Liquid damage repair
Spilt a drink on your laptop, MacBook or phone? Switch it off now, don’t charge it, and bring it in as soon as you can. We check what the liquid has damaged, then give you a price before any repair.
- Diagnosis first
- 12 month warranty
- Same day where possible
- Repairing since 2012
Spilt a drink?
What to do straight away
The first hour after a spill makes the biggest difference. Do these now.
Switch it off
Hold the power button until it goes off. Don’t wait for it to shut down on its own, and don’t switch it back on to check.
Unplug it, and don’t charge it
Take the charger out and leave it out. Power running through a wet board does the worst damage.
Tip a laptop over
Open it wide and stand it upside down like a tent, so the liquid runs away from the board rather than into it.
Wipe off what you can
Use a soft, lint-free cloth on the outside. Don’t push anything into the ports or under the keys.
No heat, and no rice
A hair dryer or radiator can damage the parts, and rice doesn’t draw the liquid out. Small bits of it can get into the ports.
Bring it in quickly
Corrosion starts soon after a spill and carries on after the device looks dry. The sooner it’s cleaned, the better its chances.
What liquid does
Why speed matters
Water on its own is bad enough. Tea, coffee, juice, wine and fizzy drinks also leave sugar, milk or acid behind.
With power on the board, liquid causes short circuits straight away. Without power, it still corrodes the tiny parts and connections on the board, and it carries on after the device looks dry.
That’s why a laptop that seemed fine after a spill can stop working a week or two later. The sooner the board is cleaned, the less the corrosion has spread.
Switch it off, unplug it and bring it to our workshop in Datchet, near Windsor and Slough, as soon as you can. If you’re not sure what to do, call us on 01753 944 444.
Laptops
Laptops and MacBooks
On a laptop, liquid usually gets in through the keyboard, so the keyboard, the trackpad and the board underneath are most at risk.
- Cleaning and board repairWe clean the board, find the parts that have failed and repair at component level where we can.
- New parts where neededWe replace the keyboard or other parts if the liquid has ruined them.
- MacBooksSee MacBook logic board repair and MacBook keyboard repair.
- Windows laptopsSee laptop repairs.
Phones and tablets
Phones and tablets
For a wet iPhone, Apple’s own advice matches ours: no heat, no compressed air, nothing pushed into the charging port, and no rice.
- “Liquid detected” in the charging portUnplug the cable and don’t charge it until it’s dry, which can take up to a day.
- Won’t turn on or charge after getting wetBring it in. See iPhone repairs and iPad repairs.
Price
The diagnostic fee
Liquid damage diagnostic
£35
Prices include VAT.
Paid when you drop the device off, and taken off the bill if you go ahead with the repair.
Book a diagnosticMost diagnoses here are free. Liquid damage is one of two exceptions, because finding it means taking the device apart and checking every part the liquid reached for corrosion. Gaming PCs are the other.
Then we tell you what’s damaged, what we can repair and what it costs, and nothing more is done until you say yes.
Can it be saved?
It depends on what was spilt, how much, and how quickly it was switched off. We can’t promise every device will come back, but we’ll tell you honestly what we find and whether the repair is worth it.
If the files on it matter more than the device, tell us when you bring it in. See data recovery: we recover data in our own workshop.
How it works
How a repair works
Step 1: Book, call or drop in
Book online, call 01753 944 444, or walk in and drop your device off.
Step 2: Diagnosis
We find the fault first. Free diagnostics on most repairs.
Step 3: Your quote
We tell you the price before any work starts, and you decide.
Step 4: Repair and test
We repair it and test it properly before it’s ready.
Step 5: Collect it
Repairs come with a 12 month warranty (6 months on MacBook screens).
- Where possible, when the part is in stock. If it has to be ordered, we tell you when to expect it
- Same day
- Warranty on repairs, 6 months on MacBook screens
- 12 months
- Diagnostics on most repairs
- Free
Reviews
What customers say
Common questions
Your questions answered
How much does liquid damage repair cost?
The diagnostic costs £35, including VAT. You pay it when you drop the device off, and it comes off the bill if you go ahead with the repair. It tells us what the liquid has damaged, and we give you the price of the repair before any repair work starts.
Why isn’t the diagnosis free, like most of your repairs?
Because finding liquid damage means taking the device apart and checking the board and every part the liquid reached for corrosion, which takes much longer than a normal diagnosis.
Should I put it in rice?
No. Rice doesn’t draw liquid out of a laptop or phone, and small bits of it can get into the ports. Switch it off, keep it off the charger and bring it in.
It works again now it’s dry. Do I still need to bring it in?
It’s worth it. Whatever was in the liquid stays on the board when it dries and keeps corroding the parts, so a laptop or phone that works today can fail days or weeks later.
Can you save the files on it?
Tell us when you bring it in if the files matter more than the device. If it can’t be repaired, we can talk to you about data recovery, which we do in our own workshop.
Will the manufacturer’s warranty cover it?
Manufacturer warranties don’t usually cover liquid damage, but home or gadget insurance sometimes does, so it’s worth checking your policy before you decide.
Tell us what’s wrong and we’ll take a look
Book a repair, call us, or send us a quick question and we’ll get back to you during opening hours.