How to Reuse Small Silica Gel Packets
Silica gel packets are normally found in food or electronic packages you buy at the store. These packets collect the moisture that accumulates in these packages, thereby protecting the products in the packages. Silica gel packets can be reused to conserve photographs and tools, and even to protect cell phones.
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Instructions
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1
Line an oven-safe pan or dish with aluminum foil. Place the silica gel packets (still in their paper packages) inside the pan. If you have loose silica beads, these can be poured inside the foil as well, though make sure to spread them out in the pan.
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2
Heat the oven to 220 degrees F and place the pan inside. The packets can be heated from anywhere from two to five hours. Be careful not to overheat the packets, however, since this will damage the silica.
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3
Place the packets in a plastic zip-top bag with your collectibles or tools.
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4
Recharge the silica packets. When the silica beads turn colors (depending on the manufacturer, they can either turn from blue to pink or orange to green), repeat Steps 1 and 2 so that you can continue using them for their moisture-absorbing properties.
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Tips & Warnings
Silica gel can be used to keep food fresh.
If your cell phone gets wet, put it in a zip-top bag with a silica gel packet and the packet will help absorb the water, possibly preventing damage to the phone.
Silica gel can also be used to dry and preserve flowers.
Most packets are Tyvek packages and are perfectly safe to put in the oven since they are made to be heat-resistant.
The packets can be purchased online.
Keep the packets in a zip lock bag until you need them to help preserve them.
Do not microwave silica gel packets.
