What to do should you spill water on your laptop

So last weekend I was writing my book review post and the book wouldn't stay open. There was a glass of water handy on the table so I sat in on the page of my book that I wanted to see. (Yes, I know not my most brilliant move.) It wasn't long before said glass of water was knocked onto my laptop (and no I can't even blame the kids.) And my husband the computer genius wasn't even there at the moment to fix it. Once upon a time he taught me to build a PC from parts, and from this experience I learned that anything with any significant power is going to have at least one fan, sometimes multiple fans. So I wiped it off and let it continue running and twitching hoping that the fan would be able to dry it off. (This is not what I'm recommending that you do, it's just what I did first. I'm not claiming that I'm the computer genius.) My poor little netbook kept shutting itself off. Even after I pulled out my blow-dryer. Eventually my knight in shining armor did come home and without any promises showed me what to do.

1. Remove the battery. Don't even bother to shut it down, just remove the battery.
2. Wipe off any excess water. (Already done)
3. Using a cool setting blow dry the battery and the computer from all angles.
4. Leave it alone for awhile.

If the computer is running the water can cause it to make connections between circuits that should not be connected. And of course how successful this method is depends on how much water was spilled on your laptop in the first place. Even though it was several hours before he pulled the battery out and I blow-dried the inside of the computer, when I put it together the next day it worked just fine and I haven't had any problems since. That's a relief. This may not work in every case, but it is certainly worth a shot and can't make the situation any worse.