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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