Can I just empty out these DampRid bags?

April 26, 2023 12:56 PM

My old Subaru has a slight moisture issue, nothing serious but (in Seattle weather) enough that I hang one of these DampRid bags in the back, and they fill up after a couple months. But I'm wondering, if the water it catches is sequestered in the bag below, shouldn't I be able to just... empty it out and let it keep going?

As I understand it these crystals capture ambient moisture, and then it condenses naturally and flows down. But the water is not taking the crystals with it - the top is still full of the stuff. In one of the cups or sealed packets, the water is soaking the crystals, but here it flows down.

Is there any reason I couldn't just empty this sucker out with a carefully placed cut, then seal it up and let it keep going? Feels like a waste to dump this plastic thingy full of lovely ~crystals~ if there's still drying potential left in them.

Filed under "grab bag" because that's what I want to do.

posted by BlackLeotardFront to Grab Bag (7 answers total)

The crystals will be consumed eventually. We used to use DampRid in containers that were stored for a year plus. The version we used were refillable tubs.

The hanging version might have more inactive material in there for air movement, which might be what the line is gauging.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:42 PM on April 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

Yes. The bathroom in my old apartment had a dampness problem and I used that same DampRid product, but in a refillable tub. The tub allows you to lift out the crystals, dump the water, and keep going as necessary. You'll know when the crystals have lost their oomph because they'll become fully saturated and turn to goo. (At that point with the tub you just dump it all out and add more crystals.) As long as the water has someplace to drain off to, the crystals will continue to pull water out of the air until they're gone.
posted by phunniemee at 1:42 PM on April 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

I would try it with one and if you keep getting water in the tub then you know it is working. It might lose efficiency over time but then you could keep an older one there when you put in a new one.
posted by soelo at 3:37 PM on April 26, 2023

If you want to try refilling them, with the aid of an xacto knife and some tape, you can buy a jug of the granules at Home Depot. Or buy the tub version and stick it under a seat. Maybe on top of a mini sheet pan in case it tips over.
posted by snuffleupagus at 3:54 PM on April 26, 2023

Just a small safety note: WHATEVER you do, do NOT allow the collected DampRid liquid come in contact with leather. The liquid permanently and badly stains leather.
posted by bz at 5:57 PM on April 26, 2023 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks for the notes of encouragement and caution, all. I will give this a shot!
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 7:50 PM on April 26, 2023

The crystals in damprid are calcium chloride in case you want to replace them.

Be aware that calcium chloride crystals are dangerous if you come into contact with them, they can cause burns. If they are heated up they can release fumes which may irritate or burn.

I have found that once the crystals are used up, rough salt makes a good replacement. It does pretty much the same thing of sucking water out of the atmosphere.
posted by Zumbador at 9:43 PM on April 26, 2023 [2 favorites]