Advice: Water Spilled on MacBook Keyboard

rach740 wrote:
I spilled water (not much) on my keyboard and now most of the keys don't work or are acting strangely.

1. Do I use a hair dryer or no?

No

2. *Do I TELL the genius guys that I spilled water???* (Will they definitely be able to tell?)

Some machines have water indicators. This is a common occurrence so I strongly suspect they will be able to tell.

3. How much would it cost to replace the keyboard?(Would that fix the problem?)

Only Apple could tell you that. I have heard figures as low as $300 for a new logic board. Don't quote me on that.

4. How many days should I wait before bringing it to the Apple store to get looked at?

Let it dry out for a couple of days

Computers can be surprisingly robust when it comes to water spills. Here's some important tips:

1) Stop using the machine IMMEDIATELY. Shut it off, unplug the power cord, take out the battery and do NOT attempt to turn it on for several days.

2) Some folks advocate opening the lid & laying the computer on one of its sides (similar to opening a book and propping it up while open); I did this with my Toshiba notebook when I spilled something on it.

3) Leave the machine alone for at least 3 days, and more if you spilled a lot of liquid on it.

4) On the 4th or so day, connect the power adapter, leaving the battery off, and power up the computer. Test the keys to see if they're still having issues. If so, it's time to take the machine in for a checkup. Hopefully all that has been damaged is the topcase itself and your logicboard is OK.

Good luck!

~Lyssa