What Is Indicating Silica Gel?

At Interteck, we’ve long been a champion of bringing the best possible product to our consumers in our effort to constantly push the envelope where moisture control is concerned. This brought the invention of indicating silica gel to our attention as soon as it took place and we’ve been offering the finest product on the market ever since. We knew it was a game-changer all the way back then and still believe in its value to our customers today.

Indicating silica gel from Interteck comes in two distinct varieties – aside from being encased in packets or in bulk as loose beads: orange to green and blue to pink.

These aren’t color preferences either, well not entirely, but the aftereffects of the moisture indicator used to manufacture the product in the first place. They do the same thing, but use different chemical additives to do it. That means they have different toxicity levels and shouldn’t be treated the same. Let’s look deeper (take note that the packaging is irrelevant to the chemical makeup of each product):

• Blue to Pink Indicating Silica Gel: The blue to pink indicating silica gel from Interteck is actually just our normal white non-indicating silica gel which has been washed with a special concentration of cobalt chloride. When dry, this cobalt chloride coating is a brilliant blue color and when it becomes saturated with moisture it turns pink. That’s what you’re seeing when it changes color – the saturation of the cobalt chloride outer covering. While only moderately toxic, cobalt chloride should not be ingested or used in connection with food. You can read more about the safe uses of blue to pink indicating silica gel by visiting our Information pages.

• Orange to Green Indicating Silica Gel: The orange to green indicating silica gel from Interteck is our non-indicating silica gel washed with a concentrate of methyl violet which is nowhere near the toxicity of cobalt chloride and deemed a safer product to use in your home. It’s still a good idea to use this product away from small children and pets to avoid any trouble should the get it in their hands or mouths. It’s not poisonous, but it pays to avoid trouble whenever possible.

So, as you can clearly see, indicating silica gel is just ordinary silica with a special concentration bath which gives it its almost magical properties. And, who can say that having your desiccant show you it’s time for a change isn’t helpful? It’s an advancement we were proud to bring to our customers and one we’re still working hard to improve every single day. They work great in so many areas of your home or office and should have a place in every Americans toolkit. They’re just that handy!