Drops of liquid getting on a laptop is one of the common problems. It’s one thing when it’s really just a few drops, another thing when it’s a whole glass or cup. In any case, you need to be extremely careful. Accidentally spilling a drink can have serious consequences. What to do if you spilled sweet tea on your laptop keyboard is described on Anout.
Turn off the power to your laptop immediately and remove the battery.
With a careless movement, you touched the glass, and the tea spilled onto the keyboard. From this moment on, a favorable outcome depends on the efficiency of your actions. Hurry up to do the following in the first seconds:
This must be done for two reasons. Turning off the device will help prevent the oxidation process triggered by water under the influence of electrical current. It is not enough to simply turn off the power to the laptop. It is necessary to remove the battery that powers the motherboard. This will help prevent it from being damaged.
Emergency situation: tea spilled
Corrosive liquid spilled on laptop
What to do if your laptop is flooded with aggressive liquid
If your laptop computer is exposed to particularly aggressive compounds, and their volumes are quite large, you will need to carry out a comprehensive flushing of the device immediately after turning off the power supply, removing the battery and drying for 2 days.
In such a scenario, it is necessary to dismantle the case as quickly as possible, conduct a visual inspection of the internal parts, wash and dry them, adhering to the sequence of actions mentioned above. The greatest danger to the device are drinks such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi, coffee, wine, etc.
Ignoring professional recommendations can lead to such an outcome that after a few days the laptop will no longer be repairable.
If cats or dogs live in your house, be attentive to any strong odors coming from the laptop. It is possible that during your absence your pet managed to go to the toilet on the keyboard.
Wipe liquid from laptop case
The more liquid that gets on the PC, the worse the consequences. The chances of successfully saving equipment increase if no more than 200-300 ml of liquid has been spilled. Quickly turn the body over. Moisture must not be allowed to penetrate deeply. Gently shake out any drops. Wipe the body with a dry cloth.
The situation is worse when a lot of liquid has been spilled. The water needs to be removed as quickly as possible. Place the housing on its edge with the ventilation holes facing down to allow liquid to drain out. Wipe with a rag or napkin until the water is completely absorbed.
If you flood your laptop, then...
? STEP 1
Whatever you spill on the surface of the device, you should immediately disconnect the cable from the laptop power supply. The sooner you do this, the better (ignore Windows shutting down correctly).
Disconnect the power cable from the device
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? STEP 2
Turn the device over and remove the battery. The laptop needs to be turned off and unplugged as soon as possible!
Removing the battery
Those users whose battery is hidden inside the case are less “lucky” (if that word is appropriate in this case). It is highly advisable to remove the protective cover and remove the battery (if you have not turned off the laptop before, hold down the power button for 5-10 seconds, an emergency shutdown should occur).
Remember that the majority of spilled liquid occurs on the keyboard, and it does not immediately flow inside in streams (especially since most keyboards have a metal backing that will also retain some of the moisture). Therefore, the main thing is not to hesitate and turn everything off in time!
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? STEP 3
Leave the device with the keyboard facing down on a clean, level, dry surface (so that spills can drain away).
It is advisable to place some dry towel or rag under the keyboard (change it a couple of times if a lot of liquid comes out of the device).
? Drying takes on average 2-3 days (no less!). The main mistake many people make is hastily turning on the device before it is dry.
Important!
To dry, do not use a hair dryer, radiator, or any other heating device.
- Firstly, they can create conditions for condensation to appear inside the device (which means moisture will spread throughout the laptop, which is not good).
- Secondly, the same hair dryer will drive excess dust inside (which will already “sit” on the sweet spots from flooding).
- Thirdly, these devices can overheat individual laptop components and render them unusable!
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? STEP 4
Take the device to a service workshop to assess its condition (do not try to turn it on yourself after flooding and drying!).
Yes, you will most likely be charged for inspection (diagnosis) and cleaning of the device - but this is much cheaper than burning the mat. board after a week or two of work with corrosion on it.
In most cases, if there was not a lot of liquid, and you turned the device over in time and turned off the power (and then left it to dry), the laptop can be brought into working condition with minimal costs.
