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Silica gel


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We always carry a 'first aid for caches' around which contains new log books, pencil sharpener etc plus silica gel sachets (that you find in new shoes, handbags etc). When we come across a damp/wet cache, we dry it out as much as we can and then we leave one of the silica gel sachets in the cache, in the hope that it will 'soak up' the last of the moisture and keep the cache dry for future cachers. But does it work? :laughing: Does anyone know? :laughing: Or shall I tell my friends to stop saving the sachets? :P Advice please!

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In a word - No. It doesn't work.

 

The small silica gel sachets are designed to absorb any residual moisture in dry hermetically sealed packages and the amount of water they will absorb is minute.

 

In order to do even this they must be dry to start with. This means baking for half an hour or more in an industrial oven and then immediately be hermetically sealed. Left in the open air for 5 minutes they will be saturated again and need re-baking.

 

It's a nice idea but a complete waste of time I'm afraid

Edited by Just Roger
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It's great to see a fellow cacher carrying a cache "medical kit". :laughing:

I'd recommend carrying some micro logsheets in small plastic bags.

This usually keeps the wet at bay even if the cache container becomes damp.

We all know some containers aren't always 100% waterproof, including film pots!

Carry On the great work.

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In a word - No. It doesn't work.

 

The small silica gel sachets are designed to absorb any residual moisture in dry hermetically sealed packages and the amount of water they will absorb is minute.

 

In order to do even this they must be dry to start with. This means baking for half an hour or more in an industrial oven and then immediately be hermetically sealed. Left in the open air for 5 minutes they will be saturated again and need re-baking.

 

It's a nice idea but a complete waste of time I'm afraid

 

Doesn't everyone bake their caches for 30 minutes, gas mark 5 or is it just us :yikes:

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In a word - No. It doesn't work.

 

The small silica gel sachets are designed to absorb any residual moisture in dry hermetically sealed packages and the amount of water they will absorb is minute.

 

In order to do even this they must be dry to start with. This means baking for half an hour or more in an industrial oven and then immediately be hermetically sealed. Left in the open air for 5 minutes they will be saturated again and need re-baking.

 

It's a nice idea but a complete waste of time I'm afraid

 

Utter rubbish ;)

 

silica gel is extremely 'hydroscopic' and will absorb water in the region of 400 times its dry volume, since when were training shoes packaged 'hermeticaly sealed' ?

industrial ovens?

 

next time you see a kids nappy in the street that looks 9 times larger than it should its because its made of silica gel.

 

its a brilliant idea for a cache that will only suffer condensation type moisture levels

 

well done and keep it up-good to see someone using their initiative :D

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In a word - No. It doesn't work.

 

The small silica gel sachets are designed to absorb any residual moisture in dry hermetically sealed packages and the amount of water they will absorb is minute.

 

In order to do even this they must be dry to start with. This means baking for half an hour or more in an industrial oven and then immediately be hermetically sealed. Left in the open air for 5 minutes they will be saturated again and need re-baking.

 

It's a nice idea but a complete waste of time I'm afraid

 

Utter rubbish ;)

 

silica gel is extremely 'hydroscopic' and will absorb water in the region of 400 times its dry volume, since when were training shoes packaged 'hermeticaly sealed' ?

industrial ovens?

 

next time you see a kids nappy in the street that looks 9 times larger than it should its because its made of silica gel.

 

its a brilliant idea for a cache that will only suffer condensation type moisture levels

 

well done and keep it up-good to see someone using their initiative :D

 

its a bad idea, might soak up moisture to a point, but the cache will remain wet and if the bag splits then you end up with a gooey frogspawn in the cache

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In a word - No. It doesn't work.

 

The small silica gel sachets are designed to absorb any residual moisture in dry hermetically sealed packages and the amount of water they will absorb is minute.

 

In order to do even this they must be dry to start with. This means baking for half an hour or more in an industrial oven and then immediately be hermetically sealed. Left in the open air for 5 minutes they will be saturated again and need re-baking.

 

It's a nice idea but a complete waste of time I'm afraid

 

Utter rubbish ;)

 

silica gel is extremely 'hydroscopic' and will absorb water in the region of 400 times its dry volume, since when were training shoes packaged 'hermeticaly sealed' ?

industrial ovens?

 

next time you see a kids nappy in the street that looks 9 times larger than it should its because its made of silica gel.

 

its a brilliant idea for a cache that will only suffer condensation type moisture levels

 

well done and keep it up-good to see someone using their initiative :D

Sorry, but I believe you're getting a little confused. Silica Gel is a hard crystalline form of silica that is made from sodium silicate. It's "Hygroscopic" not "Hydroscopic" and is often put into little sachets or plastic capsules. There is no way that 1 cubic centimetre of silica gel crystals will absorb 400ccs of water. I think you're confusing it with the 'crystals' you can buy to put in flower vases. These soak up a lot of water and expand to many times their original volume. They are not silica gel.

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silica gel is extremely 'hydroscopic' and will absorb water in the region of 400 times its dry volume, since when were training shoes packaged 'hermeticaly sealed' ?

industrial ovens?

 

next time you see a kids nappy in the street that looks 9 times larger than it should its because its made of silica gel.

