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Question

How can I make my keys stop sticking after spilling wine?

Jan 19, 2012 8:03AM PST

I spilled wine on my keyboard a couple days ago. It is already a replacement. The keys all still work fine but they are sticking down. Is there any way to make them un-sticky?

Discussion is locked

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Clarification Request
Laptop or desktop?
Jan 20, 2012 7:31PM PST

It isn't clear if you are talking about a laptop, (which most people seem to be assuming) or a desktop, plugged in keyboard.

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Sorry..
Jan 20, 2012 7:34PM PST

I know this is posted to a laptop forum but it didn't hurt to double check

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Answer
Not really, no
Jan 19, 2012 11:01AM PST

Not really, no. For what it would cost to have someone replace each of the scissor mechanisms that is likely all gummed up, you could probably just get a new top case put on, which would have an all new keyboard without the sticky wine residue. With liquid damage, you could expect that to run you maybe $200US give or take, for a complete top case replacement. If someone were to try and replace the individual keycaps, the parts would be cheap, it's the labor that'd kill you, because it could easily take 2 hours to replace all those keycaps and scissors. Figuring an average of $100US/hr for labor, and maybe $50 for the part, you're probably better off on the top case replacement.

I would also be prepared for the very real possibility that at some point your laptop will start to malfunction and then fail. Liquid damage can be unpredictable. Sometimes units can take a near literal bath and keep working fine for years, other times the slightest hint of liquid will cause them to completely short out. Most of the time if a unit seems to be working fine after the spill, it will eventually stop working. Hopefully you get lucky and it works without issue for a long time to come, but do be aware that the odds aren't in your favor. Might not hurt to start a slush fund for a replacement. Blunt the hit on your wallet a little.

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If you have an iBook maybe
Jan 20, 2012 12:26PM PST

The old iBooks had replaceable keyboards, mainly because the keys were really cheap and easily broke, I believe. Even then, if the liquid had seeped below the keyboard level and into the motherboard, the damage is irreparable. Or at least unknown.

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Not such a good idea
Jan 20, 2012 10:16PM PST

Not such a good idea really. Apple uses some pretty precision engineering when they design things, and I've had to tell some people who use those things that they don't qualify for a display replacement because those covers created enough pressure on the display panel to cause damage which Apple won't cover.

What you'll get is a pressure line around some of the keys, and it will look kind of like someone took a grease pen and drew on the display. You'll either get a long horizontal line about 1/4 of the way down which marks the edge of the keyboard, or somewhere a little right of center you'll get something that looks like a J or a comma with a line over the top.

You can also get this by improperly carrying your laptop... So always carry it with TWO HANDS, one on either side of the unit from the bottom preferably.

The best solution really is not to eat or drink around your laptop/computer. Even if you have one of those keyboard covers, then the liquid is just more likely to find its way to the trackpad area and seep down that way, or over the sides into the port array which is generally soldered directly to the MLB. So ultimately it really doesn't matter, you're screwed if you spill something. Your only real hope is cleaning it up as quickly as possible, and hoping that you got to it before any made its way inside the unit.

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Answer
Wash it out.
Jan 20, 2012 2:43PM PST

I have washed both the individual keyboards like in the old Mac Book titanium and the newer one piece top/keyboard/trackpad. Wash/soak in clear warm water, then blow out with compressed air, and then let dry for several days. Some folks have even put keyboards in the dishwasher... nrk