Humidity Packs And Desiccant Packets For Moisture Control
What is a humidiccant?
Humidiccants, also known as humidity packs, are humidity control packets designed to be stored with your flowers and buds. They are used in buckets, storage bags, glass jars, and containers for absorbing moisture when storing your product.
Not allowing your flowers to dry when stored for an extended period of time is a critical step. These packs are available in various sizes and moisture levels. Your choice depends on if your product is either too dry or too wet.
What is a desiccant pack?
Desiccant packs or desiccant bags are moisture-absorbing packets that are similar to humidity packs but they use silica gel beads.
What is desiccant silica gel?
Silica gel is a drying agent that often comes in the form of small, clear beads or clear rock crystals. They are usually placed in small packets made of paper or cloth. These packets are often packaged with commercial products to prevent moisture damage. Silica gel packets can be found in a wide range of products, such as food, clothing, and electronics.
Silica gel is a “desiccant,” which means that it’s used to keep things dry. Silica gel is made from silicon dioxide, a compound naturally found in sand. It has small particles that can absorb large amounts of water. Therefore, desiccant silica packets are put in store-bought products to prevent damage due to humidity.
Is silica gel toxic?
This gel is non-toxic but it is a choking hazard for young children.
However, in some rare instances, manufacturers coat silica gel in cobalt chloride, a toxic compound. Eating cobalt chloride-coated silica gel will likely cause nausea and vomiting. Cobalt chloride is a moisture indicator that is dark blue when dry and pink when saturated with water. Cobalt chloride-coated silica gel isn’t usually used for consumer products.
What happens if you eat silica gel?
Children can mistake the gel for food or candy and eat either the silica gel or the entire packet. Adults sometimes mistake silica packets for the salt or sugar packets commonly found in takeout food.
Eating desiccant gel by accident shouldn’t make you or your child sick because it’s chemically inert. This means that it won’t break down in the body and cause poisoning. Most of the time, silica gel will pass through your body without any harmful effects.
But this doesn’t mean that eating silica is without risk. Desiccant gel is a choking hazard. Also, if eaten in large quantities, desiccant silica gel may cause intestinal obstruction. This is why manufacturers often label the packets with “Do not eat” or “Throw away after using”.
