Sometimes the tiniest of items can have the biggest of impacts. And few items prove this as much as silica gel pouches. Never heard of them? I’m not surprised. But I promise you’ve definitely seen them before.
Most of us simply chuck them away, but these tiny bags of beads – the ones that are found tucked away in a new handbag or show box with large ‘DO NOT EAT’ lettering – are actually a secret superhero when it comes to household tasks.
So, next time, before you simply toss the beanie bags away with the rest of the packaging, I encourage you to save them. As it turns out, these little bags can do everything from saving your water-damaged phone, to deodorising your gym bag – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg for these magic beads. Here’s how to reuse silica gel to keep your home fresh, clean and damp-free.
Save your wet phone
Essentially, what silica gel pouches are designed to do is absorb moisture. They’re added to packaging to protect our various purchases from getting damp or moist in transit. But this amazing ability to prevent damp, mould and humidity can be used in a multitude of ways beyond keeping your shoes dry. For one, helping our water-damaged tech.
We’ve all been told to put our phones in a bag of rice should they have taken an impromptu swim, but this can actually damage your phone; rice grains getting wedged in ports and what not. But you can actually do the same with silica gel beads – and they work way better. Gather as many loose beads or packets as you can and pop them in a zip-lock bag with your water damaged phone and seal it shut. Give it 24-48 hours to do its stuff before attempting to turn on your, hopefully now, bone-dry phone.
Protect photo albums
Items such as photo albums that both hold great sentimental value but are also highly vulnerable to damp and water damage are exactly the type of thing that could do with the silica gel treatment. You can place the gel packets in the sleeve or between pages, or even just in the storage box to help pull moisture away from the frail and delicate pages.
What to read next
Keep coffee fresh
A more surprising use for these little packets takes place in our pantries. While silica gel pouches themselves should definitely not be consumed in any way (as the large warnings on the packets themselves will remind you) they can have a positive effect on some of our foods. Keeping a packet of food safe silica gel in your cupboard can help keep items such as crackers, croutons or breadcrumbs from going soft and stale. Just remember, under no circumstances should the beads be consumed or come into direct contact with your food.
One item that benefits from the moisture-pulling beads is coffee. When coffee is exposed to too much moisture it inevitably goes stale giving it an awful taste. So try sticking a sealed packet of silica gel to the side of your coffee can or packet to prevent this.
Prevent rust
Silica gels can also be really handy at preventing rusting. When certain metals are over-exposed to water or humidity in the air they can begin to rust, losing their usefulness and eventually rendering them unusable. Items such razors kept in the shower, fishing equipment or various work tools are particularly susceptible.
When not using your razor, keep it in a container along with a bed of beads to help keep moisture away from the blades. And just chuck a couple packets into your tool box, camping gear or fishing equipment to prevent rust while storing. Easy as that.
Stop jewellery tarnishing
This is one I implemented as soon as I heard about it. Tarnishing is a constant worry for those with extensive jewellery collections. And while a bit of tarnish can be removed to a certain extent, it’s much better to just add this pocket-sized insurance policy to help extend your favourite jewellery lifespan. I popped two packets in my jewellery box and haven’t seen a spec of tarnish since.
Defog your car
Everyone hates having to sit patiently while waiting for the car’s defog setting to clear our windscreen. But did you know these tiny packets could actually speed up that waiting time?
Pop a few bags of the good stuff on your dashboard to help minimise and prevent the condensation and fogging effect. This won’t out and out fix the problem, but it should shave a couple minutes off the process, so we’ll happily take it.
Banish odours
Along with being excellent at drawing out moisture, silica gel beads are also natural deodorisers. By keeping environments such as shoes, gym bags, and storage containers dry, they also rid these areas of those musty mangy damp smells that arise in often moist places. So, if you have some seriously stinky shoes or a gym bag that’s been through the wars, use the packets to draw out the sweaty moisture and rid yourself of the lingering hard to remove smells.
Rid windows of condensation
Winter continues to rage on, and I heard a nasty rumour that it comes back every year, so condensation on our windows continues to be an annual battle with the elements. Too much condensation on our windows can lead to damp and mould building up in our homes, so we’d better make sure we have everything in our arsenal to battle it.
Silica gel packets popped on the windowsill have the same effect as putting them on your dashboard, helping to minimise and prevent the condensation caused by humidity and temperature changes. They also do wonders in the bathroom, the most humid room in the house, helping with our foggy mirrors post shower.
