Are pop/soda spills on laptops repairable? Insurance question.

[robinb]

Don't worry! My laptop is just fine. I just need to "talk this out" .

I am thinking about buying my mom a cheapie $300 laptop from Best Buy. However, she is (to put it nicely) "hard" on her electronic equipment. She drinks a few sodas a day but she has limited mobility and can't always raise her arm high enough to grasp the can properly. The cans inevitably get knocked over. Not every day, but I would probably say once or twice a week. She replaced a number of keyboards that suffered from pop spills when she had her WebTV and previous desktop as well as countless TV remotes.

My sister wants us to get my mom a laptop because my mom spends here time in both the living room and her bedroom. I *know* she will knock a can of pop onto the laptop. So if I go with a laptop, I will purchase an accidental damage insurance. It's $99 for one year and $180 for two years. Accidental spills are covered, but if the repair is deemed more expensive than the value of the laptop, the insurance will replace the laptop. Which is all OK ... except if the laptop is replaced the policy needs to be re-purchased for the new laptop.

So ... here's my question. Are spills repairable on laptops or are they ruined so badly that they need to be replaced? I don't mind paying for the 2 year policy if the laptop will be repaired more than once. If it will simply be replaced I will either go with the 1-year policy *or* just go with another desktop that can have the keyboard replaced.

 

[cabanafrau]

MOST of the time a spill of anything other than water will kill the laptop, mainly because of issues caused by sugars. Frequently even a water spill will doom a laptop.

 

[jrmasm]

Buy her sippee cups to go with her new laptop.

 

[dawson5]

I don't know where to get them, have never used one but have seen them. What about something like this:

 

[Christine]

Most warranties will not cover negligance by the owners. There are some that you can buy that are probably much more expensive that would cover damage. I have also heard that you can add it to your homeowner's policy and it would be covered for theft or damages.

But I think the best idea is what dawson5 posted--get a "skin" for it.

 

[robinb]

Most warranties will not cover negligance by the owners. There are some that you can buy that are probably much more expensive that would cover damage. I have also heard that you can add it to your homeowner's policy and it would be covered for theft or damages.

But I think the best idea is what dawson5 posted--get a "skin" for it.

The insurance that I was planning to buy *does* cover accidental damage. And my mom could return the laptop to Best Buy instead of arranging for the repair herself or packing it up and sending it somewhere. I need easy too since my mom is in her 70's and I live 150 miles away and my sister is often too busy to help.

 

[glitterkittyy]

I got my daughters a plastic keyboard cover like Dawson5 posted. It works great!

ETA: It's more like vinyl than plastic really.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I was looking at the Best Buy site and it appears that you have to repurchase the warranty if you get a new laptop because of the spill.
Of course I do not know if this is 100% correct or applies anywhere else.

I would certainly get her a spill cover.

 

[maelstrom]

I don't think she's a good candidate for a laptop, honestly.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Get her something like this http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=refreezable+mug&x=12&y=20. A twelve-ounce soda can fits fine inside the mug.

My brother had problems gripping things, but he could slip his hand inside the handle facing the mug and hold it securely that way, and drink. Plus the base of most of these mugs is wider than the top, so it's stable.

 

[manning]

I would hesitate on getting a keyboard cover. The keyboard is part of the laptop and covering the laptop will trap in heat and heat is the enemy of laptops.

Can you afford two inexpensive computers? Use a WIFI network. One computer would be hooked up directly to the internet thru a wifi modem. The other computer would link into the network by wifi. This way you could have one in each room and if she spills soda on the keyboard it will be cheap to replace.

If you go this route be sure you secure the network using a password. Long passwords. People make the mistake of just plugging in and not creating passwords. Those are the ones that others can tap into.

My password is 60 some characters long randomly generated including upper/lower letters,numbers and characters (@&$*).

 

[NotUrsula]

I've done time managing libraries that allow drinks in study areas. Go with the keyboard cover (needed only when there is a drink around), and possibly consider a "toughbook" laptop such as the military and construction trades use in the field. Those hardened designs are a lot less vulnerable to spills and other accidental damage. (You could probably get a used one for about what you would pay for a netbook, and it would be a much better machine.)

