What is Reddit's opinion of Dry & Dry" [1 Quart Premium Orange Indicating Silica Gel Desiccant Beads(Industry Standard 2-4 mm) - Rechargeable Silica Gel Beads(2 LBS)?

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You can hear it when you're printing. It can have all sorts of bad effects on your print.

If you put your ear close you can hear little pops, when the moisture turns to steam in the hot end.

I'm not even in a high humidity area, but I already have to store my filament in bags with dessicant or else I have to trash it after 6 months, but now sometimes I use filament that's 4 or 5 years old.

I use reusable dessicant like this: https://www.amazon.com/Dry-Desiccant-Indicating-Industry-Standard/dp/B01I5Y2DG6 and gallon ziplock bags (but some people have special dry boxes).

The top 'floor' of my lack enclosure is sealed for the filament to feed down to the printer floor. It can hold about 10 open reels.

You can get silica in various colors, and for this stuff, orange is unspent, dark green when saturated - from here: https://www.amazon.com/Dry-Desiccant-Indicating-Industry-Standard/dp/B01I5Y2DG6

For the dry box https://www.amazon.com/Dry-Desiccant-Indicating-Industry-Standard/dp/B01I5Y2DG6/ref=sr_1_12?crid=3IIX5HOVJ2C1Z&dchild=1&keywords=rechargeable+dessicant&qid=1595271873&sprefix=rechargable+dessicant%2Caps%2C161&sr=8-12

I came here to say basicly the same thing. Here is an exsample of a desiccant that I use in my kitchen Dry & Dry" [1 Quart Premium Orange Indicating Silica Gel Desiccant Beads(Industry Standard 2-4 mm) - Rechargeable Silica Gel Beads(2 LBS) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01I5Y2DG6/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_4AM242V4GPXM08T6DYCS

Put the phone in a bag of rice. The rice will suck moisture out. Or try this product, it works amazing drying things out.

Dry & Dry" [1 Quart Premium Orange Indicating Silica Gel Desiccant Beads(Industry Standard 2-4 mm) - Rechargeable Silica Gel Beads(2 LBS) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01I5Y2DG6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_3J9EQQJ4E83MKAKFAM4A

Grab some indicating silica gel and shove it into an old sock or a mason jar with some holes poked into the top. Refresh it once the colour changes by sticking it in the oven.

I would like to mention that I'm sure you could find a shell to print to put the desiccant beads in, and two pounds of it is less expensive than the linked product's non-sale price.

> They are blue when dry and eventually turn pink when they are no longer effective.

Don't get the blue kind, since it contains cobalt and is toxic. Get the orange one instead: https://smile.amazon.com/Dry-Desiccant-Indicating-Industry-Standard/dp/B01I5Y2DG6

Instructions & STLs & OpenSCAD files here: Silica Gel Tower by The_Redcoat - Thingiverse

This is a holder for silica gel/beads desiccant that is used to manage humidity in the top layer of my Ikea Lack enclosure stack, the one that holds the rolls of filament. It also fits (up to three of them) into my dehumidifier when it needs recharging, without having to unload the beads.

Example product it holds: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I5Y2DG6

It's a bit different than traditional models because it uses modelled slicer modifiers to build a strong, yet air-permeable container, by instructing the slicer to use gyroid infill only for certain segments.

To prevent damp filament, store in a box with some of this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01I5Y2DG6/ or get a filament dryer, some people use a food dehydrator.

Instructions & STL, & OpenSCAD files here: Silica Gel Tower by The_Redcoat - Thingiverse

This is a holder for silica gel/beads desiccant that is used to manage humidity in the top layer of my Ikea Lack enclosure stack, the one that holds the rolls of filament. It also fits (up to three of them) into my dehumidifier when it needs recharging, without having to unload the beads.

Example product it holds: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I5Y2DG6

It's a bit different than traditional models because it uses modelled slicer modifiers to build a strong, yet air-permeable container, by instructing the slicer to use gyroid infill only for certain segments.

Don't get the blue kind, since it contains cobalt and is toxic. Get the orange one: https://smile.amazon.com/Dry-Desiccant-Indicating-Industry-Standard/dp/B01I5Y2DG6

I would get reusable silica gel beads - you dry them by reheating them: https://www.amazon.com/Dry-Desiccant-Indicating-Industry-Standard/dp/B01I5Y2DG6/

It might be more convenient to get the ones prepackaged in a little heater that you plug in: https://www.amazon.com/Improved-Eva-dry-333-Renewable-Dehumidifier/dp/B000H0XFCS

Just order a bunch of silica gel, it's reusable. This is what I bought (not an affiliate link): https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I5Y2DG6/

Another heavy duty option is something like, I use this to keep 3d printer filaments dry:

https://www.amazon.com/Dry-Desiccant-Indicating-Industry-Standard/dp/B01I5Y2DG6/

Some people suggested desiccants. I use these to keep moisture out of things. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I5Y2DG6/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_

I bet silica gel would work much better than either rice or kitty litter. It's much more expensive, but if it's a wet smartphone....

Here's an example of what I'm talking about:

https://www.amazon.com/Dry-Desiccant-Indicating-Industry-Standard/dp/B01I5Y2DG6

 

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I'm not brave enough to do baking, but what I DO use is air tight containers and dehydration beads. Sucks the moisture out, and my filament is in a humid room.

