21 Ideas to Reuse Silica Packets

For sure you have gotten a lot of them inside a variety of different products.
Did you know you can reuse them over and over again?

Silica gel is a desiccant, a substance that absorbs moisture, which makes these packets perfect for keeping things extremely dry and moisture-free. Though silica gel packets clearly instruct you to throw them away and not to eat them, you can actually keep and reuse them in many ways. Here are just some ideas:

Keep electronic devices dry (tablets, mobiles, cameras, batteries, earplugs, etc.)
Protect important documents, memorabilia, photo albums and books from moisture and musky odour
Prevent moisture and smells in clothes and accessories such as handbags, shoes and jewellery
Keep most food dry and preserve it a bit longer such as flour, sugar, dried fruits, pet food, grains, open bag of chips, spices and herbs. Also works with onions and potatoes!
Preserve pills (vitamins, medication) especially if kept in a moist place
Make razors last by drying them and placing them over a packet while not in use
Defog your windshield or windows at home by placing some packets to banish condensation
Slow down the process of silver tarnishing in jewellery boxes or silverware
Prevent tools from rusting by placing them in the toolbox
Dry and preserve petals or leaves by emptying several packets in a box covering them
Store with seeds between seasons

other uses

Keep Halloween pumpkins from moulding. They are a great way to preserve pumpkins but are not edible. Place 3/4 grams of silica for every 100 cubic inches of pumpkin.
Adding silica gel to plant containers or hanging baskets and then watering your container, helps provide moisture to plants short term, for example, when you cannot do your regular watering for the day.
Cut open the packs and saturate the beads with essential oils to create potpourri which is used for scent and aroma.

How to Dry the gel of your Silica Packets to use them over and over

If your gel has turned pink, blue or etc., that means that there is too much moisture. Follow these steps to reactivate it again:

Preheat your oven to about 250°F / 121°C.
Open the packets and lay them out on a baking tray with a cookie sheet or baking paper as apart as possible.
Heat them for about 5 hours or until they turn to the original colour.
Remove from the tray and store them in an air-tight container where no liquid can get in. Don’t make contact with sunlight.

Do you have other ideas? Please leave them in a comment. Thank you for passing by! 💚