Thank you, Bob and others! Much appreciated... Since the urine did not
penetrate inside the casing of the laptop, I was able to sponge it off
with a rag dampened (_not_ wet!) in water with a pet-odor enzyme product
for hard surfaces spritzed on the rag, then wiped with another one
dampened with plain water, and allowed it to dry thoroughly. Same with
the accessory CD/DVD drive which I had just bought separately! -- I got
lucky on that one! Had to replace the headset but that was only two
bucks at a local secondhand store. A new-to-me carrying case was
another dollar at the same store since the old case dried with the odor
still in it (I threw it out). I treated the cords and wires with
another pet-odor product for soft surfaces such as carpet and furniture;
worked fine! so I didn't have to replace them.
LOL Denise! -- I was not at liberty to do as I wished with those dratted
cats! LOL Instead, now the laptop stays in the car or at home when I
visit my cousin... I have cats too, so the laptop is stowed in a room
where they do not have access.
_Love_ that little laptop; it's an HP "Mini" but it does everything the
"big ones" do.
:-) Joyce in SE Ohio
On 3/4/2011 10:39 AM, Bob Wright wrote:
> At 01:02 PM 2/1/2011, you wrote:
>> Seriously... I'm not joking! I need to know if there is some kind
>> of cleaning fluid that is safe for my laptop and its peripherals. I
>> spent three nights with my elderly cousin last week, and her cats
>> anointed the canvas case and all. Now even the headset and the
>> cords, not to mention the auxiliary disk drive, reek of cat urine.
>> (I was able to launder the computer case and it got clean.) Help?!
>> Please??? Thanks in advance.
>>
>> Joyce in SE Ohio
>
>
> Joyce,
>
> Over the years I have cleaned quite a few laptop keyboards and cases
> that have worse problems than your's. I notice you did not state that
> this cat urine has stopped the function of your laptop. It could have
> caused a short circuit inside the laptop, so your problem seems to be
> only cosmetic.
>
> I recommend that you remove the battery and give it a few minutes for
> the laptop to discharge residue electricity. Then, you can open the
> case by removing the screws on the bottom and the shell should part
> easily, but do not force it. You then can use spray Lysol on a cloth
> or one of the pet urine products others have mentioned to remove the
> urine from case parts, remove the keyboard and wipe it clean; and, any
> other areas inside where the urine has accumulated. I cannot
> overstate that these parts need to be thoroughly dry before you
> reassemble the laptop. Moisture is not your friend inside a laptop.
> But, when it comes to opening the laptop, just be careful, take your
> time and if you remove something, be sure that you reinstall it
> exactly as you found it.
>
> As far as your peripherals, it is basically the same, even your
> headset and external drive.
>
> I am amazed that the cat urine did not short out something inside the
> laptop. Although the smell is rank, I think you really got off
> lucky. Cosmetic cleaning is not as difficult as replacing
> short-circuited components. Next time you visit your cousin, I might
> offer that you consider keeping the whole laptop, case and all, inside
> a plastic bag when you are not using it.
>
> Bob Wright
> Managing Senior Partner
> The NoSpin Group, Inc. (a non-profit Corp.)
> http://freepctech.com - http://nospin.org - http://nospin.com
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