Keyboard + water = :-(

March 16, 2006 5:04 PM

KeyboardFilter: Enter and down-arrow are funky after last night's water spillage accident w/ the laptop. Everything else is dandy so far. Now what?

Actually, the down-arrow doesn't work at all and the enter doesn't work most of the time and then all of a sudden starts activating itself ghost-like, which is very annoying. I've read all the advice (AskMefi and elsewhere) about drying things out. I did turn it off for a while today. I'm going away for a couple weeks and it will be off and presumably drying for that time also. A few questions: Can I expect that I'll need a new keyboard? Do these issues resolve themselves, or is something permanently broken? And should I still be concerned that there aren't other problems (CPU, etc.) even though there are no symptoms. (Related: Should I dissemble this puppy and let it dry in parts -- caveat: I don't really like screwdrivers and taking expensive electronics apart?) And,what do you think has really gone wrong? Does the water fry some circuits because it conducts electricity? I think I'm skilled enough to replace the keyboard if it comes to that. I'm also wondering if there's a work-around. Can I disable the enter key and assign two other lesser-used keys to substitute (maybe the shift for Enter and the right Ctrl key for down-arrow)? Is Windows slick enough to do that?

posted by timnyc to Computers & Internet (7 answers total)

My bet is that there was some junk in the water that has soiled the connections on the circuit board beneath the keys. If I were you (which I'm not), I'd pop the keys out with a screwdriver and clean the whole board with acetone or alcohol or some other solvent, then put it back together. I've also heard that you can wash keyboards in the washing machine, but I don't really know anything about that. In the future, buy a spill-resistant keyboard (they have a little layer of rubber between the keys and the circuit board).
posted by muddgirl at 5:28 PM on March 16, 2006

I'd suggest (after waiting a couple days to see if the problem resolves itself) swapping out the keyboard. Depending on what kind of laptop you've got, replacing the keyboard should be pretty easy. I did it just a month ago (and I've got the same aversion to screwdrivers and expensive electronic equipment as you) and it turns out that it's a very simple process. I ebay'd for the part and found a tutorial online (complete with pictures). Some google-fu is all you need. And the new keyboard is great -- it feels almost like I've got a whole new computer. I was dealing with a 4 year-old laptop though -- if your computer is brand-new, or near it, then I could understand your aversion to going to such great lengths. But check to see how much a keyboard is -- mine was 40 bucks, and worth every penny.
posted by incessant at 6:14 PM on March 16, 2006

If it was just last night, I'd wait another little while. If your place is heated by radiators, maybe leave the laptop near one (to aid evaporation while the laptop is turned off).

If there's water trapped in the membrane bubble, it's possible for corrosion to occur depending on what else was in the water. My camera was sitting in a puddle of vodka overnight but it was (mostly) fine after drying out (took a couple of days). I spilled gatorade on my camera battery charger overnight and it was visibly corroded (like, pitted - wtf?) and non-functional the next day.
posted by PurplePorpoise at 10:35 PM on March 16, 2006

I just have a not-too-helpful anecdotal story -- I spilled water on a homemade laptop once, lots some important keys (half of the right side) and I couldn't figure out how to fix it after days of taking it apart. I ended up getting a new chassis for about $500, but was able to swap in the other parts okay.
posted by lpctstr; at 12:11 AM on March 17, 2006

This may be obvious, but spend a few minutes pressing them repeatedly.
posted by cillit bang at 2:40 AM on March 17, 2006

I'd say it's probably a goner, but there's no harm in letting it dry for a while longer. I spilled water on my laptop over the holidays, and ended up with a Shift key that thought it was alway pressed (really, really annoying). I ended up getting a new keyboard on ebay for $20, and it's about the easiest thing on a laptop to replace. Google "[your laptop] keyboard replace" or something like that, because the manufacturer probably has instruction on their site for how to do it (Here's mine, so you can judge the level of difficulty).
If you decide to not bother replacing it, remapping your keyboard is easy too.
posted by Who_Am_I at 5:37 AM on March 17, 2006

Err, sorry. That "remapping" link above is not actually that useful. I did a little searching and found KeyTweak, which does seem to work well (I just tried it out on my laptop). It can remap any of your keys to any other, or to nothing at all.
posted by Who_Am_I at 6:34 AM on March 17, 2006