If you spill coffee into your MacBook or MacBook Pro, the trick is to get it to MacMedics fast. Don’t try to fix it yourself, and just because it seems to be working OK, does NOT mean you’re out of the woods. Best thing to do is try to mop up excess liquid, remove the battery, then get it to us a quickly as possible.

Here are some Do-It-Yourself procedures to avoid:

1. Don’t try to turn the unit on NO MATTER WHAT. If there is liquid in the unit, and it’s making a connection between anything, then that could very well be the end of your laptop.

2. Don’t try to take the unit apart yourself. It’s not that hard to take off most MacBook’s top case, but to ensure the liquid is gone, the logic board needs to be removed in almost every case.

3. Don’t try to clean your logic board or any other part of your computer with “distilled” water. In fact, we don’t recommend you even try to clean it at all.

4. If moisture gets in, it’s usually not going to go away on it’s own. If your computer seems to be working after a spill, then that means you most likely got lucky and we might be able to fix/save your MacBook or MacBook Pro. But, in order to do so, turn the unit off and remove the battery. The liquid problem almost never goes away on it’s own.

5. If you have something like coffee, orange juice, soda, and many other type of acidic liquids, two things, 1. the acid will cause more corrosion than just water, and 2. Anything that has sugars in it won’t totally evaporate, it will just turn in a syrup which can cause it’s own set of problems. If you are growing a corrosion “science fair” project inside your laptop, you’ll end up with something that looks like mold that we call “creeping crud“. This stuff is nasty, because as long as it’s inside your unit, it can sort of “grow” and “creep” to reach other parts of your computer and cause more damage along the way. Anything it touches and then grows on will get get fried if power is applied (even well after the liquid is long gone). It’s also very brittle and it can crack off and then “float” around inside of your unit causing more issues as it “pinballs” its way around the inside of your computer.

6. Do us a big favor, don’t put your Apple laptop into an oven to dry it out. This can cause a whole new set of problems. We just wrapped up writing an estimate on a Unibody MacBook Pro that the owner tried to take it apart, then tried to clean the keyboard with water, and then baked the whole thing in the oven. Total repair $1700. New computer $1200.

One other thing to think about: Your hard drive. If your data is NOT backed up, your liquid soaked laptop could be putting your data at risk. This is the first thing we look a when working on a liquid spill case. We remove the hard drive and check to ensure that your data is safe. Most DIY repairs don’t take this into account, and most won’t take the controller off the hard drive to ensure there’s no liquid under it. When making a back up plan, you should take into account laptop damage as a possible way for your data to get in harm’s way. Please ensure you have a back up (tested and working) at all times.

Here’s a testimonial for one that we fixed a while back. This client was smart and he got the unit to us quickly, so we could get the coffee out while it was still wet.

“Well I’ve received my MacBook delivered back to me via your courier; and, I have to tell you that it was like getting a member of the family home from the hospital. Five days after buying my MacBook, I spilled coffee across the open laptop: I was certain that I had just spent $1,200 for coffee I wouldn’t get to enjoy. I never dreamed you could have saved my files– much less the entire computer. I am in awe of the dedication and skill it must have taken to disassemble my laptop, clean it piece by piece, and then return it to me as good as new. Thank you for the attention, the care, and the professionalism you demonstrated in far exceeding my expectations in quality of service and affordability. I highly recommend MacMedics, and would encourage any Mac user who drinks coffee to put your number on speed dial.”

Shane Townsend
Baltimore, Maryland

MacMedics is pleased to now offer MacBook Unibody and MacBook Pro Unibody broken glass/lens and LCD replacement service for our clients. If you’re located in the Baltimore-Washington area, there’s really no faster way to have your broken glass or LCD repaired. No shipping your unit away to who knows where, and no putting your unit into the hands of someone you don’t know or don’t trust. MacMedics has been in business for 20 years, and we revolutionized On-Site Macintosh Service in the Mid-Atlantic area. Let us provide our award-winning Mac Service to you.

If your MacBook Unibody or MacBook Pro Unibody LCD and/or glass/lens is broken, MacMedics can fix that for all sizes of the MacBook Pro Unibody family (also the original MacBook Unibody). Get in touch with us to make arrangements, drop it off in our Lanham or Millersville office, or just mail it into us in Millersville using this form. If you have questions just e-mail us, or call 1-866-MAC-MEDICS

Most repairs are completed within 24 hours, and all sizes of MacBook/MacBook Pro Unibody LCDs and glass are in stock.

