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I spilled juice near the laptop. I didn't think any spilled into the computer, but now DVD's stick inside. I've tried to clean the opening with alcohol. Should I take the computer apart to clean it?
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First check is the felt inside the case optical drive slot is stiff and could make an obstruction to the disk ejection. If so:
You have to open the MacBook, take off the optical drive and clean the bottom case optical slot from the internal and external case sides. Clean the felt inside the slot with a Qtip and isopropyl alcohol until the felt is smooth again. Dry the felt with compressed air from the two case sides and try to enter a disk in the slot then you'll notice if there's still a restriction to the disk passage. If so clean the felt again. There's sugar in orange juice so it could take time to remove it from the felt.
Then check the optical drive:
take off the cable and the bracket from the optical drive, unscrew the 4 mini phillips screws located on the drive top casing, take off the top, remove the disk stuck inside the drive, check if there's juice inside the drive, if so clean the mess with isopropyl alcohol, dust off the drive internals with compressed air, clean the laser lens with a Qtip and isopropyl alcohol. Reassemble all and test the equipment.
Here's a clip from macrecycling.com for the MacBook optical drive removal. Start the clip at 1:50 from the beginning.
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Start up holding the track pad button down. The disk not ejecting may have no relation to the spill.
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The only way you can be sure the juice is NOT in the computer is to open it up. Once you get it open you can check the dvd drive's opening to see if any residue is present. Unfortunately most dvd/cd drives are sealed so opening the actual drive is difficult.
To open up the dvd drive for cleaning can work with one of those drive cleaners but it is a mixed bag of how successful your investment will be. The bottom line is that if you have juice in the drive you may have to replace the drive. If you are not repairing the drive yourself the best and cheapest course of action would be to replace the drive. Other wise if you ARE doing the repair you have nothing to lose, given that the drive is likely needing a replacement, have at it but have a good source of a replacement handy.
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