S.O.S! (Save Our Systems)- Tip #1

Scenario: It’s late on a Friday evening and instead of joining your friends for cocktails your are working feverishly in your home office to make the end of the month deadline. Typically you keep a cool head, but you’ve always been an overachiever. The stress of the situation gets to you and you foolishly knock over your nonfat mocha latte all over your laptop keyboard.

This is a classic PC 911 Emergency, but there’s no need to panic.

Tip #1: Everyone knows that water and electronics don't mix, but a little spill doesn't necessarily mean the end of the world. Follow these S.O.S. instructions offered by PC World and you may quite possibly be able to recover from the damage. Odds are not in your favor for full recovery, but you can do your best to remedy this digital device faux pas.

1. If the device is still on, turn it off immediately and remove any batteries, CDs, SIM cards, memory cards, and the like. For a notebook, remove any modular components like PC Cards and removable optical drives.
2. Dry off any visible liquid with a towel. Depending on how comfortable you are with the process, disassemble the device as much as possible and as quickly as possible to improve your chances of recovering it. This is essential if you can actually hear trapped liquid sloshing around inside.
3. Desiccants will absorb moisture. Put the device in a sealed bag with a few silica gel packets. Only brand-new packets will work--old ones will have long ago absorbed their limit in moisture. The same trick can work with regular uncooked white rice and even salt; just make sure not to get any grains inside the device. (Try wrapping your gadget in tissue paper.)
4. Heat can evaporate water. Put the device on the dashboard of your car for an afternoon (just make sure that it doesn't get hotter than about 150 degrees). Keeping your cell phone in your front pants pocket all day also might warm it enough, as might a hair dryer (don't set it on high, though). Make sure the battery is removed if you try any of these tricks.
5. If the device has (or is) a keyboard, put it upside down for a spell to give the liquid a chance to drain out.
   
   

To see some of these tips illustrated, watch PC World’s video about how you save a wet gadget. For more upcoming S.O.S. tips on PC disasters, revisit the She-Tech blog and most of all…stay connected!