Laptop dropped into water - what to do about water damage?

If you have dropped your laptop into the water, you should act as soon as possible to avoid water damage. We'll show you how to solve the problem.

First aid: if the laptop has fallen into the water

Turn off the laptop immediately if it hasn't crashed yet.
Then remove the power cable if it is connected.
Now pour the remaining water out of the laptop. Hold the laptop at an angle and not overhead. The screen should not be filled with water.
If possible remove the battery. Again, you shouldn't turn the laptop upside down.
If your laptop can be easily opened or at least the keyboard can be removed, you can do so. To accelerate the drying process, carefully dab the inside with a little household paper.
Now you can only do one thing: wait a very long time. Depending on the amount of fluid, you should wait two to three days before trying to start again.

If you only poured water over your laptop, chances are. It can be critical with coke, coffee or other drinks.

The amount is also decisive: a little water usually only does a little damage and evaporates quickly. But even if it was a small amount of water: let the laptop stand a day longer than switch it on too early and risk a short circuit.
Under no circumstances should you try to speed up the process with a hair dryer, heating or even the oven. Dry, ventilated places with room temperature are best suited.
If the laptop does not come on afterwards, all that remains is to go to a specialist. An assessment usually costs around 30 euros. In many cases, however, the repair costs exceed the current value of the laptops. A new purchase should therefore also be considered. A new notebook is already available for less than 400 euros.
Note: Even if the laptop is no longer working: In most cases, the data can still be saved. Remove the hard drive yourself or have the data saved by a specialist.

In the next practical tip, we will show you how to repair your smartphone with water damage if the worst comes to the worst.