Homemade Damp Rid?

Thomatillo

August 13, 201011 found this helpful

Damp Rid is a very simple product. It is mostly made of anhydrous calcium chloride. The chemical is what they call deliquescent, meaning that it absorbs so much moisture from the air that it dissolves. There are many chemicals that do this, but some are more dangerous than others. Calcium Chloride is pretty safe, but it does heat up when exposed to water. In large amounts, it could cause burns and irritation.

You might be able to get calcium chloride through a chemical company, but the potential problem of making your own is that of storage of the unused material. It will have to be stored in smaller completely airtight containers.

The thing that makes damp rid a more user-friendly product is its packaging, which comes in many forms. The essential part is to have a receptacle that exposes the product to air, but lets it drain so the saturated stuff gets out of the way.

I've purchased the dry product in the refill bags and put it in recycled yogurt containers. Simply take a short container (like the kind cottage cheese comes in), poke holes in it, fill it with the crystals and place that into a larger yogurt container to catch the liquid.

fragment104

May 10, 20170 found this helpful

You did answer question. You simply said "buy refill bag and put in another container" where is the "home made"part

 

Thomatillo

August 13, 20107 found this helpful

Hi again,

I was thinking of another solution to the moisture problem. The little packages of drying agent that are often found in medicine bottles are filled with Silica Gel. These little beads are actually quite effective in removing moisture.

The advantage Silica Gel beads have over Calcium Chloride is that they do not dissolve. They can also be reused if heated to remove the absorbed moisture. Some even come with indicator colors that change when they are saturated.

Silica Gel can also be comparatively economical to purchase. In fact, there are several cat litters made out of it. Just do a search for "silica gel cat litter," and I'm sure you'll find many brands.

I would just get some and make packages of them using porous neeting, cheesecloth, or other material, and hang them throughout your space.

You might even be able to make bags out of wire window screen and reactivate them from time to time by putting them in a low over.

DeBushe
Bronze Feedback Medal for All Time! 179 Feedbacks

October 29, 20170 found this helpful

I collect those little bags off the wire shelves in drug stores where they have shoes and sandals. They fall out of the shoes to the bottom shelf so I just pick them up. I feel I am doing some clerk a favor as now they don't have to clean them up and throw them away. Over the years I have managed to accumulate several quarts of them.

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I use them in boxes of old photos and old letters, etc. You can cut them open and pour them into a jar for other uses. They can be dried out in an oven overnight that is warmed by a pilot light. They can also be used to dry flowers.

 

haplocom

February 13, 20180 found this helpful

This is so helpful! Thank you! Is there a chance that panty hose tied & cut into little pouches filled with the material would be worth a try? If I try this should they have cups rigged under them? From what I've been reading it sounds like they might be drippy. I'm in Florida and have Terrazzo floors throughout and I don't/can't run my AC. It gets pretty musty in the closets. Thanks for any suggestions!

 

As others have said that Damp Rid is Calcium Chloride., If you have some of that chemical in dry form, it's easy to construct a gadget which circulates air over the stuff, and collects the liquid that it turns into.

What hasn't been said is that Calcium Chloride is very easy to acquire, and is fairly inexpensive. Specifically, many brands of ice melt pellets - Qik Joe, Prestone Driveway Heat, Peladow, Pellets of Fire, and Safestep 7300, for example -- are all pure calcium chloride.

As an added bonus, all of these are much cheaper, per pound, than Damp Rid refills.

According to Google's shopping page, Qik Joe costs $7 for 10 pounds, $11 for 20 lbs, $22 for 50 lbs, and $65 for 100 lbs. The cheapest Damp Rid refill costs $3.65 for 2.5 pounds... that works out to $1.46 per pound, or $14.60 for 10 pounds.

khawkey

September 1, 20181 found this helpful

QikJoe does not say that it's pure calcium chloride ... it says that it "contains" calcium chloride.

 

karnas

May 30, 20161 found this helpful

so if i have the Calcium Chloride i would still have to use to containers as mentioned above 1 for the dry product and another to absorb the moisture correct?

mushinmunchkin

February 8, 20170 found this helpful

deos it actually absorbe moisture from the air like damprid, i know the specifications are close, it being calcium chloride but have you tried leaving it in the open air to see if it turns to liquid, because damprid turns to liquid if left set in the open air...

 

I know that safety step pet salt melts in my basement during summer... Even with the dehumidifier running at Max.