Laptop won’t turn on after water spill.

Question

Lenovo IdeaPad S145-15

15" versatile and affordable laptop. Has both AMD and Intel models.

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Lycan @othniel

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crwdns2931729:0crwdne2931729:0: Kul 11, 2021

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Laptop won’t turn on after water spill.

A friend of mine accidentally dropped his water bottle into the pocket of my messenger bag where my laptop was sitting in. The laptop was in its own bag, but I only noticed that the water bottle was in my bag after 5 minutes or so. I took it out of the case and wiped the water off with a tissue paper, I turned it on and it was working quite well despite the slowness of my browser. After an hour, I closed the laptop and to go attend to some errands, after another 5 minutes, I plugged in my laptop to start working again, I booted it up and it while I was working it froze, so I shut it off and plugged it into a power source, then it stopped turning on. I then noticed that there was still some water on the power button. It’s been another hour and it still hasn’t turned on, any info that could help?

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Wolphin @wolphin

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crwdns2931729:0crwdne2931729:0: Kul 11, 2021

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First, remove the power (unplug and pull the battery if possible)

Likely there is still water in it, if the button is wet. You will need to dry it out. Getting some desiccant, and putting the laptop with it, and while making there is room for some airflow and letting it dry out; it may take a few days.

Using some rice would work, as it is good to absorb moisture (put the laptop in something like a cotton pillow case, to keep the rice separate)

Sadly, the longer the time between when it gets wet and when it is dried, it can allow oxidization and corrosion of the components and is a chance that it will not work.

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Hi @wolphin

This link may be of interest to you

Rice is for dinner, not repair

The best way is to open the laptop, disconnect the battery from the motherboard and clean all the affected parts with Isopropyl Alcohol 99%+

crwdns2934271:0Kul 11, 2021crwdnd2934271:0 jayeff crwdne2934271:0

It is better than nothing... especially when you are not in a place that you can get anything else. Opening up the item would be better, I agree. I do know people have placed camera lenses in a bag then into the rice, in a 3rd world country where actual descant is not available.

crwdns2934271:0Kul 11, 2021crwdnd2934271:0 Wolphin crwdne2934271:0

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Hi @wolphin

This link may be of interest to you

Rice is for dinner, not repair

The best way is to open the laptop, disconnect the battery from the motherboard and clean all the affected parts with Isopropyl Alcohol 99%+ — jayeff
It is better than nothing... especially when you are not in a place that you can get anything else. Opening up the item would be better, I agree. I do know people have placed camera lenses in a bag then into the rice, in a 3rd world country where actual descant is not available. — Wolphin

score 1 · Answer 1 · 2021-03-11T20:38:15-07:00

Hi @othniel ,

The impurities in the water causes corrosion and provides circuit paths for the electricity which were not in the laptop’s operating design and could damage the components. The corrosion starts immediately and is ongoing until it is completely cleaned away

First do not try to charge or to turn on your laptop and then remove the battery as soon as possible from the laptop to minimize any further damage.

Then you need to dis-assemble the rest of the laptop and clean all the affected parts using Isopropyl Alcohol 99%+ (available at electronics parts stores) to remove all traces of corrosion and water. If possible do not use "rubbing alcohol" as in some cases this is only 70% IPA or less, can contain additives and is not as effective. If you do have to use it check the label to verify the amount of IPA. The higher the percentage of IPA the better

Here is a link that describes the process. Electronics Water Damage

As always with electronics, especially surface mounted pcb be gentle when handling and especially when brushing away the corrosion. You do not want to remove any components from the board. Remove the shields that may be covering some components as the water may have got in under there. The ends of any flex cables and their connectors need to be cleaned as well

Hopefully after you have done all this the laptop might possibly work correctly again.

Here is a link to the hardware maintenance manual for the laptop which will help you with dis-assembly etc

If this process seems too daunting, take your laptop to a reputable, professional laptop repair service, experienced in liquid damage repair and ask for a quote for a repair. If you decide to do this, do it sooner than later.

Timothy @timothy49601 crwdns2934065:0crwdne2934065:0: 1 · Answer 2 · 2025-08-12T13:13:31-07:00

Timothy @timothy49601

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crwdns2931729:0crwdne2931729:0: masiku 3 agoMha 12, 2025

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The battery get flat and I was trying to charge the PC. At that moment it get wet of water. I removed the charger cable immediately and started to dry it out. I put it on the towel until the next day and try to charge it. It was just off, even the LED flash lights were off. I have not open the PC to determine what the exact fault or damage is. I can't switch on and am worried. What advice do you have. It's a hp laptop the one with a built-in battery. How can I test the charger cord to know if it works, because it seems the power is not going through. The other concern is that the Led lights are not flashing.

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Hi @timothy49601

What is the model number of the laptop as shown on the product information label on the bottom of the laptop?

Can you easily remove the battery from the laptop or do you have to open the laptop to do this?

Ideally it is advisable to disconnect the battery as soon as possible when liquids have come in contact with the motherboard in a laptop.

Do NOT try to charge it or turn it on again until the problem is fixed as you can cause more damage than what there is now.

You may need a DMM (digital multimeter) to find out what's wrong once the laptop has been opened. You will also need it to make sure that the charger is OK as well.

crwdns2934271:0masiku 3 agoMha 13, 2025crwdnd2934271:0 jayeff crwdne2934271:0

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Lenovo IdeaPad S145-15

Laptop won’t turn on after water spill.

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