Amazing Home Uses for Silica Gel that You Might Not Know About
When someone mentions silica gel, you might not immediate know exactly what they are referring to. When we refer to silica gel, we are talking about those cellulose bags with hard balls inside.
We commonly find them in shoe boxes or inside of bags. This is because this substance has great absorptive properties. In fact, it’s the most effective product for collecting humidity from the environment.
It’s a chemical substance that has a crystalline color and appearance, and it is porous, inert and odorless. It’s not possible to dissolve it in water or in any liquid.
Its properties are amazing, and that is why, in this article, we want to tell you what uses they can have in our home.
Uses for silica gel at home
As a rule, these bags do not come with instructions for use, so many times they end up in the trash.
The packaging only says “silica gel” and that it’s a product that should not be ingested under any circumstances. However, we want to tell you other uses that these great little bags can can have.
Preventing rust
You can increase the life of your razor blades if you store them in a drawer with this absorbent product after each use. Any moisture that remains on the blades will dry out and will not cause the blades to rust.
In the same way, if you want to keep your tools from rusting, put a couple of bags in your toolbox. Your tools will be kept in perfect condition for more time.
Recovering your wet smartphone
If you have had bad luck and your smartphone has gotten wet due to carelessness, you can use these bags of silica gel to absorb the moisture.
We all know the home remedy of putting a mobile phone in rice. However, it’s be much more beneficial if you have these balls, and you will get better results.
Keeping paper from getting wet
Another use is to preserve of the quality of old photographs. If you’re afraid that your photos will deteriorate over time, we advise you to put them in a box with a couple of bags of silica gel.
As well as protecting photographs, they are also a good idea for preserving valuable documents.
Keeping coats, suitcases and backpacks dry
Animal skins sweat, and fur coats are a delicate garment that requires particular care. To prevent them from becoming damaged, you can put silica gel in the pockets.
In addition, you can put them inside your gym bag, since in addition to moisture, it is also able to absorb bad odors.
Finally, suitcases that remain closed for several months can degrade, smell bad or hold moisture. If this is a problem for you, place these small bags inside so you can rest assured that they will stay dry and like new.
Other uses for silica gel
In addition to all of the above, silica gel is good at removing moisture from a foggy windshield. With the simple act of putting a few small bags on the dashboard, you’ll notice that the glass does not fog up as easily.
In addition, it also preserves the properties of seeds. If you are fond of gardening and you buy a lot of seeds, you can place a couple of bags of silica gel in the same box where you store them so they last longer and do not spoil.
And, of course, they can be put into large bags of animal food. If you live in an area with humidity, you won’t have to deal with the food getting stale because it will stay dry. Just do not forget to take them out, and be careful not to break the bags.
As you can see, there are many uses for these kinds of bags. If you come across any object, garment or piece of furniture that you feel could easily get damp and become damaged over time, put some bags of silica gel close to it to keep it in better condition.
What about you? What do you do with silica gel bags?
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Ruthruff, R. F., Booth, H. S., & Dolance, A. (2007). Silica Gel. In Inorganic Syntheses. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470132333.ch26
- Gurav, J. L., Jung, I. K., Park, H. H., Kang, E. S., & Nadargi, D. Y. (2010). Silica aerogel: Synthesis and applications. Journal of Nanomaterials. https://doi.org/10.1155/2010/409310
- Weintraub, S. (2001). Demystifying Silica Gel. In 43rd Annual meeting AIG. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0808981106