Water Spilled on PC

[apcs13]

Let me begin with saying that I am an idiot in distress here. I just accidentally spilled some water on my brand new PC that I built for myself, its really devastating especially since I've had a lot of trouble with broken hardware and set-up and glitches with it, and it has been working well for only maybe 2 weeks. I spilled some water on the side and a tiny bit on the top. I saw some droplets on the Hyper 212 + heatsink installed in the system but only a small amount and no water was near the motherboard or RAM. There was however some water on the shroud of the GPU and a few droplets on the back of it as well. The thing that worries me the most is that there were a bunch of droplets on the PSU fan that I think were still there when the fan was spinning, maybe pushing the droplets into the PSU itself. The worst is that the system was on when it was exposed to the water. It continued running normally for the 30 seconds it was on before I manually shut it down in Windows. I thoroughly inspected the case and the components, dried them carefully, and did some final inspection. Just to see how terrible the damage was, I booted up the system again (probably shouldn't have done that though right?). The system booted normally but after maybe 2 minutes of being on it just shut off. I took it apart again removed the video card checked the PCIe slot for water, double checked all the components, triple checked the video card, dried off some more, and reinserted the card. The system booted normally and then shut off a few minutes into being on. I have disassembled much of the PC now and it is sitting to dry. My questions for YOU good helpful people are as follows:
1. Have I killed my brand new PC based on my descriptions?
2. I think the damaged part (if there is permanent damage) is the PSU since the system just shuts off quickly. Would you agree with that statement?
3. What steps should I take to make sure my hardware is safe if it is at all possible?
4. How long should I wait before rebuilding and testing the system?

Thank you so much!!!!!!

 

[ronintexas]

Mythbusters takes this on in this video: http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/videos/appliances-in-the-bath-minimyth.htm

Depending on what is in the water determines the amount of conductivity of the electricity. Theoretically, pure water (deionized) does not conduct electricity, but the additives do.

Also, acid and/or sugars can do more damage than a short circuit - as most devices have short circuit protection, but they can't protect themselves from corrosion.

 

[KalTorak]

I had a friend spill a glass of milk when drunk into his pc intake fan at the front, while it was running. That still ran fine. Smelt a bit, but ran fine.

I have also spilt wine and water on seperate occasions into my top exhaust fan, and the pc has run fine after sitting in an airing cupboard (drying room with boiler) for 2 days. The PC was on with the wine and off with the water.

Just unseat the components (if easily accessible) and leave it all to dry out. It is a well retrievable and survivable situation.

Glad yours had a happy ending!

 

[apcs13]

Mythbusters takes this on in this video: http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/videos/appliances-in-the-bath-minimyth.htm

Depending on what is in the water determines the amount of conductivity of the electricity. Theoretically, pure water (deionized) does not conduct electricity, but the additives do.

Also, acid and/or sugars can do more damage than a short circuit - as most devices have short circuit protection, but they can't protect themselves from corrosion.

Thanks for this link! Watching right now! I was relatively aware of this but I wasn't drinking distilled/pure/deionized water, and the thing was on when it happened, so I was just concerned of that. Luckly it was just normal water and not a special beverage or that mineral water or whatever, then I might be in a heap of trouble!

 

[apcs13]

I had a friend spill a glass of milk when drunk into his pc intake fan at the front, while it was running. That still ran fine. Smelt a bit, but ran fine.

I have also spilt wine and water on seperate occasions into my top exhaust fan, and the pc has run fine after sitting in an airing cupboard (drying room with boiler) for 2 days. The PC was on with the wine and off with the water.

Just unseat the components (if easily accessible) and leave it all to dry out. It is a well retrievable and survivable situation.

Glad yours had a happy ending!

Wow that sounds pretty lucky for you and your friend! That's exactly what I did, save for the CPU and motherboard because 1. I didn't have the time to do that and 2. I was certain no water got anywhere near the CPU and almost positive none got on the motherboard, although I did leave it sit in the open for 4 days and had a fan pointed at it many of those days. Yeah, I'm really glad too!

 

[Guest]

Hey I know this post is old, but I want to ask some questions:
Is AC fluid different from normal water?
Have you guys had any very leaky acs, I'm talking pouring water.

Just wondering, as I am a bit paranoid about $1500 of hardware dying. Nothing has happened, just asking.

 

[ronintexas]

AC fluid will ruin the rig the same as regular water....It is a high dollar solution, high maintenance, and high potential of problems....

Unless you are overclocking to the "max", standard air cooling is the best in my opinion.

 

[Guest]

AC fluid will ruin the rig the same as regular water....It is a high dollar solution, high maintenance, and high potential of problems....

Unless you are overclocking to the "max", standard air cooling is the best in my opinion.

nooooononono
I am talking about leaky acs