Spilled Beads

[vperlman]

The other day I was checking on my coolerdors. I keep my humidifier beads in plastic cups and accidentally knocked one of the plastic cups over. :angryteet Of course, the coolerdors are in my unfinished basement, so when I swept up the beads (swearing quietly the whole time), I also swept up all kinds of dirt, dust, and other kinds of crud with them

My question is whether I can continue to use the beads, even though they now look ugly and dirty, or whether I should toss them and replace them with new ones. I guess my biggest concern is the increased likelihood of mold growing. Any info anyone?

 

[Broadway Joe]

Good question! I don't have an answer, but I'm sure someone here will know. BTW...I like the quitely swearing to myself line! :nodlaugh:

 

[Jwrussell]

I don't see why you should have any real problems Rob. I'd do what you can to seperate any real crud out, but otherwise I would guess you wouldn't have any real issues. What about "washing" them with distilled water?

 

[dpricenator]

yeah, I sat wash em in distilled H2O

 

[indyrob]

Washing them and screening out the crud is a good a good idea.

 

[David]

Steal a pair of you wife's/GF's pantyhose and stick them in there.

 

[vperlman]

Thanks, guys. I thought about rinsing them in distilled water. That would get rid of the dust. The problem is finding a screen that has the right size openings to hold the beads but not the crud. I might try some window screening. Pantyhose would let out the dust, but not the bigger pieces of "stuff."

 

[RigilKent]

wash them as said then maybe let them dry a little

 

[TBone]

Been there before. :rofl: You bring back fond memories of me at 3am picking up hundreds of tiny beads spread around my kitchen floor.

 

[vperlman]

Been there before. :rofl: You bring back fond memories of me at 3am picking up hundreds of tiny beads spread around my kitchen floor.

Yeah. For us cigar smokers, I think humidifier beads are the equivalent of Christmas tree tinsel and plastic Easter basket grass. That stuff just seems to breed spontaneously. Just when you think you finally got the last piece cleaned up... :lookaroun

 

[earnold25]

i'd recommend against washing or soaking them. i was told that this might have caused my recent bead troubles (not releasing humidity) because it could have washed away the chemical that regulates the "set and forget" point of your beads.

i couldn't verify this, but i'm not gonna take the chance again.

 

[Jwrussell]

Eran, where did that info come from?

 

[earnold25]

from nowhere reputable, i.e. one of the vendors of the RHbeads, but a few people on another cigar board suggested to me that this was possible and it made sense based on the recent trouble i had after I washed my beads that had fallen and been recollected from the carpet.

 

[TBone]

I ended up buying more. Too much dog hair and crumbs in mine.

 

[Jwrussell]

from nowhere reputable, i.e. one of the vendors of the RHbeads, but a few people on another cigar board suggested to me that this was possible and it made sense based on the recent trouble i had after I washed my beads that had fallen and been recollected from the carpet.

I won't say it's not possible, but it doesn't sound right to me. I wasn't aware of any "chemicals" that regulated the "set and forget" in the beads...

 

[earnold25]

well, the chemical part I have heard from the vendors mouths, well fingers. Otherwise they'd just be regular silica beads. The chemical is what allows them to release at the humidity set points. Now what chemical it actually is is guarded in a veil of secrecy, or they aren't privy to that info either and the manufacturer won't share it.

 

[Jwrussell]

Hmmmm...interesting. I can definitely see where that would be the case...but it would seem strange to me that it could wash away. If that were the case wouldn't you be risking this every time you slipped and added a bit too much water to your beads? Not trying to argue with you, it just seems strange to me.

 

[earnold25]

i agree with you. I'm still don't know if I buy that the chemical can be "washed" away for just the reason you stated. but i know mine were messed up when I immersed them, and just wanted to warn yins.

 

[N2Advnture]

i'd recommend against washing or soaking them. i was told that this might have caused my recent bead troubles (not releasing humidity) because it could have washed away the chemical that regulates the "set and forget" point of your beads.

I have never experienced any "washing" away of the regulating properties impregnated in the RH Beads.

The suggested use is hydrating approx 80% of the RH Beads. Over the years (9+), I am still using the same RH Beads that I have re-hydrated over and over with no problems. While this isn't complete saturation every time, years and years worth of re-hydrated to 80% saturation would have more than equated to saturating them once or even several times over.

I hope this helps

~Mark

 

[earnold25]

thanks mark!