A glass got knocked over. Or the cat pushed something off the shelf, or a plant leaked above the TV cabinet. You have stood the console upright and wiped it dry, and now you want to switch it on to see whether everything still works.
Please do not. Pull the plug out and leave it off. Liquid on its own rarely kills a console straight away. What wrecks it is liquid with voltage on it, and after that the corrosion that stays behind.
The first thirty minutes decide everything
In that first half hour the liquid is still on the surface. It has not got under the chips yet and no track has been attacked. Every hour you wait, it spreads further under the metal covers and under the big chips, and that is exactly where it takes longest to get out again.
The symptoms, weeks later too
- It no longer starts, or it comes on and goes straight back off.
- It works, but the fan, the disc drive or the wifi does not.
- A port no longer charges or gives no picture, while the rest behaves normally.
- A faint sweet or sour smell comes out of the vents.
- Everything worked fine, and three weeks later it starts playing up.
That last one is the most reported: liquid damage is a process, not a moment.
Why you must not switch it on to test it
On a motherboard, tracks half a millimetre wide run right next to each other, carrying 12 volts, 5 volts and smaller voltages. Dry, that stays neatly separated. Water is never pure, because it holds minerals and salts, so it conducts. Switch it on while liquid is sitting there and current runs between points where it should not, and where that current leaves the board the copper dissolves. That is called electrolysis, and seconds are enough to burn a track through. A wet console that starts up anyway feels like good news, but it is eating itself in the meantime.
Rice and a hairdryer make it worse
Rice pulls moisture out of air, very slowly, and a console is not an open glass of water. Most of the liquid sits under the covers against the board, and rice never gets there. What you do get is dust in the vents. Worse is the time you lose: in the meantime the liquid dries into a layer that sets hard.
A hairdryer pushes the liquid inwards instead, under the chips where it can no longer get out. The heat also speeds up the reaction between liquid and metal. A radiator or the sun do the same, only slower.
Why corrosion still strikes weeks later
When the liquid evaporates, the minerals and salts stay behind. They pull moisture out of the air, and at every contact point between two different metals a small galvanic cell forms.
So the reaction carries on as long as those residues are there. Green or white deposits grow around the solder points, the legs of chips get thinner, and one day a track is eaten through. A track that has gone often shows up first as a console that gives no picture.
What happens to the shielding and the connectors
Thin metal covers sit over the sensitive parts of the board, the shielding. They keep interference out, and liquid in. If water runs under such a cover, that is where it evaporates slowest and the corrosion sits exactly where you cannot see it. Cleaning without taking those covers off is polishing, not cleaning.
Every ribbon cable connector holds dozens of gold plated springs close together, and liquid between them gives deposits and so poor contact. A disc drive that does not respond or wifi that disappears is often the connector and not the part. If you get no picture any more, read what else sits behind a console with no picture.
Cola and sweet drinks are worse than water
Tap water is the kindest thing that can run over your console. Cola contains phosphoric acid, fruit juice citric acid, and acid actively attacks copper and solder, even without voltage on it. On top of that comes sugar, and sugar does not evaporate. It stays as a sticky film across the board and pulls moisture out of the air, which keeps the board slightly damp for good. Under a chip you will not get that film out by wiping. Beer and coffee with milk belong in the same category.
The causes, from most to least common
- A knocked over glass or can on or next to the console. By far the biggest group.
- A pet that tips a glass over or wees on the device. Urine is salty and aggressive.
- Condensation. A console that comes out of a cold car and is switched on straight away mists up inside.
- A damp room. A cellar or attic without ventilation gives slow corrosion.
- Cleaning fluid sprayed onto the housing instead of onto a cloth.
Models, model numbers and where the liquid gets in
The model number is on a sticker on the bottom or the back.
| Model | Model number | Way in and what typically breaks |
|---|---|---|
| PlayStation 5 | CFI-1000, CFI-1100, CFI-1200 | Side vents; built in power supply and USB ports first |
| PlayStation 5 Slim | CFI-2000 | Same route; the disc unit catches a lot of it |
| PlayStation 5 Pro | CFI-7000 | Heavy heatsink that holds moisture for a long time |
| PlayStation 4 | CUH-1000, CUH-1100, CUH-1200 | Open at the front; power supply and disc drive first |
| PlayStation 4 Slim | CUH-2000, CUH-2100, CUH-2200 | Along the power board; touch buttons start acting up |
| PlayStation 4 Pro | CUH-7000, CUH-7100, CUH-7200 | Boards sit on top of each other; liquid stays in between |
| Xbox Series X | 1882 | Vent on top; a spill runs straight onto the board |
| Xbox Series S | 1883 | Same top side, small board, hit straight away |
| Xbox One | 1540 | Power supply sits in the cable brick; the vent lets everything through |
| Xbox One S | 1681 | Power supply is internal; liquid there shorts at once |
| Xbox One X | 1787 | Tightly packed board; liquid creeps between and stays |
| Nintendo Switch | HAC-001 and HAC-001(-01) | Speakers, headphone socket and charging port |
| Switch OLED | HEG-001 | Same openings; also marks under the screen glass |
| Switch Lite | HDH-001 | Charging port and speakers are the way in |
| Nintendo Switch 2 | BEE-001 | Two USB C ports, top and bottom |
What you can safely try yourself
- Plug out. That first, always.
- Tilt it slowly in every direction over a towel, so liquid runs out through the vents.
