What To Do With Silica Gel Pockets

Life Pro Tip - don't throw away those little silica gel pockets that come in the box of your new electronics devices, shoes or handbags. These silica gel pockets help to absorb moisture in the air, prolonging the life of anything that would spoil because of condensation or excess moisture. 

Here are a couple of ideas on how you can put them to good use:

Throw a couple of silica gel pockets into your gym bag. 

Keep your gym bag fresh by tossing some silica gel packets in

Sweaty clothes, wet items and forgotten snacks create a conducive environment for mold and bacteria growth in your gym bag. 

The silica gel pockets will suck moisture from your bag and that will help to reduce the growth of nasty and smelly bacteria in your bag. 

Put some silica gel pockets in your toolbox 

Prevent your tools from rusting with Silica Gel Packets 

Moisture can cause your tools to rust. Prevent your tools from rusting by keeping some silica gel pockets in your toolbox to keep it relatively moisture free.

Preserve old photos and books

Preserve old photos with silica gel packets

High humidity and heat are the ideal conditions for mold. In hot and humid summer months, keep some pockets amongst your books and photographs so that mold doesn't grow on them.

You need to take care that low humidity can also be a problem for books. The fibers in the book dehydrate and could turn brittle. This is why in winter, silica gel pockets aren't as necessary. 

Packing moist clothes on holiday

Keep clothes fresh when travelling with some silica gel packets

Put some silica gel packets into your luggage if you ever have to pack damp clothes while on holiday. Just like with your gym bag, the silica gel packets will help to absorb moisture, thereby preventing odors and bacteria from gorming.

No more foggy windshield in the morning

No more foggy windshields in the morning

By placing some silica gel packets under your windshield, it will suck up the moisture, so that it cannot condense on your windshield in the early hours of the morning. This is such a timesaver if you find yourself having to wait for your windshield to clear up every morning.

Keep your dry goods dry

Keep your dried goods fresh and not soggy with silica gel packets

Dried foods like certain herbs, crumbs, crackers, chips need to be kept as dry as possible in order to remain crispy. To prevent them from getting soggy, you can put some some silica gel packets either in the food container, or if you don't want the silica gel packets to get in contact with your food, the food cupboard.

You can buy Silica Gel Packets as well

Remember, that you are not limited to using the free silica gel packets but you can buy some as well. A personal favorite are those silica gel sachets that have color changing beads indicating when they are saturated. 

The one I use is blue when they are dry and turn pink when they get saturated. Then, I just pop it in the microwave for 7 minutes on the defrost mode and they can be used again.

Points to note

Keep Silica Gel Packets Away From Pets

Silica Gel Packets are good for small, enclosed spaces that aren't frequently opened. With gym bags, cupboards and frequently opened containers, they get saturated really fast. Especially in humid environments. Sometimes, all it takes is a day and they're useless. Depending on the packaging, you might be able to reuse them by sticking them in a microwave oven.

Another important consideration is that although silica gel is non-toxic, they cannot be eaten! If consumed, they will cause irritation to the digestive tract. Remember to keep them away from your young children and pets.