 

its a brilliant idea for a cache that will only suffer condensation type moisture levels

 

well done and keep it up-good to see someone using their initiative :D

Utter rubbish ;)

 

Silica gel is irritating to the respiratory tract, may cause irritation of the digestive tract, and dust from the beads may cause irritation to the skin and eyes, and therefore is not used in kids nappies. What are used are superabsorbent polymers and paper.

 

Taken from a manufacturers web site:

Can silica gel be used anywhere ?

Theoretically yes, but it is really only effective in an enclosed environment. In a situation where new air (and moisture) is constantly being introduced, an unpractical amount of silica gel will likely be needed to keep the Relative Humidity at low levels.

 

As can be seen from the above it is a total waste of time and effort, so please do not put any in my caches as it just becomes geo-litter along with the used train/bus/cinema tickets, sweets and numerous other items that have no place in a geocache.

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silica gel is extremely 'hydroscopic' and will absorb water in the region of 400 times its dry volume, since when were training shoes packaged 'hermeticaly sealed' ?

industrial ovens?

 

next time you see a kids nappy in the street that looks 9 times larger than it should its because its made of silica gel.

 

its a brilliant idea for a cache that will only suffer condensation type moisture levels

 

well done and keep it up-good to see someone using their initiative :ph34r:

Utter rubbish ;)

 

Silica gel is irritating to the respiratory tract, may cause irritation of the digestive tract, and dust from the beads may cause irritation to the skin and eyes, and therefore is not used in kids nappies. What are used are superabsorbent polymers and paper.

 

Taken from a manufacturers web site:

Can silica gel be used anywhere ?

Theoretically yes, but it is really only effective in an enclosed environment. In a situation where new air (and moisture) is constantly being introduced, an unpractical amount of silica gel will likely be needed to keep the Relative Humidity at low levels.

 

As can be seen from the above it is a total waste of time and effort, so please do not put any in my caches as it just becomes geo-litter along with the used train/bus/cinema tickets, sweets and numerous other items that have no place in a geocache.

 

this is my favoured bit of the quote :D

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silica gel is extremely 'hydroscopic' and will absorb water in the region of 400 times its dry volume, since when were training shoes packaged 'hermeticaly sealed' ?

industrial ovens?

 

next time you see a kids nappy in the street that looks 9 times larger than it should its because its made of silica gel.

 

its a brilliant idea for a cache that will only suffer condensation type moisture levels

 

well done and keep it up-good to see someone using their initiative :ph34r:

Utter rubbish ;)

 

Silica gel is irritating to the respiratory tract, may cause irritation of the digestive tract, and dust from the beads may cause irritation to the skin and eyes, and therefore is not used in kids nappies. What are used are superabsorbent polymers and paper.

Taken from a manufacturers web site:

Can silica gel be used anywhere ?

Theoretically yes, but it is really only effective in an enclosed environment. In a situation where new air (and moisture) is constantly being introduced, an unpractical amount of silica gel will likely be needed to keep the Relative Humidity at low levels.

 

As can be seen from the above it is a total waste of time and effort, so please do not put any in my caches as it just becomes geo-litter along with the used train/bus/cinema tickets, sweets and numerous other items that have no place in a geocache.

 

this is my favoured bit of the quote :D

 

and this is the bit I had trouble in finding 'the source'

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I normally put a small kitten in my caches, and find that when the kitten is thirsty, it will lap up any water in the container :huh::rolleyes:

 

Whhhhaaa... Hey! :)

 

When did you get approval for KittenKaching? :laughing:

 

Is KittenKaching the new HamsterCaching?

 

MrsB

 

It's important to note that placing unmodified Kittens in caches can ruin the cache container, not to mention a danger to HamsterCaching, therefore you should only really used pre-approved Bonsai Kittens.

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What a shame! I was thinking you had a revolutionary idea :). Aren't they poisonous too? Would hate someones dog/ toddler to pick one up and eat it in the excitement of opening a very full cache.

Silica gel is non-toxic, but if it has been modified with moisture indicative dyes such as Cobalt(II) chloride then yes it is.

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What a shame! I was thinking you had a revolutionary idea :). Aren't they poisonous too? Would hate someones dog/ toddler to pick one up and eat it in the excitement of opening a very full cache.

 

National Poisons Information Service used to advise that they are essentially completely non-toxic and if swallowed, can be simply be left to make their way out in the normal fashion... They were the number 1 reason for phone calls to NPIS!

 

cheers!

 

Dave (Forensic Toxicologist)

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I normally put a small kitten in my caches, and find that when the kitten is thirsty, it will lap up any water in the container :huh::rolleyes:

 

Whhhhaaa... Hey! :)

 

When did you get approval for KittenKaching? :laughing:

 

Is KittenKaching the new HamsterCaching?

 

MrsB

 

It's important to note that placing unmodified Kittens in caches can ruin the cache container, not to mention a danger to HamsterCaching, therefore you should only really used pre-approved Bonsai Kittens.

 

MrsB I think you should stick to hamstercaching....the two don't mix

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I am sad enough to find it very interesting that the gel is non toxic. I think the fact that 'DO NOT EAT' is written in big scary letters on the packets! (Before I had an expesive child habit, I bought a lot of shoes/ bags!)

 

Note they are not labelled TOXIC or HARMFUL like some chemicals.

 

But I am not offering to taste it and let you know what happens. :)

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