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? For self-assessment and repair
Some users have quite old laptops, and they do not want to spend extra money on them and take them to the service (preferring to handle it on their own). I’ll give you a couple of tips for them (do everything at your own peril and risk).
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About types of liquids
If we conditionally divide all liquids according to the degree of impact on the laptop hardware, then they can be:
- aggressive - those that contain salt or sugar: tea, coffee, beer, lemonade, mineral water, etc.;
- not aggressive - for example, ordinary water.
If you spill ordinary water, then the chances of saving your laptop are much higher. The fact is that aggressive liquids cause a strong corrosion process, damage conductive paths, and short circuit them. As a result, many parts on the mat are damaged. board (one of the examples below?).
A sad incident... (sweet lemonade got under the laptop keyboard, causing corrosion and ruining the microcircuit)
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About cleaning and diagnostics
My recommendation is simple - after flooding the laptop with any liquid, you need to disassemble the device and see where the moisture has penetrated.
Although I note that some experts admit that if ordinary water is spilled on a laptop, then after drying it thoroughly, you can try to turn on the device.
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After disassembling the laptop, carefully inspect all its parts (you can use a magnifying glass or magnifying glass). If the liquid does not get further than the keyboard, consider yourself lucky. You can assemble the device and turn it on.
If you have problems with the keyboard...
If the keys are very crunchy and sticky, try removing the keyboard and washing it in warm water and detergent (for example, Fairy). Then dry it and plug it in again. The method is “collective farm”, but it often helps to revive the keyboard even in the most problematic cases.
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If you find places on the motherboard where moisture has penetrated, then traces of the spillage must be carefully cleaned with a cotton swab and a soft brush (an old toothbrush will do) soaked in alcohol (so that not a trace of the spilled liquid remains).
Then dry everything, assemble it, and try turning it on. At least in this case, the chances of a successful outcome are much greater than turning it on “blindly”...?
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What not to do
Wait until the device is completely dry before doing anything. This usually takes two to three days. Some people try to speed up the blow drying process. Under no circumstances should you do this! The hot air will turn the water into steam, which will settle as condensation inside the housing.
Important! You can't turn on your laptop! This can cause a short circuit, which can cause expensive parts to break.
The average cost of PC repair in a service ranges from 1,500 to 4,500 rubles.
Remove the battery
What not to do with a flooded laptop
There are only two main rules:
- Do not turn on . Under no circumstances attempt to turn on the laptop until it has been checked by service center repair personnel. It’s clear how an ordinary user thinks: if you turn on, it’s good, but if not, then you just need to wait a little longer. In fact
- Do not blow dry or place on a hot radiator . Logic dictates that the heated liquid will evaporate faster, but the real scenario looks like this: the moisture actually turns into steam, and the laptop itself turns into a bathhouse; you remove the laptop from the battery, it cools down; moisture condenses on every single chip, on every track. If at first a specific place of flooding was under attack, now the disaster is everywhere. In addition, the fast air flow from the hairdryer will push dust inside, which will eventually stick to the sweet residue of the drink.
Take it to a service center or save it yourself
You need to make a choice: try to fix the device yourself or take it to a service center? A decision has to be made on what to do next. For people who are poorly versed in technology, the second option is preferable.
The sooner you contact the service, the better. Even after thorough drying, water remains inside the case. It starts the corrosion process. Every hour, corrosion invades new areas, destroying the insides of a personal PC. In a couple of months, it will be impossible to restore a corroded gadget.
Trying to revive a PC yourself is not without sense. Not everyone is inclined to trust service centers. In addition, the money saved on repairs will not be superfluous.
Carefully remove the laptop keys
Keyboard resuscitation
How to resuscitate a keyboard
If a flooded motherboard needs resoldering, then in the case of a keyboard you can do without such a procedure. When in contact with plain drinking water, it is enough to dry the keys. If more aggressive compounds come into contact with the surface, you will need to rinse the keyboard with hot distilled water and dry the board so that no traces of moisture or stains remain on it. It is important to thoroughly shake off any remaining liquid and dry the device as described above.
During the cold season, it is better to dry the component using radiators or any other suitable methods. Aggressive liquid can damage the keyboard contacts, so for cleaning it is better to dismantle the keys and fasteners, rinse them thoroughly and dry them.
