Milk spilled on Acer kav10

[computerdoc]

A customer of mine spilled milk on the keyboard of their Acer kav10 netbook. The acer screen appeared and then a request to press f2 came up which she pressed and nothing happened.

She blow dried the keyboard and removed the battery and it has been sitting idle for almost a day. She is quite remote from me and I can't easily get the computer in short order.

When would it be safe for her to try and turn it on again? Should she disconnect the keyboard and make some sort of drying attempt?

In the meantime, she wants to get a new small size laptop with a CD rom built in. She would be running Quickbooks, Excel and Word - nothing that stresses the computer in any way. She wants a smaller size monitor and she would need it quickly. It needs to be cheap also. She lives in New Jersey.

I would appreciate suggestions for a cheap but sturdy computer that optimally would run XP and if not I'll take Windows 7, 2 gb ram, 250 GB hard drive and DVD burner. I would prefer dual core CPU but since she is doing low intensity work, she may not require it.

[arrow_runner]

I think she needs to get the milk out BEFORE it dries. Doing that without disassembling the laptop would be a little tricky.

I almost want to say take the battery out and run a hose over the laptop (not the screen though) and cross your fingers. That's if she wants to do it for free/herself and is ok with the risks that she could ruin it or that it's ruined already.

Then she could dry it out with a hair dryer/put in in a bag with rice or whatever. I would wait a day or two. I don't know. I've never had to do that before.

[Lone99star]

Rubbing alcohol ...............

[computerdoc]

Arrow_runner,

Is it good enough to just take off the keyboard or should it be broken down into smaller parts?

Lonestar,

Where should it be applied?

[Lone99star]

I suggested alcohol because someone was talking about using a hose on it.

The alcohol will dry quick and not leave residue.

I would not do either one, I would do a complete disasembly and clean it by hand.

If the customer is a gambler they could turn the machine upside down and use a spray bottle with rubbing alcohol to spray up into the keyboard and try and flush out the milk.

Good luck

Lone99star

[Paul Rodgers]

Is milk even a good conductor of electricity?

[PcTek9]

I doubt flushing out the milk with a spray bottle of alcohol is a good idea... X) LOL.

She should unplug, remove battery, seal it in a plastic bag and take it to a laptop repair place immediately.

This issue could quickly cascade into milk on the car seats, milk in the briefcase, etc.
Further had you considered that spraying alcohol onto the milk might force it deeper into the case?

I'm not saying she is a smoker, but alcohol vapor is 3 times more flammable than hydrogen.

If she lights up 1 cigarette in the course of this mad hatter style milk excavation the resulting explosion as soon as she strikes that lighter, could render her valuable data unrecoverable.
There might also be damage to the customer.

[arrow_runner]

Originally Posted by PRITech

Is milk even a good conductor of electricity?

It's good enough to mess up an iPod touch that came in my shop last week.

Rubbing alchohol could work, but you'd need a LOT if she's not taking it apart and wants it to get everywhere.

I really want a video on youtube of her with a bag taped around the LCD and then taking a garden hose to the laptop and then cut scene back into her turning on the laptop like nothing happened.

[arrow_runner]

Originally Posted by PcTek9

If she lights up 1 cigarette in the course of this mad hatter style milk excavation the resulting explosion as soon as she strikes that lighter, could render her valuable data unrecoverable.
There might also be damage to the customer.

Now that sounds like an even better video. (Not personal damage or damage to property from a fire, just a flaming from the inside out laptop)

[Paul Rodgers]

How about having her cover it in rice until it can be taken for a proper cleaning?