Inexpensive Desiccant Material for moisture control

I was my local Dollar Tree store and I saw a new display of Calcium Chloride Desiccant packages. There were 2 types , one with a blue lid containing just calcium choride and one with black lid that also contained some activate charcoal granules for odor control probably. They were a $1 each , so I purchased one of each for dissection and testing.




So I opened the package and removed the "grill" type top which exposed a woven material of probably paper/plastic material and exposed a layer below that looks like a micropore filter material. These are to allow air borne moisture to penetrate into the area beneath the 2 layers. In use they intended that you not remove these layers like I have done. The foil is the seal that you remove to use as directed.





This exposed the pellets which I tend poured into a zip lock bag and weighed almost 10 ounces.




here is the inside of the container with the pellets removed, showing the support floor and the center membrane support




The pellets do not have cobalt indicators, and are intended to absorb water until all of the pellets liquify and go to the bottom of the container, but you could make smaller containers for smaller safes and add the pellets to them. Liquified, they can be poured down the drain safely. As is, they probably each could be effective in a small room or large closet. They are so inexpensive, I wouldn't try to rejuvenate them, just replace. Ten cents an ounce is very inexpensive.

Jim

 

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At that price I would stock up they don't start working until opened.
Wish I could find them at that price around here our drought broke and I plan on seeing wet weather till next summer now.

 

Besides a safe, what else would these be good for?

 

Almost any room in a moist environment. Bathroom, kichen, laundry room, etc.

 

So for a normal bedroom, one would not be needed?

 

WOW! HOT DEAL! It really doesn't get any better than this.

Thanks for the post Jim!

 

Depends on the extra activity level in some cases I would think.

 

If you're storing coins, this should be used. Make sure you use it in a "closed" system like a large tupperware container or a safe.

 

Thanks. I wonder if all the dollar trees have them?

 

The brine that they form is what we spray on the roads around here (NC) when we're expecting ice or snow. I can't imagine it being terribly practical to do that on your driveway, though.

You can bake the water back out, but you won't get pellets, and what you do get won't work as effectively. I agree with desertgem's approach -- use, then toss.

 

My home safe is mounted in a closet. I use a rechargeable unit in the safe and one like this sits on top of safe in the closed room just wish I could get them that cheap. Mine cost several dollars at the BX.

 

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Although they are cashy, they make plug in dehumidifiers for safes.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM2610635801P?sid=IDx20110310x00001i&srccode=cii_184425893&cpncode=30-77109711-2

They are often used in gun safes to keep guns from rusting.

 

I just scavenge decitnets from drug bottles

 

Actually no, but then I have used it or calcium sulfate ( Drierite ) in desiccant tubes or in the bottom of devices similar to the plastic device here in many procedures. I am assuming you are thinking salt water being loose in the safe. I agree that if someone physically damaged one, or if one was manufactured with cracks allowing leakage, problems could occur. One would expect though that the only problem that can possibly occur would be if it was saturated to the liquid stage and not changed , then moisture would again build up in the safe, but due to diffusion, only water molecules, and not any salt ions, so you would be back to point of starting.

In actual use and the low cost, I would replace at the first sign of liquid in the bottom section, even though I realize that is overly cautious. I guess I could experiment with heating to rejuvenate, but I would worry about the plastics used, and the mineral would be in the bottom section and less effective.
IMO.

Jim

 

How many people have outlets in their safes? The unit I use you have to take out of the safe and plug into the wall outlet to recharge, done when the color indicators changes.

 

I certainly don't have any problems about the silica gel packs ( unless they contain the cobalt compounds ( toxic) to indicate saturation) and they can be heated to drive off the water. I don't know how much silica is actually inside the $10 paks or how much actual water they can absorb. Silica gel does not liquify like the saturated calcium chloride , but this is a very good indicator of need to replace. Also repeated saturation and drying of silica gel can cause the silicon dioxide material to fracture and become quartz dust which has a hardness of 7 Moh scale compared to about 2 for calcium chloride. So both materials would need good sealing so neither material got to the coins directly.

I haven't seen neither calcium chloride , calcium sulfate, or silica gel at about 10 cents an ounce and readily available before. Sometimes in very moist weather, I have thought of dehumidifying the air going into my central return, so that is where I will use these first.

I guess I should warn not to eat the pellets ( although they should be safe), they are from China, and also could dehydrate your intestinal tract and cause constipation or blockage in people with less than normal water intake and/or low motility bowels)

Jim

 

Using calcium chloride to dehumidify your house will be a losing battle. There's just too much air in your house -- you'd be going through multiple pounds a day. (I believe each pound of calcium chloride absorbs two or three pounds of water, and a single room full of humid air can contain more than a pound of water.)

If you ate the dry pellets, you'd likely suffer burns -- they get hot as they absorb water. If you drank the wet stuff, you probably wouldn't be able to keep it down long enough for it to get into the rest of your system, but it's pretty benign -- depending, of course, on how much free bonus lead it contains.