In order to put the keyboard back together without difficulty, it is better to photograph the position of the keys before the planned disassembly. If only individual keys fail, and not the entire module, it is allowed to perform local washing followed by drying of the removed keys and their fasteners.
After completing the assembly and receiving a positive result from resuscitation, you can start the laptop. At this stage, you will need to check its stability and perform simple stress tests. You should also evaluate the serviceability of individual parts and each button.
Laptop models from certain manufacturers (Samsung, Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc.) often have water-soluble jumpers. If you wash them, the keyboard will not work. This problem can be determined during diagnostics of the laptop at a service center, where contact of the liquid with internal parts is confirmed. The only way out is to replace the board.
How to save a laptop yourself
Take the laptop and keyboard apart. This is not easy to do. It is not enough to unscrew the screws under the bottom of the housing. Some of them are located under panels secured with special latches. They must be removed with caution.
Important! To work, you will need a set of screwdrivers, a blotter, brushes with hard bristles, cotton swabs, a can of compressed air, and distilled water.
The easiest way is to follow the instructions. Go to the manufacturer's website and download the repair manual. Following the instructions, you can sequentially dismantle the equipment. It doesn't matter if you couldn't find the clue. If you have confidence in your own abilities, try to fix the problem yourself.
The most common liquids used to fill laptops
You need to remove all drives, hard drive, battery and peripherals from it. Technology of resuscitation measures
GENERAL PROVISIONS
- A high degree of concentration of salt or sugar in a liquid makes it more aggressive.
I’ll share a secret with you: liquid and electricity should absolutely not be combined. When these two physical phenomena meet, the liquid wins. It can simply destroy all electrical circuits of any equipment, including a laptop. Moreover, in such a situation, you yourself may receive an electric shock if you are not careful enough.
Degrees of aggressiveness of liquids
Based on the degree of impact on equipment, liquids are conventionally divided into aggressive (drinks containing sugar and salt) and non-aggressive (pure water). Sweet tea spilled on the keyboard has an aggressive effect. A spilled drink can cause more serious damage than regular water. Tea starts the corrosion process and shorts the conductive paths. As a result, the motherboard receives severe damage. If tea gets on your keyboard, you need to act immediately.
Carefully bend the key latches
Disassemble the laptop and keyboard
Disassemble the laptop into its structural parts. We need to check where the tea managed to get to. If you don’t have instructions at hand, follow the following procedure:
Blot any drops of moisture with a napkin, if any. Apply compressed air from a can to hard-to-reach areas to remove any remaining moisture.
Water accumulates in the keyboard, speakers, and under the hard drive. Blow air thoroughly through each key. Unfasten the optical drive and spray the area with compressed air.
To avoid short circuit, remove the motherboard CMOS battery. It's easy to find. Similar to a coin, it has a flat shape.
The CMOS battery is round in shape
Disassemble the keyboard into its components. Remove the keys using a flathead screwdriver. To avoid damaging the keys, they need to be pryed off from below. Be careful not to break the fasteners. The keyboard is protected on the bottom side by several layers of protective film. One separating film is dielectric and two are conductive. Usually they are glued together at several points. If there is no moisture in this area, you can stop at this stage. The process of putting up films is labor-intensive and requires certain skills.
Important! If water gets into your hard drive, do not try to repair it yourself. You need to dismantle the disk and take it to a service center for data recovery.
Clean and rinse
Carefully inspect the system board. There should be no plaque or stains on it. Clean contaminated areas with a hard brush. All excess must be removed with an alcohol solution and rinsed with distilled water.
Important! Tap water is not suitable for washing PC microchips. It contains metal salts. Impurities are not completely washed off. They remain on the board, which can lead to a short circuit.
It is necessary to gradually disassemble and wash the components of the PC. Rinse dry stains thoroughly. Wipe them with a blotter or soft cloth. Blot local areas where the napkin does not penetrate with a cotton swab.
The laptop does not work - liquid has entered
The most common causes of laptop malfunctions include liquid getting on the device - case, keyboard, screen. As practice shows, the owner of a gadget often turns to a service center for help after flooding the laptop with water, tea, beer, coffee or juice. All liquids are conventionally divided into non-aggressive and aggressive. The first group includes plain water and tea without sugar, and the second group includes almost everything else containing glucose and sodium chloride.
