Collector shares brilliant tip for reusing everyday item that usually gets trashed: 'Excellent idea'

A silver collector discovered an ingenious and free hack to keep their precious collectibles tarnish-free using those little silica gel packets that come in all sorts of packaging but tend to get tossed.

The scoop

In the r/Silverbugs subreddit, a community dedicated to collecting silver, a Redditor shared their unexpected life hack, asking, "Does anyone else stack Silica packets for their Silver?"

In the photo they shared, they showed their drawer of items like coins, a chain, and other items, with the silica packets that typically come in everything from shoe boxes to packages of beef jerky scattered throughout.

Silica packets absorb 40% of their weight in moisture, according to Discover Magazine, helping products maintain their humidity levels and preserve their quality and freshness, and in this case, keeping a precious metal free of tarnish. 

How it's helping

Silica packets are effective at their job, but they have a few drawbacks when left in the trash. They can be toxic to humans, pets, and wildlife if ingested. And the packets the silica gel comes in are usually not biodegradable and lined with plastic or, at best, difficult to recycle. 

According to Micro-Pak, it takes over 51 tons of plastic packaging to make 100 million five-gram sachets of silica gel, the equivalent of 2,350,000 one-liter plastic bottles, all of which sit in the landfill, leaching chemicals and toxins over hundreds of years.

Reusing the silica packets is the kind of easy hack that doesn't cost a thing to do and benefits you in the process, like selling your clothes secondhand through ThredUp or recycling them with Trashie. 

And there are plenty of other uses for them, like rescuing a drenched iPhone, deodorizing your gym bag, preserving produce in a reusable bag, or extending the life of your herbs and spices.

What everyone's saying

People in the comments agreed that the OP's idea was effective and even offered additional tips for using silica packets.

One person wrote, "Silica packets are an excellent idea. I have a few giant beanbag sized ones with a humidity indicator on them. Those are for closet spaces, larger safes." They added that they also use them in small, tight storage spaces.

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Another added, "I have my family save theirs for me too."

A helpful Redditor noted that the ones you might take from products you buy are "short term," but that "from what I understand, you can re-dry them (oven?) and keep using them."

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