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COFFEE SPILT ON MY MACBOOK AIR

My mum just accidentally spilt coffee on the keyboard of her macbook air and it immediately shut down. We tipped it up so that as much of the coffee would drip out as possible. I looked on my computer online as to what to do and it said take it apart and air it out but we don't have the tools to take the back off so i suggested putting it over our vents to air it out. We also put a bag of rice underneath as some people said that this draws the moisture out but it was coffee so i don't know if this would work. ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED. I tried booking an appointment with the genius bar but there isn't one until tomorrow. I don't know whether it would be better to air it out for longer and then take it to the apple store or if it would be best to take it straight away. Thanks for your help. The laptop is also a couple of months old, it was brought in December in England as we just moved out here. Thanks

MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.6.7)

Posted on Aug 1, 2011 4:54 PM

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Posted on Aug 1, 2011 9:04 PM

This is a serious question - was there cream and or sugar in the coffee?

The sugar as this dries would kind of coat thing which longer term makes it a challenge to remove I would think.

I've heard of the computer working if it is truely, completely dry. Blow a fan on it for a couple days. If you turn it back on and there is still moisture inside that lessens the possibility of it working for sure.

Sorry I'm not much help here, but here's hoping for the best.

18 replies
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Aug 1, 2011 9:04 PM in response to amyfrombath

This is a serious question - was there cream and or sugar in the coffee?

The sugar as this dries would kind of coat thing which longer term makes it a challenge to remove I would think.

I've heard of the computer working if it is truely, completely dry. Blow a fan on it for a couple days. If you turn it back on and there is still moisture inside that lessens the possibility of it working for sure.

Sorry I'm not much help here, but here's hoping for the best.

Aug 2, 2011 8:28 AM in response to amyfrombath

  • I broke the screen on my 2010 13" and I am debating what to do. I have always felt the computer was too fragile to be an ultraportable. The 11" back is fairly rigid, but the 13" can be flexed into the screen easily. I feel like I'm carrying an egg. I hit the back which is my fault, but it flexed into the screen and this is the computer design flaws at work.
  • An ultraportable also needs a spill resistant keyboard. It's a joke that it doesn't. All Fujitsu's have spill resistant keyboards, and the Samsung Series 9 has one. It's also made of a stronger material and has an anti glare screen which I believe has no glass to break.
  • My screen is 699 to replace. I love the OS and want to stay with it, but I feel like Apple may purposefully be building ultraportable eggs which are ultraexpensive to repair. Is this a business tactic?

Aug 2, 2011 8:36 AM in response to amyfrombath

You could probably send it in to get repaired. Look up on the web how to take it apart and put some sort of natural absorber on it. The liquid probably hit a circut of some sort inside the computer. If it doesn't turn on again, get it repaired or best of all, if a repair is the same cost of a computer, get the new macbook air. And also keep it away from your mom. Good Luck.


P.S. check and see if the one year limited warranty covers it. if you only got it in december.

Aug 2, 2011 10:07 AM in response to millbear69

millbear69 wrote:


P.S. check and see if the one year limited warranty covers it. if you only got it in december.


Regrettably, neither the one-year limited warranty or the AppleCare Protection Plan covers you against accidental damage (like liquid spills). Now, if you have a renter's or homeowner's insurance plan that offers equipment riders for personal electronics, something like that would potentially cover this issue after you pay the deductible.

Aug 2, 2011 2:37 PM in response to amyfrombath

First make that appointment with the Genius bar and be honest with the technician. Apple warranty does not cover accidental damage. If repair needs to be done get an estimate and check with your credit card company. Most credit card companies have accidental coverage within 90days of purchase. The process with your credit card company will not be fast however if Apple's only option involves money then your credit card can cover you. Apple's repair will also keep it under its 1 yr limitted warranty.

Aug 2, 2011 2:56 PM in response to amyfrombath

I am sorry for your misfortune. A friend of mine had the same issue on his MAC Book PRO, and as posted already here, Apple is not going to cover that under warranty. Unfortunately seems that the high-integrated board does not like liquids at all. When the Genius guy opened the MAC, he figure out right away that was damaged caused by liquid (my friend told the Genius upfront by the way).

Aug 3, 2011 12:57 AM in response to slyguy_28

Well we took it to the apple store today. He took it apart and there was still some liquid in it but he cleaned it off and put it back together again, and it then turned itself back on again. All the keys except for the on and off button worked and all her documents were still on the computer. He said it would cost more to replace all the parts than it would be just to buy a new laptop, so we backed up all the documents and i guess we just use it until it dies!?

Feb 24, 2013 9:21 PM in response to amyfrombath

I am facing a situation similar to the one detailed above in that I spilled liquid on my MacBook Air, however Apple will not repair my computer. I understand that liquid damage is not covered under their warrantee. When I brought my machine to the store, the worker at the Genius Bar said they would fix it for $800. This was fine with me, since the computer was worth over $2,100 before tax.


A few days later, I received a call from the Apple repair depot saying that they would not repair my machine because it would not be economically viable. Now I am stuck with a beautiful, useless piece of equipment. In my defense I would like to say that when I bought my computer I was not aware that its design and construction is such that if one component is destroyed, the whole computer is irreparable. In order to reduce size and weight, Apple has soldered all of the components to the logic board.


I called AppleCare to see if they would be lenient in their repair policy, but I was told that there is nothing that can be done. I have heard that Apple has made exceptions if the computer is new (mine is under two months) but that appears to be an urban myth. All of the workers have been super nice, but there is not much they can do about corporate policy.


I plan next to write letters to Apple explaining my predicament and my desire to come to a mutually acceptable resolution to this issue. If that doesn't work, I will have to try small claims court, although I will have to keep in mind that I a dealing with the largest company on earth!

Feb 25, 2013 12:15 AM in response to waroly

I understand the situation.. Same thing with my air which was less then one year old...Authorized repair shop quoted me 1200 USD to fix it.. I paid them them 50 percent deposit and two months later am still waiting for the machine to be repaired.....Only reason I went for the repair was paid a silly amount to get the 500 gb Solid State Hard Drive....


In hindsight I would not have tried to get it repaired..8 weeks and counting is too long to wait and be in limbo land....

COFFEE SPILT ON MY MACBOOK AIR

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