Posts: 1,677
Threads: 154
Joined: Apr 2013
Got an SOS this morning from a friend whose ceiling leaked in last night's rainstorm and water-damaged her Macbook. She pulled the battery and inverted the machine so the water drained the same way it went in. I told her to avoid the hair dryer solution and just to leave everything out to dry in a warm room. There is no power going to the unit.
Recommendations for how long she should wait/dry out before trying - what? Assuming a reasonably warm and dry environment, any ideas on how long it's gonna take to dry? Any special key combo to fire it up once she's satisfied all's dry, or just cross her fingers and try to fire the baby up?
(...and she hasn't responded to the "Do you have AppleCare?" question, yet.)
Posts: 5,165
Threads: 147
Joined: Dec 2016
AppleCare won't cover this type of accident.
Had the same thing happen to a machine here at work, and the thing never worked after that. Skylight leaked rain water during a storm, right down into the open keyboard.
Dead.
Was all the data backed up from that machine? That's the most important part right now.
Jeff
Posts: 9,619
Threads: 2,980
Joined: May 2025
Sucks. She can try dunking the whole thing (sans battery) into a huge pot of raw (uncooked, dry) rice and see if that can dessicate it. Leave it in there for a couple of days at least.
Don't know if the rice thing can work with such a big piece of electronics that had prolonged water expsoure, but it worked when my nano slipped out of my shirt pocket into 2 to 3 inches of standing water at my parents' house as I was helping clean up the after effects of a burst water heater pipe last week.
Posts: 1,677
Threads: 154
Joined: Apr 2013
kj4btkljv wrote:
Was all the data backed up from that machine? That's the most important part right now.
Jeff
She ain't answerin' that question either. Some lessons are hard; others are permanent.
Posts: 1,677
Threads: 154
Joined: Apr 2013
pinkoos wrote:
Sucks. She can try dunking the whole thing (sans battery) into a huge pot of raw (uncooked, dry) rice and see if that can dessicate it. Leave it in there for a couple of days at least.
Don't know if the rice thing can work with such a big piece of electronics that had prolonged water expsoure, but it worked when my nano slipped out of my shirt pocket into 2 to 3 inches of standing water at my parents' house as I was helping clean up the after effects of a burst water heater pipe last week.
Was gonna suggest the rice thing (heard about it working on an iPhone). She's monitoring this site; we'll see what develops.
Many thanks, kids.
Posts: 23,742
Threads: 1,348
Joined: May 2025
Reputation:
0
the hard drive should be fine ... she can easily remove it and get an enclosure or USB adapter & see if her data is OK on another Mac...
Posts: 33,936
Threads: 1,272
Joined: May 2025
decay wrote:
the hard drive should be fine ... she can easily remove it and get an enclosure or USB adapter & see if her data is OK on another Mac...
Agreed. Drive is sealed. Data should be fine.
Homeowners insurance might cover it.
Posts: 26,413
Threads: 741
Joined: May 2025
Reputation:
0
I would definitely yank the hard drive out...they are easy to get out of a macbook. If I were her I would contact powerbookmedic IMMEDIATELY and ask them what to do. Time is probably of the essence in taking care of this situation. The longer you wait, the more likely some of the components will corrode and become inoperative.
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.
Posts: 20,321
Threads: 766
Joined: May 2025
Reputation:
4
Pulling the hard drive (and RAM) and leaving the access bracket off, and battery out should improve ventilation too. I would position it upside down with the screen opened at a 90 degree angle, and a stack of books under the trackpad so that the keyboard is inverted and level.
Any idea of how much water got into it? Was water pouring out of it when opened up?
And as others said, the hard drive is likely just fine, so the most valuable part of the computer, the data is safe, they rest can be purchased if needed.
Posts: 57,781
Threads: 5,856
Joined: May 2025
Reputation:
2
Large ziploc bag.
Can of 'flower-dri' (silica gel). Open the can inside the large bag with the laptop. Seal the bag.
Let sit for three days.
See what happens.
While all solid state electronics are usually OK, the moving parts (keyboards, optical drive, fans, etc..) are often what gets messed up. Rainwater is generally acidic, and a roof leak will involve lots of gunky things from ceiling sludge, attic dirt, and roof roughage. It's not the water that gets all this stuff... it's the junk that comes with the water.
Good luck to her ! (been there.... coffee poured into a laptop does NOT make it run faster..)
