I opened a bottle of carbonated mineral water and it sprayed over my Air M1 keyboard and touchpad.

[33355]

It wasn't a lot of water and it didn't spill directly into the keyboard but rather sprayed because it was a little too fizzy on opening. I wiped the water with my hoodie immediately (yes I didn't have any other materials or tissues). I compared the bottle with a new one at the store to assess how much water could've possibly escaped and I reckon it was a tablespoon or less or thereabouts; it didn't look like a lot could've gotten under the keyboard and also, as I understand it, there is a silicone layer below they keyboard to protect from dust - could it have possibly stopped a few unwanted droplets of wateroo?

I kept the device off for the past 3 days, it happened on Friday, and everything is working fine. Should I be worried? I reckon the amount of water that may have gotten inside is extremely minimal if any.

 

[philipma1957]

well its working. if I did what you did I would have hit it up with a hairdryer right away.

but it seems like you should be fine.

 

[33355]

well its working. if I did what you did I would have hit it up with a hairdryer right away.

but it seems like you should be fine.

I wasn't at home when it happened so I didn't have access to a hairdryer or anything like that. Besides, I've read that hairdryer makes things worse because it spreads the water around even more and possibly deeper inside.

 

[JPack]

It's the added minerals that cause corrosion and that happens after the liquid has dried. It's an M1, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. But if it were a newer machine, I'd pay to have it disassembled and cleaned with alcohol.

 

[Shirasaki]

Back up all of your data asap. If you have AppleCare+, you should be able to get a replacement with lower fee. Don’t take the chance of machine working temporarily as a sign of “you are fine”. Fanless design won’t protect you from liquid corrosion

 

[MikeDr206]

I had a PowerBook 100 back in the day and cleverly spilled about 16 oz of iced tea on the keyboard. Computer still worked after I let it dry, but the keyboard was sticky.

I called Apple and asked how much it would cost to replace the keyboard. Their first question was, “do you know why the keyboard isn’t working properly?” Maayyybbeeee.

That was my first experience with Apple Support. They overnighted a box with a styrofoam cutout, I overnighted back the laptop, and I think within a few days they overnighted it back with a new keyboard. Can’t recall what the cost was.

 

[bradman83]

I had a PowerBook 100 back in the day and cleverly spilled about 16 oz of iced tea on the keyboard. Computer still worked after I let it dry, but the keyboard was sticky.

I called Apple and asked how much it would cost to replace the keyboard. Their first question was, “do you know why the keyboard isn’t working properly?” Maayyybbeeee.

That was my first experience with Apple Support. They overnighted a box with a styrofoam cutout, I overnighted back the laptop, and I think within a few days they overnighted it back with a new keyboard. Can’t recall what the cost was.

Back when the keyboard was a module you could pop out with a switch to upgrade the internal components.

On the one hand laptops back then were built like garbage (mostly plastic including the frame), but I do miss some of that modularity.

 

[arcite]

It's 2024; it's ridiculous when you think about it that Macbooks aren't more resilient toward liquid spills. I had an OLD, OLD Thinkpad from the turn of the millennium that had channels built into the keyboard to protect from liquid damage.

 

[raythompsontn]

Should I be worried?

No. The device is working. That small amount of liquid will most likely not affect anything. Worry about more important things as there is nothing you can about the minor moisture at this point.

I'd pay to have it disassembled and cleaned with alcohol.

That would be as costly as having the machine repaired. Paying someone to open and clean with alcohol would probably do more damage than any liquid.

 

[za9ra22]

It's 2024; it's ridiculous when you think about it that Macbooks aren't more resilient toward liquid spills. I had an OLD, OLD Thinkpad from the turn of the millennium that had channels built into the keyboard to protect from liquid damage.

Oh my.

It's electricity and large scale integrated circuits. Even a small drop of water in the wrong place can cause wide-scale short circuits with highly unpredictable consequences. If anything, it was a lot easier to deal with liquid spills in older systems with larger components and far greater distances between tracks and component legs.

