Lemonade just fell on top of my laptop, should I panic?

[freedon]

I was with some friends and one of them accidently spilled lemonade on top of the keyboard. It was turned on and I turned it off right away, didn't notice anything strange while it was turning off.

The lemonade had some sugar, so it's different to water if you just wait for it to evaporate, the sugar will stay in the keyboard.

I do have warranty. It's a Dell Latitude D810. Becuase it's a business model, I would think there's a thick layer separating the keyboard from the motherboard.

This was 2 hours and haven't turned it on.

This is the laptop
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/latit_d810?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd

This is my first laptop so I"m scared something happened to it. All my information is in backups so I'm not worried about that.

[SkyDog]

Whether it's a business or consumer model, the keyboard's spill protection will be pretty similar. There's usually a plastic sheet that backs the keyboard and helps prevent spills from getting onto anything important.

In a worst-case scenario, you'll probably wind up replacing the keyboard, which shouldn't be too expensive.

I'd probably remove the keyboard and see if it's possible to give it a good cleaning. Removing it isn't difficult and instructions are right on Dell's support site:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/latd810/sm/x300/keyboard.htm#wp1111863

[Colossus]

The thin rubber film that they use in the keyboard is not designed to stop a flood (more then a little spill).. I have seen laptops get a dose of soda and it would leak onto the mainboard below...

I would probably clean it out as fast as I can. Maybe place the laptop so the keyboard drips back up.. Such as place a rag between the LCD and keyboard and then lay it down so it drips onto the rag instead.

Most dell laptops, the keyboard comes out, so shouldnt be to hard to clean.

[freedon]

I did clean what I could back in the restaurant without opening it.

Managed to open the laptop but didn't want to take out the keyboard, so it's flying with what it seems to be the data/electric cable still attached. I don't want to overdue it and break the cable so I left it there.

I did see a small amount of lemonade still left on the metal edge right on top of the motherboard (like 1/4" on top) and a little on top of the cdrom drive.


BTW I just realized I posted this in the Network section, must have missed the Mobile section

[rabidmoose171]

The cable can be removed very easily, just pinch the little part that attaches it. Then just wipe it all up. Dont want a sticky keyboard either.

[SkyDog]

The's a friction clip holding that little ribbon cable. Slide it away from the circuit board by using your thumbnails under the little tabs on each side of the cable.



| | | | | | | |
| | | CABLE | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | /\
| | | | | | | | / \
| | | | | | | | ||
-----| | | | | | | |----- <---Tab ||
| |-----------------| | ||
|-----------------------|
| |
|_______________________|

[freedon]

Now I have the keyboard removed.

24 hours have passed since lemonade was spilled. I did use the laptop in the morning, email, skype (VoiP) and surfing. I used the Dell diagnostic cd and seems nothing got broken or fried. The keys are sticky, how do I clean each key individually?

I'm asking all these questions before actually doing it because I'm scared I can break something and the warranty gets cancelled. It did cost lots of money... I feel the same way back when I upgraded memory for my desktop for the first time.

[kent1146]

I spilled a glass of red wine directly onto my laptop keyboard a few weeks ago (probably wasn't a coincidence that I was drinking and spilled something). I turned the laptop off ASAP, took out power and battery, and turned the laptop upside down in all different angles to get as much wine out as possible. The laptop operated just fine, but the keys got sticky.

So I took the keyboard off of my laptop. Fortunately, laptop manufacturers realize that spills are one of the most common types of incidents that can happen, and most laptop manufacturers design the chassis with some sort of spill resistance. It is highly likely, if you responded quickly, that there is no damage to your internal components.

Now, about the keyboard, the best thing I can recommend is to remove the keyboard from your laptop, submerge the keyboard unit in some warm soapy water for a few minutes, swish it around. Remove it, let as much water drain from it as you can. Then just let it sit on a heater or radiator for 24 hours for the rest of the water to evaporate. Then just re-attach the keyboard, and you should be good to go. As long as you make sure that the keyboard is completely disconnected while it is in contact with water or moisture, there will be no danger of a short circuit.

As a last resort, you could always just buy a replacement keyboard. Just do a google search for "Latitude D810 replacement keyboard" and you'll find a few parts shops that will sell them.

[freedon]

Update:

Have been emailing Dell about my current problem since Friday. On my first response, they told me I could get service from Dell Mexico but on the second response (another representative) told me I could only get service from Dell USA.

I'm pretty sure with the warranty I selected (Complete Care) I can get parts from Dell Mexico. I remember when I was selecting my laptop I saw this and was pleased as I live in Mexico and it also had warranty in Finland as I went there for 1 semester.
I answered back, but still haven't gotten a response.

Worst case, they send me the keyboard to my address in the US and then I'll have to pick it up

[dagg]

i spilled an entire 20oz cherry coke into my Dell c600 once. fliped it upside down immediately and then when I got to a place I could take it apart, I did just that... and cleaned everything out.. its still kickin

the only problem I did run into was the sticky key syndrome I thought about replacing the keyboard but just never got around to it... after about 2 years, the problem just went away on its own...

[freedon]

After weeks of waiting and calling Dell USA Warranty, I'm finally getting the replacement parts (keyboard and palm rest).

My first call was on January the 10th. I told the Dell rep my story, he put me on hold for 20min and he began filling out forms for 1 hour. Mostly forms where I wasn't needed. So after an hour he said the parts would be sent to Dell Mexico and a Dell rep from Mexico would contact me to replace the parts.

And so I waited....

I called again on 17th. I told them if I should be concerned Dell mexico hadn't called me. They told me to wait for Saturday and if I didn't receive a call, then I should call back.

Called today (23th) in the morning to check the status of the parts. I had to explain to the lady my situation. To my surprise, she told me that type of international coverage didn't exist and best thing she could do was send me the parts to my US address. I didn't want to fight back, not only because it was almost time for me to head to work, but I could be wrong about what it did cover (later it turned out I was wrong).

I called at night and I explained the rep everything. Twice he put me on hold. He confirmed that the Complete Care warranty wasn't covered outside the 50 states or District of Columbia.

So I'm getting the replacement parts to my US address and because they are cheap components, I don't have to send the old ones back.

I want to call again to check if I can buy International Serive Warranty or how I can get the international warrnaty (check first link) if the contract says I can't use it outside the US (second link).

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/services/en/prog_portables?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd


http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/services/con_completecare_biz.pdf