Water-damaged MacBook

[davester]

In the event that she doesn't call powerbookmedic or some other expert, it is important to attempt to physically remove as much water as possible before fiddling with rice, silica gel, warmth, etc, which are only useful for very small amounts of residual moisture. That means opening up that sucker (including getting the hard drive out of the way), tilting it appropriately, and taking a shop vac to every opening.

[anonymouse1]

If it was turned off at the time, and the water was relatively clean, you've got a long shot at it. But still, it's a shot.

[pRICE cUBE]

She needs silica gel/desiccants or in a pinch dry rice will soak up moisture. If worst comes to worst, sell it on ebay as-is with the described issue, you would be shocked at what ruined ones go for.

[StingMe]

davester wrote: Her homeowners or renters insurance should cover this (after the deductible is paid), though if it's homeowners insurance she should be wary of making a small claim that might drive up her rates.

Yeah, probably not worth a claim for this reason and the fact that the deductible may be $500-1000 anyway.

[mrthuse]

All info here passed on. I knew you folks would come through. Thank you so much. Will let you know how it all shakes out.

[Speedy]

We have forced air central heat/air. Dries nearly anything overnight.

[prymsnap]

Seems like silica gel is a good thing to have around. Besides the packets you get with electronics sometimes, where can a regular person (not a reseller) buy it in fairly small quantities?

[Racer X]

Gun shop. We store gunpowder with it. Or most hardware stores have damp-zorb or Dri Z Air crystals. DO NOT let the liquid hit anything you care about. It never really evaporates or dries, and is corrosive.

key word to search for is dessicant

[Spiff]

Another thought would be to get a heating pad, put it on low, and put the macbook, all opened up as described above, on the heating pad (with a towel over the heating pad). The continuous warm heat will help evaporate water that is in the MacBook. I did this with my iPhone when it got dropped into water. Let it sit for 1-2 hours at a time on the pad. Let cool (cool is relative as it never really heats up to damage anything). Repeat. My water damaged iPhone is going on 2 years now after the accident without any problems.

[pRICE cUBE]

prymsnap wrote:
Seems like silica gel is a good thing to have around. Besides the packets you get with electronics sometimes, where can a regular person (not a reseller) buy it in fairly small quantities?

You can buy from BH or Adorama. In a pinch you can use rice in thin sock.