The good news is that if the system is running once a few days to dry off have passed, it is unlikely the water itself is the issue. To my mind the potential issue is what those added minerals in the water are. Unlike soda, they're probably not particularly corrosive, but there may be some latent current leakages in places mineral deposits may have tended to accumulate.

 

[Analog Kid]

It wasn't a lot of water and it didn't spill directly into the keyboard but rather sprayed because it was a little too fizzy on opening. I wiped the water with my hoodie immediately (yes I didn't have any other materials or tissues). I compared the bottle with a new one at the store to assess how much water could've possibly escaped and I reckon it was a tablespoon or less or thereabouts; it didn't look like a lot could've gotten under the keyboard and also, as I understand it, there is a silicone layer below they keyboard to protect from dust - could it have possibly stopped a few unwanted droplets of wateroo?

I kept the device off for the past 3 days, it happened on Friday, and everything is working fine. Should I be worried? I reckon the amount of water that may have gotten inside is extremely minimal if any.

Worried? It survived, and it works. You may have shortened its life a bit, but there’s no way to tell if so or by how much. I wouldn’t spend my time worrying— there’s a thousand other unrelated things that could go wrong in the mean time.

I spilled some soda water into an M1 MBP. I tipped it vent side down with a fan on it for half a day and everything seemed to come out ok. Delete key is a bit sticky. I keep my data backed up just as I would anyway. There’s not much else I can do that won’t just cause more problems.

It's 2024; it's ridiculous when you think about it that Macbooks aren't more resilient toward liquid spills.

What a strange comment to make in a thread about spilling water over a MacBook with no apparent damage. How much more resilient than undamaged would you expect it to be?

That would be as costly as having the machine repaired. Paying someone to open and clean with alcohol would probably do more damage than any liquid.

I don’t know why this simple fact is so hard to grasp by so many people. The safest thing to do to a working machine is nothing. Opening the box is a dice roll every time.

 

[960design]

It wasn't a lot of water and it didn't spill directly into the keyboard but rather sprayed because it was a little too fizzy on opening. I wiped the water with my hoodie immediately (yes I didn't have any other materials or tissues). I compared the bottle with a new one at the store to assess how much water could've possibly escaped and I reckon it was a tablespoon or less or thereabouts; it didn't look like a lot could've gotten under the keyboard and also, as I understand it, there is a silicone layer below they keyboard to protect from dust - could it have possibly stopped a few unwanted droplets of wateroo?

I kept the device off for the past 3 days, it happened on Friday, and everything is working fine. Should I be worried? I reckon the amount of water that may have gotten inside is extremely minimal if any.

Everyone does this once or twice.
Scared the pee out of me, so now all drinks are opened below the table and all drinks are placed behind the computer; NEVER in front or beside!

 

[Analog Kid]

Scared the pee out of me

Now that's a serious corrosion concern...

 

[Bazza1]

Invest in a keyboard skin. I'm not kidding. Wisest (cheap) investment I ever made for my MacBook. Keeps all sorts of schmutz away from keyboard and the crevices between. No noticable increase in heat buildup with it, either.

 

[StoneJack]

Invest in a keyboard skin. I'm not kidding. Wisest (cheap) investment I ever made for my MacBook. Keeps all sorts of schmutz away from keyboard and the crevices between. No noticable increase in heat buildup with it, either.

I have one and its good for keeping keys from oil and other things. Reduces typing speed a bit.

 

[twieser]

Not to worry. Another bottle of carbonated mineral water can easily be purchased.

 

[Ruggy]

-

 

[Bazza1]

I have one...Reduces typing speed a bit.

I guess that's not an issue for me - I'm a fast 'hunt & poke' not business class 'touch' typist.

 

[Eric_WVGG]

Consumer electronics are more water-resilient than you think. They're basically fine as long as no electricity runs through it… I run my external mouse and keyboard through the effing dishwasher like twice a year. (leave out drying in the sun for 2-3 days though)

were I in your shoes, I'd immediately shut off the computer, then flip it upside down (with the screen still folded out), then place on a table in such a way as the keep the keys ventilated but no pressure on the screen, then leave it alone for a day or two.