Steph, in tales of not-that-much-woe, I dumped half a water bottle on my MBP, and turned it on way too soon. the death toll was a bright spot on the screen and my battery (it worked when plugged in, but the battery wouldn't charge). I took it to the Apple Store, and the nice lady swapped my battery for free since she couldn't actually see any water damage and it was still under warranty.

So now it's almost as new. I think keeping it turned off is the key thing.

Some Mac products (like the iPhone) have things inside that turn color permanently if they get wet. That way if you drop your phone in the toilet, Apple can tell.

Hopefully they don't have this thing in the MacBook Pro.

Anyway, it sounds like you've done everything you can. Good luck. (I dumped a cup of water on my iBook's keyboard, and it survived. But I could flip the keyboard open and get some of the water out that way.)

Steph, in tales of not-that-much-woe, I dumped half a water bottle on my MBP, and turned it on way too soon. the death toll was a bright spot on the screen and my battery (it worked when plugged in, but the battery wouldn't charge). I took it to the Apple Store, and the nice lady swapped my battery for free since she couldn't actually see any water damage and it was still under warranty.

So now it's almost as new. I think keeping it turned off is the key thing.

I'm just going to keep it off for several days and then see what it does. If it's cranky, I might open up the case to see if there's coffee residue.

I am VERY glad I don't put sugar in my coffee, but I am regretting the half-and-half addiction.

Hopefully they don't have this thing in the MacBook Pro.

The interpipe tells me they started putting them in the MBP in 2009-ish. So I think it does.

(I dumped a cup of water on my iBook's keyboard, and it survived. But I could flip the keyboard open and get some of the water out that way.)

I know! As old and crochety as this iBook is, being able to remove the battery and flip up the keyboard is excellent.

I thought I read that Apple stores were no longer going to treat liquid damage any more harshly than other damage when customers bring the devices in.

In any case, Steph, if you have problems with it, I would take it into an Apple Store, turn your charm to maximum and I bet they will help you out.

I spilled a 64 oz cup of water on my macbook once. I let it dry out for 48 hours, then crossed my fingers and tried to turn it on: no dice. I thought I was screwed. Took it to TekServe (non-Apple Apple store in NYC, actually where Apple got the Genius Bar idea), didn't mention the water. They sent it to Apple. By the time it got there, it had finished drying out, and turned on fine. They sent it back to me and it worked perfectly well for another year or so, at which point a poorly-closed Diet Dr. Pepper soaked my entire backpack during an airplane flight and killed its ability to charge a battery, or even read charge from a battery. And that was probably because I tried to turn it on too quickly. Still works fine if plugged in, though, and is currently being used as a media center.

The moral of this story is that the computers are more capable of enduring liquid spills than you might think. Let it sit for another 48-72 hours then try. I think it will probably be fine. The amount of non-drying residue in coffee is probably not more than the amount of stuff that drips off of your fingers over the course of a year or so, and the computer can withstand that.

I thought of something earlier. If you expose your laptop to a vacuum, all the water in it will boil off. (Don't turn it on in a vacuum, as hard drives need air in them to function correctly.)

No idea where you'd find a vacuum on Earth, except for NASA test chambers. But freeze-drying relies on vacuum, right?

edit - applies only to water, AFAIK.

eta²: And booze.

Teppy, Immediately turning it off is the best first step you could have done. Letting it dry is a good plan.

One thing that might help is to remove all the screws on the bottom and pull it off to let more air in. The screws are user-removable, as that's how you upgrade the ram.

Apple's instructions on memory replacement shows the steps and screws: [link]

I spent quite a long time this afternoon trying to get the screws out of the bottom case, and could only get 3 out of the 10 out with the tiny screwdriver set we have at home. (I *thought* they were the only tiny screwdrivers in the house.)

When Tim got home he got his Amazing Super Special screwdriver (apparently tucked away in The Attic Of Amazing Things) that enabled me to get the remaining screws out in about 60 seconds. If only I had known we had it in the house, I would have gotten the thing open this morning.

Anyway, once I got the back open, I didn't seen any evidence of coffee, though I have to wonder if some got under the keyboard. I'm keeping it inverted over paper towels and plan to keep it that way for another day or 2, and then I'll turn it upright and check under the keys. And then try to start it back up.

I named the damn thing The Batcave. It should be tough as hell and able to withstand all kinds of unspeakable horrors visited upon it, including a cup of joe.

You've put in on a bed of rice, right? That's worked for a couple of phones, for me.

I did put it on rice. I'ma wait another 24-48 hours before I flip it back over and try to turn it on. I am the world's worst at delaying gratification and so the wait is KILLING me.