Question Water splash on Keyboard, but laptop still works, is it permanently damaged?

[ryancloete]

Around 12 hours ago I spilled around a quarter of a cup of water on the right side of my Lenovo Ideapad Gaming 3 that covered a little bit of the screen but mostly by keyboard. I immediately unplugged power and other peripherals but stupidly did not power off the device immediately as I was busy wiping everything down. The laptop continued to work for around half an hour then I powered it off and left it to sit in a tent shape to dry for around 5 hours. I checked again to see if it would turn on (i know, stupid) and was functional with no issues turned it off again after a few minutes and left it to sit in a normal position but this time with a fan right next to it blowing air towards it and remains like that until now (its been 4-5 hours) Is my laptop alright? Any insight would be appreciated, thanks!

 

[AlHuneke]

I would leave it alone overnight and then try again. Not much else you can do. Lucky is was water and not a sugary drink. The likely place for a problem to show up will be the keyboard. Cleaning keys is difficult. If you have issues, a new keyboard will be needed. If you attempt to replace it yourself, use the appropriate Lenovo service manual and follow it carefully.

 

[ryancloete]

Noted, thanks for the reply. As of now it has been around 30 hours since I have left it to air dry alone, would it be advisable to turn it on and continue normal use? If, all functions are operational (keyboard, screen, etc) would this laptop continue to run for a few years?

-Also, would i need to open the laptop up in order to fully dry it? Or has it been long enough that much of the water would have dissipated?

 

[AlHuneke]

I would think it would be fine to use it now. If it runs OK, it likely will continue but it may be that some keys were contaminated and will fail later. That will require changing the keyboard as mentioned above.

 

[hang-the-9]

Did you have a fix on this issue? Challenging a relative issue yet no response from anyone and couldn't see this point taking a gander at in google.

There was no real issue, just a spill but the system was working. You may want to start a new thread with your own details. Only thing here is that you do not want to keep the system running after a spill but make sure it's dried out before turning it out again.

 

[Etrius vanRandr]

Any insight would be appreciated, thanks!

My best advice is to take it to a repair shop so they can see if it has any damage.

While it may be fine now, water can still cause corrosion and it is best that the area affected is properly cleaned with isopropyl alcohol.

-Also, would i need to open the laptop up in order to fully dry it? Or has it been long enough that much of the water would have dissipated?

YES. Water has a much harder time evaporating in enclosed spaces!