You might think to yourself, “What is a silica gel bag?” We can guarantee that you’ve seen these tiny silicon dioxide bags in items which you’ve purchased. They come in everything from sealed packs of food or medicine to sealed packages you get your deliveries in. And you’ve probably been just as confused as us figuring out what exactly they do!
From a blind eye, they look pretty useless. It doesn’t seem like they’re doing anything in the sealed packages we receive them in and you always end up throwing them away. Well, stop trashing them and start collecting them! These little packets can actually come in handy and various situations.
#1. Defense Chemical
Let’s start off with what they’re actually meant to do, which is to kill bacteria and absorb extra moisture within your packages.
#2. Odor Killer
They can remove stinky odors from smelly clothes. Just apply one to a sheet or towel the next time it needs its odor fixed.
#3. Dull Blades
Razors and other blades all eventually go dull. You can keep them sharp longer by placing them into a closed container along with a silica bag.
#4. Water Damage
Is your phone not water proof? Did you accidentally drop it in the toilet, pool, or had something spill on it? A lot of people like to use the rice grain trick, but you could also the silica trick and place your phone in a jar that’s filled with silica packs.
#5. Fog Remover
Windshield fog has always been a pain. You have to defrost over and over when you’re driving a foggy ride. Remove the fog from within your car by placing silica bags under your windshield inside the car.
#6. Wet Vacations Clothes
Sometimes when we go on vacation, we don’t have enough time to wash and/or dry our wet clothes. And nobody likes putting wet clothes into their luggage. The next time you might find yourself in this situation, try putting your wet clothes or wet towel into a bag filled with silica gels. The more packets the better. It should suck all the moisture out!
#7. Protect Silver
You might not know this, but sometimes moisture is what causes corrosion on silver and other jewelry. Prevent this from happening by slipping a silica gel packet into your jewelry box.
#8. Gardening
If you’ve got some seeds stored for gardening next year, you need to make sure that they don’t mold. You can make sure of this by placing them in a container with a silica gel pack. Make sure it’s airtight!
#9. Pills and Vitamins
Store your pill and vitamins with a silica gel packet to help preserve their freshness! Otherwise, the moisture can lead to spoilage, decomposition, and mold.
#10. Protect Documents
Keep your important and personal papers extra protected by putting them in a bag filled with some silica gel packets.
#11. Flowers
Do you love collecting dry flowers? You can speed up the drying process by placing the flower(s) into a paper bag with a few silica gel packets!
#12. Windows
If your windows tend to fog up or form condensation often, try storing some silica packets on the sill to absorb the moisture.
#13. Bulk Pet Food
A big bag of pet food can get soggy, especially if you’re buying them in bulk. Store the food in a bin that has silica packs taped to the bottom of the lid.
#14. Pumpkins
It’s Halloween season which means it’s pumpkin season! Prevent your pumpkins from gaining mold by placing silica beads and embedding them into the inside of the pumpkin.
#15. Old Books
Books start to smell after awhile. And we’re talking about the super ancient old books. Get rid of the smell by putting the books into a bag filled with a few silica packets.
#16. Cameras
Cameras might be exposed to condensation that can affect a camera’s internal mechanisms and/or leave marks on the lens. Absorb the condensation away by placing your camera with silica gel packets after removing the memory card, battery, and lens.
#17. Waterproof Cameras
Cameras that work underwater can be pretty useful. However, these cameras are still subject to being ruined by condensation leaving marks on the lenses. Suck out the moisture with silica gel packets!
#19. Makeup
Maintain dryness and prevent messy makeup disasters by placing some silica gel packets into a sealed bag of all you r makeup.
#20. Hearing Aids
If you have hearing aids, they can be damaged by condensation when visiting or living in a damp climate. Store them in a container with silica packages to prevent this.
Bonus. What about Food Scraps?
Recycle Your Tea Bags
There are actually lots of ways you can re-use tea bags. You can use them to make more tea by or as DIY deodorizers for your home and carpets, to keep your soil healthy, and they can even be used to make hand and foot scrubs. You can find lots of uses for them here.
Shine And Tenderize With Banana Peels
Hold onto your banana peels to shine your shoes and tenderize your meat. Rub the inside of your peel on your shoe and rub off any excess to shine them up. Put a ripe banana peel at the bottom of your roasting pans. This will make your meat nice and moist.
Old Wine
Did your opened wine bottle go stale? You can still cook with it.
Pickle Juice
Don’t toss all that pickle juice when all the pickles are gone. You can use it to pickle other items like canned green beans, onions, or cucumbers. You can also use the pickle juice in cocktails.
Tough Kale
When the edges of your kale start to toughen up you can still use it. Just dehydrate it and ground it into a health powder and use in smoothies and protein drinks.
Mushy Brown Bananas
Don’t toss those brown bananas. Their texture and sweetness are great for baking recipes.
Egg Shells
Don’t toss out your cracked eggshells when you’re making breakfast or baking. You can use them to unclog a drain, in your skin regimen, or in your garden.
Fruit Pits
Use fruit pits to make more fruit. Avocado pits can be turned into more avocados, the same with peaches, plums and lemon seeds and pits.
Overripe Pumpkins
Save the pumpkin guts when you are carving a jack-o-lantern and use it to make a puree. You can bake and eat the seeds too.
Beet Greens
If you’re cooking with beets, hold onto their stems. You can make a salad or cook them in with pasta. Another option is to steam and season them.
Coffee Grounds
There are lots of uses you can get out of your old coffee grounds. They can be used to give your soil a healthy boost and to stain or dye items.
Orange Peels
Orange peels are another food scrap that can come in handy around the house. You can use it to make a cleaning spray and to keep brown sugar from hardening.
Bread Ends
Most of us end up tossing out bread ends or giving them to the animals outside. Freeze them instead. They can be turned into croutons or breadcrumbs.
Potato Chips
If you’re making mashed potatoes, you’re going to need to boil some skinless potatoes. You can use them for skin care or turn them into chips.
Carrot Tops
Most of us toss out the stems when we cook up carrots. They are used as an herb in recipes. Chop them finely and add to rice pilaf, pesto sauce, or salads for flavor.