MacMedics is also pleased to offer iBook, PowerBook, MacBook, and MacBook Air LCD replacement service in about a day. In cases of older units, MacMedics may also be able to offer you a used LCD panel to save you even more money. All MacMedics LCD and glass replacement service is covered by our full one-year “no-hassle” MacMedics Service Warranty!

When a “Big Box” store with a national advertising campaign hangs out their shingle for Mac service, it might feel like a good option. We’re quickly learning from our clients that having a Mac serviced by someone that’s primarily working on PC’s and not super experienced on servicing Macs might be a bad idea.

Lots of companies are now jumping on the Mac service band wagon. When you have a major Mac service service need like an LCD or logic board, please consider that MacMedics is the regional leader for Apple Macintosh sales and service. We pioneered on-site Macintosh service, and our in-lab service is also highly regarded and award winning. Macintosh computers are highly engineered and as such they often have very small parts, various sized screws, and very tight fittings cases. All three of these things frequently trip up firms that are NOT specialized in Mac service. We frequently see computers after they have already been someplace else and NOT properly serviced. MacMedics is an Apple Authorized Service Provider and we’ve been fixing only Macs for over 20 years. So, before you ship your beloved laptop (or desktop) to places unknown, consider sending or bringing it to MacMedics. Also, all non-warranty Apple repairs are covered by our no hassle 1-year MacMedics warranty. If it fails, we fix it free.

Today, we had a client with a MacBook that had liquid spilled on it. They wanted to act quickly, so they took it to their nearest “Big Box” store, and the guys there quoted them a new logic board. When confronted with a large repair bill, they called MacMedics for a second opinion. We told them it would be a good idea to have us look at it, and ensure that it really did need a new logic board. It’s a good thing they brought it to us, because it turned out they panicked about the amount of liquid that was spilled, and that was not a factor. We think all the unit needed was a “System Manger Controller” reset and it was back on it’s feet. So for $49 they got an in-depth spill inspection and a SMC rest and they were good to go.

In another case of a client taking the “Big Box” route, we had a customer who wanted to get his hard drive upgraded in his G4 iBook. He brought it to us, and because we did not have the exact size drive size he wanted (super rare for us), he opted to take it to a local “Big Box” store for service. It should have been a pretty quick turn around as it was just a hard drive upgrade. After a few days and a few phone calls to their shop to ask about the unit’s progress, it was clear they were having issues with his iBook. We had just seen his computer here when he checked it in for a drive upgrade, but when we figured out we were out of stock, he took the unit with him. Nearly a week later he called me for advice. I told him to pick it up and bring it in for me to check.

We found numerous issues:

• The iBook had not be reassembled correctly
• There were missing screws
• There were stripped screws and screws in the wrong hole
• The iBook’s frame was broken
• The iBook’s logic board was fried as it would no longer display internal or external video

This is the iBook that was damaged by a big box store service dept.

When we added up all of the repair costs to get this super sick iBook back in shape, it looks it’s a better bet to go with one of the new White $999 Apple MacBooks instead of fixing this one. It’s still here, so I assume he’s having a hard time getting the offending service department to pay for their mistakes.

Update 2/22/09:

I ran into our client who had the problem with the big box store’s repair department at the Stefan G. Bucher Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington event on Thursday (MacMedics was a sponsor). He gave me an update on the status of his complaint. He ending up taking the offending service department to Small Claims Court here in Anne Arundel county. The court date is coming up quick, and it appears they are not going to settle out of court. I have to say I’m pretty surprised. Our client has pictures and other pretty convincing evidence to show the court. I’ll let you know what happens.

Update 4/1/09:

I heard from this client yesterday and he informed me that the “Big Box” store that damaged his computer did settle out of court with him for $1000. That of course does not really take into account that he he had to buy a new computer out of pocket, and that he had to wait over six months for the court case. Sad, that the folks that did the damage, waited until the day before court to settle up.

We’re always accepting exciting and difficult in-lab Mac repair work (like liquid spills, LCD screen replacements, hard drive upgrades, and of course data recovery (PLEASE check your back up system if you have one, or get one now that works automatically (like Time machine), so if you’ve got an Apple computer that’s not working correctly, bring it by and let figure out what’s going on with it. MacMedics has a long award-winning track record for service, and as an experienced Apple Authorized Service Provider, we have the tools and knowledge to quickly take care of your repair or data recovery situation.