- Take the disc, game card and memory card out, without force, and dab the outside dry.
- Leave it off and do not charge a Switch.
- Stand it upright in a dry room, not next to a radiator.
- Note down what ran into it and how long ago.
- Register it or bring it in, preferably the same day.
What you do not do: rice, hairdryer, oven, vacuum cleaner or compressed air.
When to stop
Stop before you unscrew the console. A PS5, a PS5 Pro and an Xbox Series X have a built in power supply and there is mains voltage on it. Even with the plug out, the capacitors hold their charge for a while. In a handheld there is a lithium battery right under the cover.
Opening it also costs you your factory warranty, and you cannot undo that. If the device is still under warranty, go to the shop first. Does it not start at all after the spill, with only a light blinking? Then read the blue light on the PS5 as well.
How we repair it
We take the device fully apart, down to the bare motherboard. The covers come off, because underneath them sits the liquid you would otherwise never see. Under the microscope we look for deposits and dull tracks.
We clean with isopropyl alcohol of high purity. Alcohol mixes with water, takes it up and evaporates without residue. Dirty boards go into an ultrasonic bath, where vibrations make millions of tiny bubbles collapse against the board. That way the cleaning reaches under the chips and between the connector springs, where no brush can get. Rinsing and controlled drying follow.
Only then do we measure. With a multimeter and an adjustable power supply we look at whether there is still a short and whether the power rails reach their voltage. Tracks that have been eaten through we lay again with thin copper wire, and attacked parts we replace with microsoldering and hot air at a controlled temperature. That is the same fine work as fitting a new HDMI port.
What can and cannot be saved
It comes down to two things: what ran into it, and whether there was voltage on it while it was wet. If it was never switched on after a splash of water, we save it almost every time.
Attacked connectors, tracks eaten through, broken ports and corrosion around the power parts all repair well. It gets hard when the corrosion sits under a big chip, such as the processor or the memory. Those are held down with hundreds of solder balls, and if those are attacked the chance of a lasting result is small. We simply tell you when that is the case.
Your storage can usually be saved
Even with a board that does not make it, the storage stays intact strikingly often. On a PS4 or Xbox One it sits on a drive or SSD that you pull straight out. On a PS5 it sits in a separate chip on the board, usually in an area that sees less liquid. On a Switch the same goes for the internal memory and the microSD card. We take that storage out and put your files somewhere safe for a replacement device.
What it costs
The diagnosis costs 49 euro. You hear what is broken and what it costs, and only then do you decide.
Repair after liquid damage starts at 99 euro, including disassembly, cleaning, the ultrasonic bath, drying and testing. If tracks or parts need repairing, motherboard repair comes on top from 89 euro. An HDMI port eaten away is from 99 euro, the HDMI chip from 149 euro and a Switch charging port from 79 euro. We give 12 months warranty on every repair, turnaround 2 to 5 working days.
You can send it in from anywhere in Belgium
With liquid damage speed counts, so feel free to post it straight away. Consoles reach us from Antwerp, Mechelen and Turnhout, from Ghent, Sint-Niklaas and Aalst, and from Bruges, Ostend, Kortrijk and Roeselare. From Limburg they come from Hasselt, Genk and Sint-Truiden, in Flemish Brabant from Leuven, Vilvoorde and Halle.
From Brussels it runs just as smoothly, with customers in Schaerbeek and Anderlecht. From Wallonia devices come from Liege and Verviers, from Namur, from Charleroi, Mons and Tournai, and even from Arlon. Never pack a wet console airtight. Did the drink reach a controller too? Send it along, because sticky liquid around the sticks often ends in stick drift.
Do not sit on it. Register your console for repair and say what ran into it, when, and whether it has been switched on since.
Frequently asked questions
My console got wet but it still works, should I have it checked anyway?
Yes. The fact that it starts today says little about next month. Liquid leaves salts and minerals behind that slowly eat the copper away, and that corrosion carries on as long as those residues sit on the board. Cleaning while everything is still whole is far cheaper than repairing a track that has been eaten through.
Does a bag of rice really help to dry a wet console?
No. Rice pulls hardly any moisture out of a closed device and adds dust and starch to the openings. Meanwhile the liquid simply stays inside and the corrosion carries on. The days you lose with rice are exactly the days in which the board should have been cleaned.
Is cola worse than water?
Much worse. Water conducts moderately and still evaporates. Fizzy drinks contain acid and sugar: the acid attacks copper and solder, and the sugar stays behind as a sticky layer that keeps pulling moisture out of the air. Beer, fruit juice and coffee with milk do roughly the same.
What does repairing liquid damage cost?
Repair after liquid damage starts at 99 euro. That covers full disassembly, cleaning with isopropyl alcohol and an ultrasonic bath, and the measuring and testing afterwards. If tracks or parts have been eaten away, motherboard repair comes on top from 89 euro. You always hear the price in advance.
Have I lost my games and saved games?
Usually not. The storage sits in a separate chip or drive and it survives liquid strikingly often, even when the motherboard does not make it. We take that storage out and put your files somewhere safe. If you played with PlayStation Plus or Xbox Game Pass, part of your saves is often online as well.
Ready to have it repaired
Describe what your console is doing in your own words. You get an answer within one working day, with shipping instructions and a guide price. The diagnosis costs 49 euros and comes off the bill if you go ahead with the repair.