Moisture sucking beads: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01I5Y2DG6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_1MVPC42HNPSDB8M6QMWW?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Container (pack of 4): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081F6X2W2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_8PE8SP2MZ38JDMJD06VJ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

You can get rechargable silica gel beads for cheap. I used to use these in mesh bags that are used for wedding favors.

Like these? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01I5Y2DG6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_6ZGC57DY22P3KVD9X2QT?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Get the orange and not the blue. Apparently the blue ones are toxic or corrosive or something.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3494496

I love these for end of roll prints.

The smallest one (50x30 no core) is 12g. The lid is 9. Even at this size it fits a generous amount of silica (i use this - https://www.amazon.com/Dry-Desiccant-Indicating-Industry-Standard/dp/B01I5Y2DG6/ref=pd_sbs_1/137-2443739-8418053?pd_rd_w=GzCjI&pf_rd_p=f8e24c42-8be0-4374-84aa-bb08fd897453&pf_rd_r=X42D0AT6QEPTJVQ9FYSD&pd_rd_r=f1624bfd-718d-4ba6-aa15-09148202bc6c&pd_rd_wg=1Uepu&pd_rd_i=B01I5Y2DG6&psc=1).

The 50x50 half-core is my other fave, and also happens to be a great test for your extruder/pla combo. The columns require a lot of retractions and can lead to filament breaking in the extruder. I'm 3 for 5 printing it out on my stock Aquila. 0 for like 10 when trying to print multiples (2+ on a plate).

ShadowCVL's answered the question. The relative humidity in my back room (in Florida) is around 52%. With that kind of humidity, filament doesn't last very long, and will have the issues below. With a dry box and the silica beads, it keeps the humidity down to around 30%. I bought these from Amazon and dumped the whole thing in there: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I5Y2DG6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you get it new it should be dry already unless the seller has royally goofed up. You don't really need to replace it though, just drying out the stuff you have will work fine. Of course it's cheap enough to buy some and just leave it factory sealed and not worry about it.

I use the blue to pink color change stuff, though there is some concern about handling because of the health ramifications of the cobalt chloride used to change the color.

The orange to green stuff uses methyl violet as the color changing agent, and is thought of as a safer option, though it still has health issues it does have medical uses, so it's safe enough in that regard.

Here's some of the orange to green stuff.

If you don't want any potential exposure to the color changing agents, you can also buy clear stuff with no indicator chemical in it, or some mixtures that only have a little bit of the indicator. If you get the clear stuff you can always get a cheap little hygrometer to let you know that it is still dry and ready to use. I actually use one of those hygrometers in the storage boxes I use for my 3d printing filament to keep an eye on when things need recharging.

I use the beads rather than the pouches because they are much quicker to recharge. The pouches slow the speed at which water vapor moves in and out of the gel, and depending on who's recharging instructions you listen to can take a crazy long time to properly dry. With the beads I pour them out into an aluminum tray and bake them in a toaster oven at 250 F / 120 C for about 3 hours to completely recharge them. If you don't fully recharge it, the color change won't be quite as complete once they cool back off, indicating that they don't have quite as much moisture capacity as they could have otherwise.

I use a non-food oven for this that I use for other projects/baking parts just because I have it, I used to use the regular toaster oven before that. Your tolerance for introducing various non-food stuff into food spaces may vary. The clear stuff is cheap enough that if it's just for emergency electronics rescue you could just keep a new sealed container around and chuck it when you've used it. The clear is completely non-toxic so isn't an issue in that regard.

There are also services like DryBox and TekDry that are available locally depending on where you live. I can't vouch for their (somewhat expensive) services, but they claim a great success rate. For the $70 or so it might be worth it to jump right to the professional option. Of course I'd treat any phone that got wet and stopped working as a lost cause anyway, recover the data and then replace it ASAP because who knows when it might succumb to it's prior injuries.

Do you still have standing water in the basement, or is everything just waterlogged? If the latter, running a carpet cleaner over the carpet can vacuum up some of the soaked in water, and leaving bags of [silica desiccant](https://smile.amazon.com/Dry-Desiccant-Indicating-Industry-Standard/dp/B01I5Y2DG6/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=dessicant+color+change&qid=1596731284&sr=8-8) to absorb water then taking them outside to dry out in the sun could supplement the AC. (Bags can be made out of nylons or other materials you have lying around. If there are particular wet items you can also use the beads to help dry those specifically.

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If you've got a dryer vent in the basement, it could be worth looking into hooking up the most powerful fan you've got to that in order to directly vent moisture outside while the heat is on instead of relying on the AC to remove the moisture.

I've just been reading that the heat of the dehydrator can damage the crystal structure of the filament. Now they weren't specific on which kind of filament. PLA is a crystal but ABS is not. So I don't know if that means Ok for ABS but not PLA? or it was just lazy writing and all types can be affected. Or how true any of it is.

You can buy jugs of desiccant pellets for cheap and you can make a "dry box" lined with the pellets and the filament just lives in there and stays dry. (The pellets are rechargeable in the oven or dehydrator)

https://www.amazon.com/Dry-Desiccant-Indicating-Industry-Standard/dp/B01I5Y2DG6/ref=sr_1_4?crid=U0L6O2XBXJT1&dchild=1&keywords=desiccant&qid=1594747816&sprefix=desiccan%2Caps%2C551&sr=8-4

I like to run a Maxxair fan to pull air through the coach when not running the AC.

I also use Desiccant beads in all my closets, a couple of larger ones in the main area. I like the kind that change color when they have absorbed moisture. I put them on a tray in the oven at 250 for hour or two till then return to original color and repack in muslin bags.