Rinsed keyboard, now it's not working right

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thecrafter

I have LOVED the Cock for
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I rinsed my ThinkPad keyboard the other day and didn't really give it a chance to completely dry off - I connected it back while it was still semi-wet and turns out the power button is now 'electronically jammed', always pressing itself.

So I disconnected and let it dry off for over 24 hours now and it still does the same thing. Is there any hope to salvage it?
 
Let me get this straight. You put water on electrical components, and now you are wondering why it doesn't work?

If it does not power up, because you could have fried the motherboard.
 
"hey guys, I threw my computer in the washing machine because it was all dusty and dirty"

does this solve your problem?
 
Nono I didn't put the laptop underwater... ThinkPad laptops have keyboards you can disconnect and replace if needed. I just washed the keys but under the keyboard housing is the proprietary connector and ontroller that got a bit wet. I'm wondering if it just needs longer to dry or if I messed it up for good by plugging it in when it was still a little wet. Not sure if you realize but water won't hurt electronics as long as it fully dried before powering them on. But obviously I was impatient.

The laptop itself is good.... I have a spare ThinkPad keyboard I'm using right now but I liked the older one better
 
thecrafter said:
Nono I didn't put the laptop underwater... ThinkPad laptops have keyboards you can disconnect and replace if needed. I just washed the keys but under the keyboard housing is the proprietary connector and ontroller that got a bit wet. I'm wondering if it just needs longer to dry or if I messed it up for good by plugging it in when it was still a little wet. Not sure if you realize but water won't hurt electronics as long as it fully dried before powering them on. But obviously I was impatient.

The laptop itself is good.... I have a spare ThinkPad keyboard I'm using right now but I liked the older one better
Click to expand...

Put it in a bag of rice for a few days and see if that helps. Works miracles on cell phones etc.
 
why water for one?

%95 alcohol, since it evaporates... and let things try!!

:rolleyes:

Not sure if you realize but water won't hurt electronics as long as it fully dried before powering them on. But obviously I was impatient.
Click to expand...

Yes, we are all aware of that.. since there is then...get this.. no more water! if it is dry...lol
 
MrGuvernment said:
why water for one?

%95 alcohol, since it evaporates... and let things try!!

:rolleyes:



Yes, we are all aware of that.. since there is then...get this.. no more water! if it is dry...lol
Click to expand...
Right I thought of doing that but under the keys is rubber and I know from experience isosorpil melts/ruins rubber.

And I'm not sure the people above you realize this, that's why I mentioned that. The fact they think someone is dumb enough to put a LAPTOP under water when I clearly mentioned ThinkPad keyboard only is enough for me to write them off but figured let them know in case they didn't know that.

Here is what the keyboard looks like for those that really don't know and do think I submerged a laptop under water and expect it to work afterwards...

2010623123241302.jpg
 
jmilcher said:
Put it in a bag of rice for a few days and see if that helps. Works miracles on cell phones etc.
Click to expand...

Ah they'll suck out the moisture. Great idea, I'll try that. I wish I could just open the controller and dry it off myself but it's sealed with really bad quality screws that have been stripped
 
I clean my keyboard with water all the time, including laptop and desktop keyboards. Though I let them dry out completely before I try to install them. Using that much alcohol to clean something the size of a keyboard is a waste; when a little soap and water works wonders.

Keyboards get extremely dirty. It amazes me just how dirty they can get.
 
thecrafter said:
Right I thought of doing that but under the keys is rubber and I know from experience isosorpil melts/ruins rubber.
Click to expand...
Here's a website with information about chemical resistance for many different materials:

http://www.coleparmer.com/Chemical-Resistance

I think keyboard rubber is silicone, which the website says has excellent resistance to isopropyl alcohol and good resistance to ethyl alcohol.

Probably the #1 important thing about rinsing electronics is drying them thoroughly by keeping them warm for at least 24-48 hours. Do NOT put them in an oven to do that. Also it's best for any final rinse to be alcohol or distilled water.
 
Do explain why using the oven is not a good idea? Back when I had a gas oven, I could turn the temperature down to like 110*F or 120*F, forget which but it was a good bit lower than my electric oven does now. I'd leave wet electronics in them for a few hours and they'd be nice and dry.
 
Skillz said:
Do explain why using the oven is not a good idea? Back when I had a gas oven, I could turn the temperature down to like 110*F or 120*F, forget which but it was a good bit lower than my electric oven does now. I'd leave wet electronics in them for a few hours and they'd be nice and dry.
Click to expand...
I was thinking of conventional electric ovens, which can really overshoot the set temperature. OTOH convection ovens should be OK and can usually be set to 100F.
 
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