Hello,

Gotta love that Desiccant

Good!

I couldnt get my hands on DrieRite/CalciumSulphate, but what works equally well or even better is Molecular Sieves
Non toxic, similar price, equally powerful 0-1%rH and maybe more easily avaliable without the unneeded attention that comes with buying reactive chemicals

very helpful.. thank you

Has anyone considered NaOH for use as a dessicant? It is cheap, readily available, and used to dry chemicals. Can be bought for <$3 a pound on ebay

A tip for longterm storage:

I found that tall 1/2 pint jars nest very nicely inside pint jars. So what I do is put a layer of Damp Rid in a wide mouth pint jar and then put in the 1/2 pint filled with pre-dried mushrooms. I screw the lid down tight and they're good for a very, very long time. If you put enough damp rid in the bottom of the larger jar so that the mouth of the small jar is up against (not tightly) the lid, then you won't have to worry about knocking the container over and having damp rid come in contact with your mushrooms.

DampRid: Some DampRid sold has a scent added to it that will add a nasty flavor to your mushrooms. It is usually in the product sold as a "closet freshener" and comes in a bag with a hanger on it. It is best AVOIDED! 

regarding Drierite

"Regenerating: Place in an oven tray in a layer 1 granule thick and heat in the oven for 1 hour at 210?C/425F. Place back into an airtight container while still hot. Be careful not to overheat or you will lose the special structure of the granules and lose effectivity."


How hot?  425 degrees hot?  And into what sort of container would you be safe to pour 425F material?  Would that be a thermal shock for glass?  Metal would handle it, but what sort of metal containers is air tight?