Of course, the chances of successfully restoring the device will be higher if you spilled a non-aggressive liquid - often it is enough to simply dry the gadget thoroughly.
If sweet carbonated water, juice or coffee with sugar gets into the device’s case, the device’s motherboard will most likely be damaged (the corrosion process will begin), and in this case you cannot do without cleaning the PC. You should also avoid the most common mistake of laptop PC owners: turning on a flooded device when it has not yet been thoroughly dried (in this case, shorting the contacts can completely damage the equipment).
Spilled water on a laptop: 3 urgent steps
Unplug the laptop and remove the battery
From the moment you spilled the liquid, seconds counted. Forget about conventions and the correct shutdown of Windows, the data can be recovered, but the laptop risks going to the landfill forever. Feel free to unplug the cord and remove the battery from it. This will stop the destruction associated with the process of electrochemical reactions.
Simply unplugging will not be enough, so be sure to remove the battery. This is necessary in order to protect the motherboard, on which the power circuits operate even after the laptop is turned off.
Disable peripherals
Everything is simple here, if a printer, hard drive, flash drive is connected to the laptop, or there is a disk lying around in the drive, then they need to be pulled out.
Wipe liquid from laptop case
In this case, it all depends on the volume of liquid spilled. If the volume of the “spill” is small, no more than 20-30 milliliters (about 1/7 cup):
If the volume of the “tragedy” turned out to be more significant: turn the laptop on its edge so that the ventilation holes are at the bottom, and gently shake it to drain as much water as possible.
Direct washing steps
Cleaning a laptop keyboard is not an easy task. In the sense that you need to strictly adhere to a sequence that does not worsen the situation:
— Remove visible traces of spilled liquid using prepared materials.
— The board must dry. This will take at least a couple of hours. Please note that you should not dry the keyboard elements on heating devices.
— If the tracks are damaged, it can be seen even with the naked eye. However, it is better to do testing with a special device.
— Using conductive paints, restore areas that are damaged. Since the contacts are new, they need time to dry. An hour and a half is enough for this.
What to do next?
Now you have some time to think. No need to try to turn on the device and check if it works! Most likely, it will work, but it is also likely that your computer will die at the most unexpected moment, taking valuable information with it.
Firstly, you should immediately accept that you will not use a flooded laptop for at least 1-3 days. Secondly, you need to assess the scale of the tragedy - the severity of the damage depends on what kind of liquid you spilled on your keyboard or laptop. Consider the destructive effect of popular liquids.
If you flood your laptop with water, it can reach any elements inside the device, including the motherboard, which can lead to the loss of the device. Water, although a weak electrolyte, can lead not only to a short circuit, but also cause slow but sure electrochemical corrosion. However, this is a relatively harmless liquid, so the chances of saving the device are quite high.
Tea, coffee, beer, drinks with sugar or milk
If you spill tea, coffee, beer, a drink with sugar or milk on your laptop, then things are worse, since they all contain various acids. For example, tea is a combination of a huge number of substances, some of which, for example, tannin, are acidic. If you spill a sweet drink on your keyboard, after it dries, a sticky sugar residue will remain and the keys will stick.
By the way, beer, beloved by many, also contains a number of, albeit weak, acids. As a rule, devices that have been dipped in beer function normally for several months, which is why device owners mistakenly think that the problem has passed. Over time, the motherboard or hard drive is destroyed by the chemical elements present in beer.
You should also be wary of juices: they are quite aggressive, as they also contain acids, for example, citric or fruit.
Cola and other carbonated drinks
The biggest danger is carbonated drinks. These are aggressive liquids, rich in chemicals that can oxidize and destroy, for example, the same motherboard. In particular, soda often contains a medium-strength acid - phosphoric acid, which is used for soldering.
What to do if the device is flooded with water
If the user has flooded the laptop, immediately after this it must be disconnected from the power supply and the battery removed - do not click on “Shut down” and do not wait for the laptop to turn off by itself. However, a film is glued to the keyboard, which protects the motherboard if moisture spills on the device. Therefore, when liquid gets in in small quantities, if it is pure water and not beer or tea, coffee, then you need to do the following:
- remove remaining water with a soft cloth;
- After that, remove the device and dry it properly.
