Speaking from the experienced viewpoint of a clumsy person, laptop spills can happen to the best of us. A slip, trip or exuberant canine knocking a tidal wave of coffee across the desk; avoiding fear-mongering undertones, no-one is safe!
Smartphone and iPad trade in is just part of what we get up to. We’re always on hand to help out our clients – iPad sellers to old Kindle fans – with life’s little gadget-based frustrations. Geeks to the core, here are a few cardinal sins and saintly manoeuvres to minimise the damage of laptop spills.

• Don’t leave your laptop and run for a cloth, follow our steps FIRST.
• Don’t bother trying to save your work unless it’s more valuable than the actual laptop (like spy secrets or something)
• Unplug the mains power (if connected), turn off the laptop (holding the power key for 8-10 seconds works on most laptops), and remove the internal battery pack. If your laptop accidentally turns on before it’s ready, it could cause more damage.
• Open the laptop to 90° and turn upside down (so it looks like an old fashioned tent) You want to encourage all the liquid away from internal components. If that means it gathering against the underside of the keys, so be it.
• Now you can get a cloth to dry obvious external wetness. Put the laptop in a dry, well ventilated spot like an airing cupboard for a few days. Don’t try turning it on periodically, just LEAVE IT ALONE.

After all this, you could still be screwed, especially if you’ve spilt something like cola which is corrosive. A trip to your local repair guy could be called for, immediately if you’ve spilled corrosive liquid.
Hope this helps in those dark, terrifying moments after a spill!