Lotion spilled on keyboard, please help!

[Asteriska]

I've already googled it, but there's not much info on what to do about a lotion spill specifically. I don't know if the fact that it's lotion (as opposed to a thinner liquid) makes a difference, so I'm asking for help.

I opened a tube of hand lotion and it sort of exploded. A bit splattered onto my keyboard (the splatter was about quarter sized, or a bit bigger). I cleaned it off with a tissue, but then noticed some of the keys were typing the wrong letters when I used the keyboard. So I removed the keys around the area of the spill. I only saw trace amounts of lotion in the crevices, which I cleaned out; this leads me to hope that the lotion didn't trickle any further into the inside of the laptop. But I never got the keys working right. I shut down the laptop and removed the battery, and now I have it sitting upside down (hoping that will prevent it from leaking further in).

What else should do? Is lotion as much of a threat as liquid? I'm really scared right now. I really, really need this laptop for work and can't afford a new one.

I don't know if this is important, but just in case: some of the keys that weren't working properly were not the keys that the lotion spilled on. At least one key was on the opposite side of the keyboard from the spill.

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

Well so far you seem to be doing everything right .... just leave it as long as you can to dry off ...

What model Mac laptop do you have? This info will help.

 

[Asteriska]

Late 2008 Aluminum Macbook. Sorry, should have said that to begin with.

Thanks for the response!

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

Asteriska, you will need an external keyboard to test things out .... once you're sure it's dried out and put back together ... if the keys don't work BUT everything types fine with an ext keyboard attached ... then we'll know the extent of the damage.

I'm not promising anything here, it might be easily sorted or it might turn out an expensive repair - can't be sure. sorry.

 

[Asteriska]

How long do you think I should wait before turning it back on?

Would cleaning out the inside be a good idea? I'm not sure what that would entail or where I should start... Or if it would risk further damage.

Right now I have a fan blowing on it to hopefully dry the lotion.

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

Are you okay with putting the keys back together again? That can be a real PITA.

How long has it been?

 

[Asteriska]

It's been over an hour.

I'm willing to do anything if it might save my laptop, and there's no risk of damaging it further. But since I'm not experienced with computer assembly/repair, I'm afraid I'll mess up.

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

Are you near a Apple Repairer? Try out the external keyboard first .... leave it off for as long as you can. Is it a unibody model?

 

[Asteriska]

Thanks! Wasn't sure if cleaning it ASAP would be a good idea. I'll wait.

I don't see any crevices around the keyboard, so I guess it's a unibody.

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

What you've done so far is good, you turned it off, tried to clean as much as possible and turned the MacBook upside down to try to minimalise damage. You have done extremely good work there!

Hand Lotion is thick as opposed to a liquid which travels quickly and I'm not sure exactly the best way to clean it other than using extreme caution, which I'm sure you have ... with a slightly damp cloth or ear bud .... is there a USB port for an ext keyboard? You might need a Bluetooth keyboard if not.

 

[Asteriska]

Glad to know I took the right steps. I'm hoping the thickness of the lotion will work in my favor (but at the same time nervous there are chemicals in the lotion that presen more of a threat).

There is a USB port, so hopefully I'll be able to borrow a keyboard from a friend.

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

Yes, the additives were what bothered me too ... we'll be looking for updates from you on this please Asteriska

 

[Asteriska]

I just tried turning on the computer again. Didn't have an external keyboard, but it accepted my login password even though at least one of the letters displayed incorrectly. So far everything except the keyboard seems to be working normally.

Wondering if it's safe to use it regularly again? Even though I have most everything backed up on an external hard drive, I'm anxious to back up important files a second time, just in case.

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

Sounds like the lotion didn't cause too much trouble after all. I would say it should be fine to use again and think that it's an excellent idea to back up things again.

 

[Asteriska]

Thanks so much for all your help!