DEHUMIDIFIER BAG MOISTURE ABSORBER/DAMP EATER

[LadyCharlotteStinkySocks]

Dh bought several bags of this stuff from Amazon.

He thought it was fine to distribute this chemical (in 1kg bags) around the house and in the eaves where he stores his camping gear.

Aibu to insist that he removes them immediately as I don't like the idea of bags of chemicals lying around the house with two small DCs? He can't see anything wrong with it and keeps telling me it's made of natural stone.

What is this stuff anyway?

Is it gel or powder in the bags?

Almost certainly silica gel (Google it). It's relatively harmless, used in cat litter amongst other things. I wouldn't want DC to eat it though.

Not sure if its gel or powder. I have a (irrational?) fear that it will m&s up with the air in the house and dc2 (8 months) would co me to harm by breathing it in.

Sounds as though the bags are reinforced and pretty difficult to break open.

Dh says it's a natural product and not dangerous.

No, you're not going to breathe anything in. It just absorbs the water then you reactivate it by drying it out.

Not m&s but mix with the air.

Wouldn't it be better to find the cause of the damp and fix that?

There is no damp in the house! He bought these to protect his camping gear which is in the eaves (which to my knowledge are not even damp) and just left a couple of spare bags lying around the house.

I'm just really pissed off because I asked him to put them in the shed until we knew for sure that they weren't harmful. He just ignored my worry and insisted they stay .

Hmmmm might be good for Ds mouldy bedroom. The cause of the damp is an ill-fitting window which we have had quotes for between 600 and 1000 pounds. hollow laugh
Fixing the cause of the damp is not an option if you don't have the money

He probably knew they weren't dangerous. They contain a similar substance to that stuff to get in tiny bags in some electrical equipment and I find them in the bags of beef jerky I buy from the supermarket. They're not meant to be eaten, but they aren't poisonous.

Why and how a 8 months old would go into the eaves?

Its just silica gel. Its about as harmful as putting bags of sugar around the house.
Why not just google it and find out before freaking out? Maybe read up on some physics too.

Sorry just realised about the mixing with air, don't worry the silica is inert.
more details here.

I would not leave silica gel packs laying around in the house if I had small kids on the loose.

If they manage to tear a bag open and get it into the carpet then I worry about it getting into the air. Silica is close to harmless when swallowed but when inhaled it is very bad for the lungs.

If you have it in places where the little ones can not gain access to then it is safe. You might want to read www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/evm_silicon.pdf which is a review of silicon and silica

It will be silica gel (which is a solid, not a jelly-like substance). I used to work in a plant where it is made. It is very, very low hazard. I would not recommend eating it, but it is not toxic, inhaling it as a dust is considered to be a nuisance rather than a hazard, and what you have will not be generating dust. It is really just sand in a slightly different form. If googling you need to be aware that silica gel does not contain crystalline silica in any form, some crystalline silicas are hazardous in some circumstances. Silica gel is tested for the presence of crystalline silica but really the method by which it is made prevents crystalline forms being produced. Working full time on a plant that manufactured this stuff, with dust in the air all the time had no ill effects, having it in bags around the house is safe. It doesn't form fumes or vapours, it just sits there sucking up water vapour. Is there no safety information provided with the packs?

So how does the silica jel process avoid the formation of crystaline silica. I know how to make silicas and I know that the heat treatment at the end of the synthesis does make the silica much more crystaline at the end. I would typically start with either sodium silicate or a silane to make silica.