If the last point is not performed efficiently, then moisture will remain between the films of the polyethylene printed circuit board flooded with beer or water, which over time will lead to corrosive damage to the conductive paths and failure of the input device.
To dry a keyboard that has had clean water spilled on it, it is not necessary to disassemble it. In a ventilated area or under a radiator, it will dry completely in about a day.
How to save a laptop yourself?
— Disassemble the laptop and keyboard
Please note that this may not be easy. It is not always easy to unscrew all the screws on the bottom; often some of them can be hidden under peel-off legs and panels that are held on by the same latches, attached under the keyboard, display hinges, and so on. However, as a rule, all common laptop models have disassembly guides and videos. Go to the manufacturer's website for information, Google or YouTube. In order to reduce search time, enter “disassemble *laptop model name*”, or better yet “*laptop model* disassembly”.
Disassemble the laptop into the smallest possible components and check where the liquid managed to reach. The main thing is to remove the CMOS battery on the motherboard, as it constantly powers the board, which in the long run is enough to cause a short circuit. It is easy to find, it is quite large, round and difficult to confuse with something.
As for the keyboard itself, it will have to be disassembled and sorted separately, having previously photographed or recorded the location of the keys on the keyboard. Next, simply remove the keys with a thin screwdriver or any thin handy tool; as a rule, they can be pryed off from the bottom. Then “pull out” the pushers and spring elements. In this case, three films will remain on the keyboard substrate: two conductive, with tracks, and a dielectric separating film between them. On older keyboards, the membranes are either not glued together, or they are glued only at a few points and are quite easy to separate. However, on new ones they are often glued more securely and it will be more difficult to unstick them - here you can’t do without a hairdryer. We warn you that the gluing process requires certain skills, so it would be better to stop at this stage and hope that no water got between the films; after all, they are glued quite tightly.
- Clean and rinse
Pay special attention to the keyboard and motherboard, you can even check it with a magnifying glass.
If there is any buildup or discoloration on the motherboard, use a lint-free cloth or soft toothbrush to wipe away any dry residue from the spill.
Then carefully, sparing no effort and attention, clean off all foreign matter using an alcohol solution, followed by distilled water. If distilled water is not available, you can use plain water. However, the problem is that ordinary water contains impurities of metal salts and can leave them on the board after washing, which can subsequently cause a short circuit. Therefore, we recommend buying distilled water at a pharmacy or auto store.
If the affected area is large, then remove the board, disconnect everything possible from it, rinse it with warm water and leave it to dry for at least 1-2 days. In the same way, you need to check and wash all the other insides of the laptop and parts of the disassembled keyboard, getting rid of stains and sticky areas wherever you find them.
— Dry the laptop
Now all that's left to do is dry everything you washed. There is an opinion that you need to use a hairdryer, but we do not recommend that you do this. First, a hair dryer can blow hot dust onto various areas and make them dirty. Secondly, there is a risk of overheating and melting various elements. Thirdly, if there is moisture left somewhere, then a stream of air will send it even deeper into the case.
Dry for 24-48 hours in a warm, dry room, out of direct sunlight. Place the case, board, films, keyboard on supports or a grill over some surface so that air can circulate around the parts. You can even put the ingredients in a container with rice, since dry rice draws out moisture well.
— Assemble and test the device
After a day or two, reassemble the keyboard and laptop, turn it on and check its overall performance. You can check the keyboard in any text file, but it will be easier to go to Keyboardtester.com and check all the keys there.
If everything is functioning normally, then consider yourself lucky. If only the keyboard does not work, then you will have to replace it with a new one or simply buy an external one.
— If the laptop does not turn on, you will have to contact a service center or buy a new one.
To summarize, let's say that it is possible to protect yourself from such incidents. If you are using a laptop as a replacement for a desktop computer, you can put it on a stand, move it away from you and use an external keyboard and mouse. However, as a rule, a laptop implies mobility, and this option is not suitable for everyone; in this case, you should not risk drinking drinks dangerously close to the laptop.
How can I turn on my laptop without the power button?
