Liquid damage is one of the most common MacBook repairs we see, and the first 60 seconds after a spill are critical. What you do (and don’t do) in that window often determines whether the MacBook is recoverable.

Do this immediately:

1. Power off the MacBook completely. Hold the power button for 10 seconds. Don’t shut down via the menu — that takes too long. Force-off is fine in this scenario.
2. Disconnect everything. Unplug the charger, remove any USB-C / Thunderbolt accessories, eject any external drives.
3. DO NOT plug it in to charge. This is the single most damaging thing people do post-spill. Applying power to a damp board is what turns “moisture inside” into “corrosion across critical traces” within 24-72 hours. The MacBook may seem to “still work” for a day or two — that’s the dangerous window where corrosion is silently building up.
4. If you can, open the lid and tilt the MacBook upside down (screen down, keyboard up) on a towel, to let any liquid drain out the keyboard rather than pool on the logic board.
5. Let it sit, powered off, for at least 24-48 hours in a warm dry room (not on a radiator, not in direct sun). This is the bare minimum air-dry time.

DO NOT do these things — they make the damage worse:

• Rice. Rice does nothing useful and rice dust gets inside the keyboard. The “rice trick” is a myth.
• Hairdryer or heat gun. Heat at the wrong temperature melts adhesives, warps batteries, and can crack solder joints.
• Radiators / direct heat sources. Same problem.
• “Just leaving it overnight and trying it tomorrow.” 24 hours is the absolute minimum and even that’s risky — the time-to-corrosion window for many liquids is 12-24 hours.
• Plugging it in to “see if it still works.” Once you do this with moisture inside, you’ve upgraded the damage from “drying problem” to “active corrosion.”
• Sticking it in the oven, freezer, or microwave. We have seen people try all three. None of them work.

Then send it to us. Even after a “successful” home dry-out, residue from the liquid is still on the logic board and will continue to corrode over weeks/months. Our liquid damage repair service includes ultrasonic cleaning of the affected board layers, component-level inspection of the most-likely-failed parts (charge IC, audio codec, PMIC, USB-C ports), and microsoldering replacement of anything that’s failed. Fixed UK-wide mail-in price, 1-year warranty on the work.

If the spill was sugary (cola, juice, beer, wine) or salty (saltwater, sweat), send it in faster — sugar caramelises and salt water is significantly more corrosive than tap water. Same-day or next-day service is available.

Not sure if your MacBook needs the liquid-damage service? Get in touch via the contact page with a short description of what spilled and what’s happening (or not happening) when you try to power on. We’ll tell you what’s most likely before you send anything in.

Phone: 01202 767 929. 612 Wimborne Road, Winton, Bournemouth, BH9 2EN.