Wiped my Macbook keyboard and trackpad with an antibacterial wipe. It's affected the cursor when there is load on the cpu. How can I fix this?
Solution 1:
Drying out is “hopefully” a good solution if it’s not coming into contact with electrical connections. However, this is rarely the case.
How to log in using external keyboard on MacBook Pro
I got Lysol in my headphone jack. How should I get it out?
The problem with whatever cleaner you used is not the water; it’s what’s in the water and gets left behind after it dries and what those chemicals do to electrical components (distilled water doesn’t conduct electricity). Below is an image of the residue from liquid spill on a PCB. Many of the ingredients are not only corrosive but also conductive (i.e. potassium hydroxide found in Lysol).
This means not only can the liquid short out circuits as it comes into contact with them, it can eat away at the metal solder connections as well.
You may be able to get away with it and not have much or any real damage to your Mac. However, if you’ve left it for quite some time and the problems still persist, you’ve got damage that can only be addressed by a pro.
Solution 2:
Do not put it in any oven to dry, but in the sun for 15 minutes can help warm up the body can help to kickstart things drying. The trackpad has very thin gaps and capillary action will wick astounding amounts of liquid inside a Mac - so be sure to never spray on to the hardware, always dampen the cloth and then bring the cloth to the device once you’re sure it’s not soaking and only lightly damp.
If you get issues after 15 minutes, I would power off and never start again until you’re sure the inside isn’t still wet. You can short circuit and damage things in seconds. Power off immediately if you suspect a spill or a soaking cloth sat on a device for even a few moments.
Since you're three days in - it's almost certain you have so much water still in it, that failure is inevitable and you will need a repair much sooner than if it didn't get wet. Or the water is gone, the damage is done and you will have this instability until it overloads something else. Could run like this for years - could be the last moment you have it working. That depends on exactly which trace / part got wet.
Solution 3:
Did some Googling and tried a suggestion of cleaning the space in between the touch pad and hardware to get rid of the junk/dirt by putting a piece of paper in between them, also it would soak up any residue from the wipe. Tried it and it worked! 36 hours later and the cursor still hasn't started unstoppably fluttering like before and I've used the laptop all day today
Thank you all for the help