Liquid Damage Repair in Charleston
Coffee, wine, water or a trip to the beach — liquid damage is one of the most common reasons a MacBook or iPhone dies. Board-level cleaning and repair can bring it back, often with all your data intact.
Why liquid damage gets worse over time
When liquid gets inside a device, the minerals and sugars it leaves behind keep reacting with powered circuits. That corrosion slowly eats away at tiny pads and traces under the chips — which is why laptops often keep working for a few days after a spill and then suddenly die.
Living in Charleston’s humidity and salt air doesn’t help either. Once corrosion sets in, drying it out isn’t enough. The board needs proper cleaning and repair.
How I repair liquid damage
- Full teardown and inspection under the microscope to find every affected area
- Deep cleaning with isopropyl alcohol and flux remover to strip residue and corrosion from the board
- Component replacement for shorted or corroded parts, and repair of damaged traces
- Testing of charging, display, keyboard, trackpad and ports before it goes back to you
What’s commonly damaged
Keyboards, trackpads, backlight circuits, charging circuits, USB-C ports and power management chips are the usual casualties. Sometimes the board is fine and only a keyboard or display cable needs replacing — the free diagnosis tells you exactly what you’re dealing with.
Need your files back?
If repairing the whole device doesn’t make sense, I can often get it working long enough to recover your data. See data recovery.
Liquid damage FAQ
Should I put my wet MacBook in rice?
No. Rice doesn't remove the liquid or minerals already under the chips, and it wastes time while corrosion spreads. Power it off, unplug it, and get it in for cleaning as soon as you can.
My laptop still works after a spill. Do I need to do anything?
Yes, get it checked. Corrosion keeps working after the liquid dries, and devices often fail days or weeks later. Early cleaning is the cheapest fix.
Can you fix it if it's been dead for a while?
Often, yes. Older liquid damage takes more work because corrosion has spread, but many boards are still repairable, and data can often be recovered.
Will Apple fix liquid damage?
Liquid damage isn't covered by Apple's standard warranty, and Apple typically quotes a board or device replacement. Board-level repair fixes the damaged circuits instead.
Told it’s not worth fixing? Get a second opinion.
Diagnostics are free. Tell me the model and what’s going on, and I’ll let you know honestly whether it can be saved and what it’ll cost — before any work starts.