Spilled coffee on your laptop

The first ten minutes (do this now)

1. Shut it down. Hold the power button until it's truly off. Power + liquid is what kills boards — the liquid itself is often survivable; electricity through it usually isn't.
2. Unplug the charger. Same reason.
3. Turn it upside down, open like a tent, and let it drain. Gravity is your friend for the next hour.
4. Blot what you can reach. Don't wipe deeper in.

What NOT to do (each of these makes it worse)

• Don't power it on "to see if it still works." This is the classic. It works, you feel relief, the wet board keeps energizing and corroding. Test it once, at the bench.
• Don't bury it in rice. Rice doesn't pull liquid out of a sealed chassis; it does add dust and starch, and it wastes the day the damage is most reversible.
• Don't hit it with a hair dryer. Hot air pushes liquid deeper and can cook components.
• Don't wait a week to see if it "dries out." Sugary coffee keeps corroding traces the whole time. Every bench tech has a sad story that started as a small spill plus patience.

What it costs to find out

Diagnose is $49, credited toward any repair you approve. Liquid-damage repairs vary with how far the coffee traveled and how fast it got here — we quote the repair before any work starts, and we'll tell you straight when the board isn't worth saving. (The cost guide shows the realistic liquid-damage ranges.)