Why I don’t throw gel balls out of shoe boxes: I found 8 ways to use them

I made a discovery for myself. It turns out that small bags of balls that are placed in shoe boxes are very useful around the house. This is nothing more than absorbent silica gel. It helps fight dampness and unpleasant odors. That's what I do with it.

1. Useful bags

I have been collecting silica gel packets for several years. At that time I did not yet understand how they could be useful, and acted rather intuitively. When purchasing another pair of shoes, I put the bags in boxes. When it was completely filled, I wondered why I actually needed this whole warehouse.

I read the help: Silica gel is a hydrophilic sorbent, a dried gel. It looks like glass and is just as hard.

They put it in shoe boxes to prevent new shoes from getting damp in the warehouse. But the possibilities of silica gel are much wider. It is able to absorb huge amounts of moisture and remove odor. There is even a silica gel litter available for cats. By the way, he is considered the best.

The balls perfectly absorb cat urine, and with it a specific aroma. Lasts for weeks without requiring replacement. The filler is expensive - about 1,500 rubles for a large pack.But that’s not about that now.

Small packets of silica gel break easily. In order to conveniently use them in everyday life, I cut them up, poured the balls into cotton socks and tied them. They turned out to be good quality, and most importantly very useful bags.

2. From unpleasant odors in the washing machine

Previously, an unpleasant damp smell periodically appeared in my old machine. I ran a cycle with lemon juice, but it didn’t help for long. A friend suggested putting a sock filled with silica gel in the drum after washing. I did so. The balls absorb moisture that remains on the machine parts. As a result, there is absolutely no smell in it. And after a couple of hours I take out the bag and dry it on the radiator.

3. Shoe dryer

Somehow I got my shoes very wet. The electric dryer, as luck would have it, broke down. The batteries were just turned off. There are no replacement shoes. There is an important meeting in 5 hours. Without thinking for a long time, I stuck a sock with silica gel into my shoes. The result is that by the appointed time they are completely dry! Since then I dry all my shoes this way. Foot odors also disappear. And if you need to dry a couple faster, I heat the bags with a hairdryer. The shoes become dry after just a couple of hours.

4. Everlasting flowers

At work they gave me an unusual bouquet of black, white and green roses. So beautiful that there was a desire to somehow preserve them. Among a dozen recipes, I chose one. You need to place the buds on short stems in a bowl with silica gel. Carefully sprinkle the flowers on top. Which is what I did. The result is that after a week the roses were completely dry, but did not crumble or lose color. They have been standing in my beautiful flowerpot for two months now, they don’t require attention, but are pleasing to the eye.

5. From foggy windows

In my parents' house there is double glazing in the bedroom, and there are a lot of indoor flowers on the windowsill. This is why plastic windows always sweat in severe frost. I brought my mom some silica gel beads. I filled a small pot with them. I put it on the windowsill. The windows stopped sweating.

Dad liked my idea and used it to dehumidify the car. I poured silica gel into a toilet freshener box. I attached it to the glove compartment. He says there is a difference. There is no hint of dampness in the cabin; the windows do not sweat. He walks around happy, like an elephant.

6. Youth pill for tools

I remembered that my husband has also been using silica gel in bags for a long time. Many years ago I put several bags on nails and in tool boxes. The garage is damp, and previously rust quickly “ate” the metal. Silica gel helped achieve dryness. At the same time, the instrument stopped rusting.

7. For sports

Fans of sports training will certainly appreciate this method. I have been friends with sports since childhood, but I don’t like the smell of sweat. After class, I immediately take off my clothes and shoes, tie them in a bag, and only after that throw them into my gym bag. When I arrive home, I immediately start the wash. But the bag is still soaked in it. To prevent this from happening, I poured silica gel balls into the inner side pocket and zipped it up (I don’t use it). After this the smells disappeared.

8. Rescue of the “drowned”

By “drowned” I mean flooded or recessed gadgets. I'm probably an unlucky person that this is the second time I've dropped my phone into the water. The first time, on the advice of Google, I took it apart and covered it with rice cereal. This did not bring any results. The second time I used silica gel instead of rice. After lying for a day, the phone started working. Perhaps it was just luck.But I think not. Rice does not absorb as much moisture as silica gel.

Using silica gel you can get rid of moisture and dampness anywhere. Bags of balls can be placed in the bathroom, in the pantry, on the balcony, in the cabinet under the sink or in the wardrobe with street clothes in the hallway. The gel does not smell of anything, dries itself, and does not clump.

The silica gel packets in shoe boxes turned out to be so useful. The shoes wear out, but the balls remain. If anyone did not collect them in advance, as I did, you can buy silica gel in granules at a pet store or store with fertilizers for indoor flowers.

By the way, silica gel is relatively harmless. If you swallow a few peas, nothing will happen. My niece ate the whole bag, and everything turned out okay. There wasn't even any frustration. But, of course, it is better to keep him away from children. And don't use food bags. Still, the composition of the gel is chemical.