13 Brilliant Uses for Silica Gel Packs in Your Home & Garden

Everyone has found Silica Gel packets in one of their packages at some point and time. Typically, these are thrown out whenever you open the package or start wearing the jacket. However, there are many things you can do with these little packets.

We’ll go over some of the most useful applications in this article. Hopefully, you’ll find a useful purpose for all of your silica gel packs.

1. Make Your Razor Last Longer

Silica gel packets lock in moisture. This is why they are often used in packages. Therefore, if you put a silica pack in a closed container with your razor blade, it will prevent rust and make it last longer.

2. Prevent Rust

Whenever you need to prevent rusting, you can use a silica gel packet. This is super useful for tools, which are expensive and usually prone to rust. Just toss a few packs into whatever you use to store your tools.

3. Preserve Old Paper

Whether you want to preserve letters or old books, you can use silica packets to prevent moisture from ruining the paper. Just put the book or letters into a box and throw a few silica packets in.

4. Save Your Phone

If you drop your phone in water, shove it in a Ziplock bag with a few silica packets. This is similar to the rice method, but it is more effective, and you don’t have to use a whole bag of rice.

5. Keep Your Gym Bag Smelling Good

You can use a silica packet to prevent mold and mildew from making your gym bag smell terrible. The bad smell is caused by sweat, which can cause mildew and other things to grow in your bag. The silica packet zaps the moisture, which prevents the bad smell.

6. Remove the Need for Your Defroster

You won’t need to use your defroster nearly as much if you use silica packets underneath your windshield. They suck up moisture, which is exactly what your defroster does as well. Plus, they’ll also keep your car smelling nice!

7. Pre-treat Stinky Clothes

Keep a few silica gel packets in your hamper to suck up moisture from your clothes and help them smell a little nicer before you even start washing them. This is most useful for gym clothes and any clothes in contact with extensive amounts of sweat. That’s because the silica packets suck up the moisture from the sweaty clothes, which prevents them from smelling good.

8. Protect Your Electronics

You can easily protect your electronics from moisture with a silica gel packet. While they won’t protect the electronics from rain and ample moisture, they can remove moisture before it starts to harm your electronics. Use it in your camera case, computer bag, or any other bag you use to carry sensitive equipment.

9. Prevent Tarnish

Tarnish is caused by moisture. You can prevent tarnish with a silica gel packet. All you need to do is put the silverware in a container with a few silica packets. You can also use it for your real silver jewelry by putting a few silica packets into your jewelry box.

10. Keep Your Pet Food Fresh

If you use dry pet food, you can protect it from moisture, prevent mold, and keep the food fresh for longer. Of course, make sure you don’t accidentally feed your pet the silica packets, as they are poisonous. They will suck up the water from your pet’s digestive system just like they suck the moisture out of everything else.

11. Protect Your Medication

Most medications have an adverse effect on moisture. For this reason, you can add a silica packet to your medication bottles to prevent them from breaking down or otherwise reacting negatively to the natural moisture in the area. If you travel with your medication, this can be an even more critical step.

12. Prevent Seeds from Molding

If you store seeds, you may have noticed that they can mold when in storage. This is caused by the natural moisture in the air, which can encourage the mold to grow. You can prevent this mold by reducing the amount of moisture in the seed container using silica packets. Just shove a few in with your seed packets to reduce moisture and prevent mold (and pre-mature sprouting).

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13. Keep Your Swimsuit Fresh

Carry around a large plastic bag with a few silica packets in your swim bag. Whenever you change out of your wet bathing suit, slip it into the bag. The silica packets will de-moisturize your swimsuit and prevent the mildewy smell that often comes when you inevitably leave your swimsuit in your bag for a bit too long.

Featured Image Credit: multifacetedgirl, Pixabay