My brother spilled tea on the keyboard...

[avitous]

My brother spilled tea on the keyboard of my Compaq Presario 700z. A few keys don't work: The Spacebar, Function, B, N, left Alt, and left Ctrl. I don't know how to go about fixing this and I don't want to have to buy a new keyboard or a new laptop. Help?

 

[ghnader hsmithot]

i had this problem and yes i had to go to HP to repair it.I spilled boiling soup on my laptop.You have to go to the service center to get it fixed.

 

[tajisi]

Turn the computer off and remove the battery. Splash about two cap-fulls of rubbing alcohol around the non-working keys and leave it off for 48 hours. Do -not- power it on until the keyboard has a chance to dry completely. The idea is to get the rubbing alcohol to dilute the tea residue and to evaporate dry.

 

[avitous]

The rubbing alcohol won't damage the keys in any way? I was always told to keep rubbing alcohol away from computers.

 

[king smp]

90 percent Isopropyl alcohol is the best to use for cleaning electronic components
NOTHING with ammonia (windex,409 etc)
Iso alc is found at any pharmacy usually
Rubbing alcohol is the same stuff but mixed with menthol and other fragrances


BTW replacing a laptop kybd is generally VERY easy
My 10 year old Dell Vostro 1000 keyboard was ruined
Cost me 10 bucks on ebay and a half hour to swap out

 

[avitous]

THanks guys. I'll try cleaning it and if it doesn't work, I'll go browse Ebay

 

[king smp]

edit
"my 10 year old <daughter spilled something on her> Dell Vostro 1000 keyboard and it was ruined"

My senior year english teacher wouldve beat me for that sentence

 

[Shpati]

The rubbing alcohol won't damage the keys in any way? I was always told to keep rubbing alcohol away from computers.

Rubbing alcohol (I think), will remove the finish on your keyboard. It will not damage it, but since it is so strong it will remove all the wax etc. in the finish and make your keyboard not look like new. As it does for other things, like finish on wood, rubber, plastic, leather.

There is a way you can remove the keyboard panel on most laptops. I would look that up on your model. And rinse that keyboard panel with water. And check your for any damage inside the laptop. Be careful not to void your warranty if you have any.

 

[avitous]

This laptop is too old of a computer. I've looked for ways to remove the keyboard, but I can't find anything helpful and I'm afraid to experiment to take it off.

 

[tajisi]

Rubbing alcohol (I think), will remove the finish on your keyboard. It will not damage it, but since it is so strong it will remove all the wax etc. in the finish and make your keyboard not look like new. As it does for other things, like finish on wood, rubber, plastic, leather.

There is a way you can remove the keyboard panel on most laptops. I would look that up on your model. And rinse that keyboard panel with water. And check your for any damage inside the laptop. Be careful not to void your warranty if you have any.

That's strange because I've never had that issue happen. I've used it to clean many surfaces with no ill effect, including laptop keyboards, cpu heatsinks, surfaces, removing grime/fringerprings from devices, and even sticker residue. Never seen any wear or any negative effect on it.

 

[king smp]

Isopropyl alcohol is the preferred electronic component cleaner
I use it on everything
keyboard,tower even my phone
never had a problem