Danger of sparks?

[Patti_Mik]

Two days ago, I spilled coffee on my keyboard. I turned it upside down immediately, also later used a shop vacuum with a small brush attachment to attempt to remove as much liquid as possible. Finally, I left it sitting upside down for a full 24 hours. This morning, I booted it up, nervously. Other than the spacebar sticking initially, it seems to be working OK... for now. My question is about the risk of a short circuit or spark or fire due to residual liquid inside the keyboard. I put a paper towel under the keyboard. After a few hours of it sitting upside down, there were no further spots of liquid.

What is the likelihood of any kind of short or spark ignition, now that some time has passed?  😯  If so, are there things I should be doing to prevent it?

I would really appreciate any wisdom from you guys...

[erico]

You may have gotten away with the spill. 

There is no way any of us can guarantee that nothing  else could possibly go wrong. 

Your immediate action was the best thing you could have done.

The only other thing I would have considered is putting it upside down inside a sealed bag eith plenty rice to absorb all moisture.   

[Huffer]

The risk of fire, spark is almost non-existant. However, it often happens the laptop will seem OK then die a few days later. Sometimes it take a while for rust to form and bridge electronic circuits and kill the motherboard. You should really have the laptop disassembled and thoroughly cleaned inside by someone who knows what she is doing. 

[Patti_Mik]

Thank you. I thought the same thing. I talked to our local computer guy. He said that if I insisted, he would do it, but he didn't really see the benefit. I think his position is... either it will work or it won't. He doesn't seem to think there is anything he can do about it, except take my money. I had read what you said... that it might work for a while, then not. Also, the local guy said most laptops have a membrane between the keyboard and the workings. He thought if there was damage it would be to the keyboard. I appreciate your feedback. I live in a very small town. There used to be another guy who works on computers, but he closed his business... :'(

[Patti_Mik]

I truly hope you are right. I don't know if I dare to hope. I guess I'll just keep using it and backing up every day. I wondered when I could consider that I am "out of the woods". what I mean is, if it was going to fail, how long (generally) would that take?

Anyway, I certainly realize there are no guarantees you all can offer me. I was just hoping for people's experiences. 🙂

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

No hard and fast rule but if it works OK for 3 or 4 days I would say you are good.