The other thing that you probably should start looking into for your mom is better household gadgetry and utensils. Personally, I'm amazed that she still drinks from cans if she has grasp issues, because if you have that kind of problem, opening a pull-top can is a major PITR. My mom had rheumatoid arthritis, and by the time she died at age 84, she could no longer open her hand larger than a half-closed fist, and her thumbs were largely locked in the up position. The only way that she could drink anything was to use both hands and hold the cup between them. As the condition worsened she accustomed herself to using straws for nearly all beverages; we bought her giant economy sized packages of them.

Take a look at this site for some great helpful gadgets: www.elderstore.com

You might also consider an over-chair wheeled desk. This would be good because she could put the laptop on that and the drink on her side table is she was sitting in a chair to work -- the laptop could essentially live on the wheeled desk.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Someone spilled a coke on my husband's work laptop and the IT people said it could not be repaired. It was immediately turned over and "drained" after the spill, but it did no good.

 

[robinb]

Thanks everyone! I am definitely rethinking the laptop idea. If I do get one it looks like I will get a 1-year warranty that covers accidental damage since it is sure to be toast in the first year.

NotUrsula & kaytieeldr, thanks for the links. My mom often needs to use both hands to pick up her soda cans and she has a huge supply of drinking straws. She had a neck injury from a car accident that left her permanently disabled many years ago and her range of motion is becoming more limited with time and age.

 

[kwelch10377]

Most warranty's that retailers see do have in the terms and conditions that if they replace your product or offer you the retailers cash card the warrenty is considered fullfilled and you will have to purchase a new warrenty since you are starting over with a new product.

Does she knock over the soda cans or does she pick it up and then drop it? If she justs knocks it over then maybe you can get her something that raises the laptop up.

 

[torinsmom]

Also, Square Trade will definitely be cheaper warranty. I just bought a laptop at BB and was told by the salesperson that if a laptop is damaged, they will repair it or send it out for repair. So, it will still have to be shipped out. I used a code I found here on the Dis and got 40% off a warranty. I think it was 3 years, including accidental coverage for $41. BB told me it would be $179.

Marsha

 

[LisaR]

My Mom has horrible arthritis and hands that shake like crazy. When she walked in the door with a laptop last year, I thought she was nuts. We set it up so her drink is always on a tray table at the side of her chair and the computer is in front of her. Her chance of spilling is more when she is picking up or setting down, not when she is actually drinking. Knock on wood - so far, so good.

I was looking at the link someone posted to see if I could find anything for my Mom. This looks like the perfect cup for your mom:

http://www.elderstore.com/kennedy-cup.aspx

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

technically yes, they are repairable

practically..No.

having had to remove hard drives from laptops to recover the data from them from time to time. You can get the repair parts, but they end up costing more than simply replacing the laptop, especially at todays prices.

We had the same problem with some of the computers we used for work at remote locations, so we started getting the industructable keyboards (see link) and having them use that. They are a keyboard completely encased in plastic. if you spill something on it, you power down the system, unplug the keyboard, and run water over it to clean it.

http://store.grandtec.com/virinkey.html


you can configure a laptop to accept the external keyboard, and it plugs in via USB.

The other option is that we also got "ruggedized" laptops. I don't think you would want to go that route, as the are VERY expensive compared to other laptops on the market.

http://www.groupmobile.com/brand.asp?mf_id=1&gclid=CIKcr5Kj0J4CFQ0aawod6CzzrQ

good luck!

 

[Maddle]

If your mom was only going to use the laptop for surfing and email (as opposed to bookkeeping and word processing) I would go with one of the little net books, especially one with flash memory. (very inexpensive.)

They are cheap enough that if something happened you could just buy a new one (figuring $99 for the first policy, and $99 for the replacement policy - that's $198 right there.)

The problem that I see with my suggestion is that the keyboard is smaller than standard, and that might be a problem for her hands.

Maddle

 

[dizluvah]

I don't think I saw anyone mention the foldable/bendable spillproof keyboards - of course that rules out the laptop idea but something like this keyboard might be perfect for your mom


http://www.amazon.com/109KEY-Flexible-Spillproof-Keyboard-White/dp/B000EUFE7U

well...apparently I am a bonehead and can't figure out how to post a link...but google spillproof keyboard and you'll find it