- find the menu item power (power management setup);
- go to power settings - power on (power on by ps2 kb/ms);
- indicate how the laptop should turn on. If you select “any key”, activation will be performed using any key. ...
- press f10, save and exit.
10 Feb
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Content
Where is your laptop now - on the desktop or the dining table next to a mug of tea, on a beach lounger, or maybe even in the bathroom? We all know how dangerous and insidious liquid is for equipment, but many people ignore safety rules. Until the first time. And so, we drink coffee while working on the laptop, cola while watching a TV series, and eat soup over the keyboard. And suddenly this “first time” happens.
What do their hapless owners drown laptops with? Service center employees could tell you a lot about such incidents, since liquid spilled on a laptop is one of the most common reasons for calling for repairs. So, how to provide “first aid” to a flooded laptop?
What to do if water spills on your laptop keyboard
In this case, the backlight may burn out or the liquid crystals themselves may leak.
How spilled liquid can harm the operation of a laptop (read more...)
There are also pitfalls here. If the laptop is a fairly old model, the technician may simply not find a suitable motherboard on sale. It is possible that the motherboard will need to be replaced with a suitable one, but of a different model, and with it the processor and RAM. And these are additional costs. But in any case, it will be cheaper than buying the same laptop from someone else.
Invert but do not shake
After turning off the power, you need to open the laptop lid all the way and turn it upside down. It will turn out to be a “house”. The liquid begins to drain, you have half a minute to find a towel, napkin or dry rag. The fabric will absorb the liquid from the body of the device, additionally walk over it with blotting movements. In this case, water should not get on the laptop matrix. Place the inverted laptop in a warm room for at least a day to dry.
A typical mistake: turning on the laptop without preliminary diagnostics. Even if the outside of the case is dry, this does not mean that there is no liquid left inside. Dried sugary drinks are even more insidious: they can cause short circuits or corrosion. Do not turn on the laptop and run diagnostics first.
I flooded the keyboard with water, what could be the consequences?
A data input device, like other elements of a computer, when liquid penetrates inside its case, ceases to function completely, or it begins to malfunction. But, despite this, a modern keyboard (even a simple one), when exposed to water, passes this test without any special consequences (in most cases).
Read also: TOP 10 best eye pencils
In general, there are membrane and mechanical keyboards. Now we will look at membrane devices, and mechanical ones at the end of the article.
Most modern (membrane) keyboards do not have any special waterproofing features. They are simply not provided. The point here is different. At the moment, such devices use materials and electronic parts that will not fail even if a decent amount of liquid gets on them.
Therefore, if you flooded the keyboard with liquid (water-based) and it stopped functioning, this incident does not mean that the gadget is faulty. This problem can be solved in two ways:
- You just need to dry the information input device using a hairdryer, or place it in the sun (under a hot lamp) to dry it on its own;
- You need to start disassembling the device and try to remove all the water from the keyboard using manual methods. This method also helps out if the hairdryer does not dry the keyboard.
Debriefing
To diagnose a laptop, you will have to disassemble it. There are two possible options here - self-diagnosis if you have the appropriate skills or visiting a service center. At this stage, it is important for us to make sure that the spilled liquid is completely removed from the housing and contact with live elements is excluded. Through the joints between the keyboard and the case, the liquid penetrates to the motherboard, and this, as they say in the scientific community, is the goal of our research.
A typical mistake : wait until corrosion slowly but surely destroys your device. Carry out diagnostics immediately after drying the laptop if you spilled water or an unsweetened drink on it. Remember: the more salts and sugar there are in a liquid, the more aggressive it is on equipment. Therefore, when bathing a laptop in carbonated drinks or brine, do not wait a day after drying, contact a specialist as soon as possible.
First actions
As soon as tea has been spilled on the keyboard, you need to immediately turn off the power to the laptop and remove the battery, then turn the laptop upside down. Some models include a protective film for the keyboard, which minimizes the negative consequences. But in most cases it is absent. Tea is a more dangerous liquid than ordinary water, but less aggressive than carbonated drinks with dyes. Depending on the spilled liquid and its amount, the steps to fix the problem may vary. This is described in more detail at https://anout.ru/zalil-klaviaturu-noutbuka-chto-delat/.
