I thought everyone knew this:
You’ve probably never given much thought to silica gel packets beyond noting that they’re a mild inconvenience.
The tiny white packets are often included by brands in deliveries of shoes and bags – and we typically throw them out without a second thought upon arrival.
But the silica gel packets contain tiny beans of solid silicon dioxide, a desiccant or drying agent, which means they can absorb up to 40 per cent of their weight in water.
Silica gel can protect items from moisture and keep them dry, so can be a useful solution in areas such as the kitchen sink or bathroom cabinet to stave off mold.
Never mind that sink or bathroom nonsense; I must have dozens of these scattered around in my gun safes and sundry gun bags, all collected from various packages and such. Because:
…and I apologize most sincerely for any distress the above pictures may have caused.
Remember, they HOLD moisture. They wick the moisture out of the air and hold it in a porous container and re-release it back out into the air. So, unless you remove them and recycle them on a regular basis you are not avoiding the moisture but might be making it worse.
I bought a bag of 100 from amazon for placement in gun cases. New, they were blue, but when absorbed they turn pink. Put them in a microwave for a spell and they will dry out and turn blue again.
Lazy ass that I am, I opened the bag they shipped in and sat it on my workbench for a few days and all of them turned pink by sucking moisture out of the air. There’s got to be a better way….
Every once in a while I’m glad I live in a very dry climate.
I use the silica Packets in my 30 and 50 cal ammo cans. I rotate a couple of these in my gun safe–
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Remington-Model-365-Mini-Dehumidifier-Single/15729968?classType=REGULAR&from=/search
You just plug them in over night to re-charge (dry them out). Got them on sale some years back.
What is that old saying, DON’T OVERTHINK IT.
I have used silica packets and those silica beads in the cans you can rebake
I even HAD some of those ones you plug into the wall to reheat using electricity, and then when they are “recharged” you put the item in your safe to suck more water out. Then when it needs to be dried again you plug in. Saw articles online about how many of those cheap ones were made in China and caught on fire.
The expensive safes have holes for rods and even electrical outlets. The rods bring in heat to dry the safe. Too fancy for me.
I don’t even know the last time I baked my silica beads in the cans. Probably a few years ago.
What do I do now? And what have a done for a few years? I gots me a rag that is wet with some oil.
If a gun is going to be in the safe for a while, I get it nice and oiled up. NOT dripping wet, but a good sheen. Remember when manufacturers ship guns there is some nice coating of lube on them because who knows how long they will sit at a distributor or in a shop before being sold. Could be days, weeks, months or years. You think large warehouses are kept perfectly dehumidified? You think that the people working in warehouses and every last gun shop are making sure everything is perfectly dry and not rusting?
Whatever you do, as the saying goes “Keep your powder dry”. But lube them guns up.
Remember. IF YOU LOVE IT, LUBE IT. That goes for your guns, your vehicles, your yard equipment like snowblower and lawnmower, your wife. Oil is good stuff. Cheap too.
My employer makes…items that are very moisture sensitive (definitely don’t look at my name) and uses this stuff like it’s free. Single use to avoid contamination and such, right? I definitely haven’t scavenged piles of it to protect all my guns, ammo and reloading stuff…