked out. It is quite likely the evaporating alcohol component carried the water with it, but that's not something to bank on.



Spilled 99% Isopropyl Alcohol on my MacBook

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.