While silica gel is biodegradable and non-toxic, often times the packets contain materials that do not biodegrade over time, which is a great reason to repurpose these pouches for another use. Here are just a few tips on how you can use silica gel packets around the house and in your everyday life. Cameras: Camera gear can be an expensive investment. Protect your camera and lenses while reducing lens fog and streaks by placing a couple packets in your camera bag.
Cell Phone Water Damage: If you have ever had to replace a cell phone due to water damage, you know that it can be an expensive process. The next time you drop your cell phone, iPod, or other electronic device in the water, try using silica gel to dry out device. Remove the battery and memory card and place your device in a small zip lock storage bag with loose beads or packets of silica gel. Leave it there overnight before powering it back on. Drying Flowers: Wish your flowers could last forever?
Now you can save your everlasting memories with silica gel. Eventually, the two merge. Heat is strong enough to break the relatively weak bonds between the silica gel and water, and lets moisture evaporate out.
If these moisture-sucking additives do their job while the devices are off, then maybe the heat the technology generates while powered on can remove the moisture the desiccants soaked up and keep them working for longer, the team reasoned.
Silica gels might not respond best to heat from an electronic device, they found, but other desiccants might pull this trick off. Researchers are constantly experimenting with silica gel packets and other desiccants to see what the materials can accomplish. A team of microbiologists, for example, tucked samples of the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria into individual packets and found that silica gel did a good job of keeping the potential pathogen alive during transit between labs.
Researchers are happy to rework the silica format, too. For scenarios where manufacturers need thinner or more dispersed water-removal technology, engineers developed thin sheets and powdered versions of silica gel.
Aerogels — silica variants that are a kind of solid foam — make for good insulation in boots and on a Mars rover. Despite silica gel's versatility, one way not to use the material is as a snack. Truthfully, silica gel is nontoxic. The biggest issue, according to the Illinois Poison Center, is choking on the packet itself.
Some people use left over packets to reduce moisture in their cars, for example. Wednesday, March 29, Although silica itself is non-toxic, you should not eat those packets for at least five reasons: It might cause discomfort if you ate it because it might locally absorb more moisture than is likely good for you. The package might get stuck somewhere inside your body. If the beads break apart inside you, the pieces might not feel good. If you use the kind that change colour, those chemicals could be toxic.
It could have adsorbed something toxic; you don't know where it's been. Have you found a good use for silica gel? Tell us about it in the comments. And if you're still curious, read on to find out if it's drier to walk or run through the rain or why dogs are so good at smelling things.
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