Molecular sieve desiccant

Compared to other common desiccants such as silica gel, a molecular sieve desiccant is best at removing even the most tightly bound moisture from the tiny crevices, pores, openings, and tubes of hearing devices as well as other moisture-sensitive devices. Once the moisture has been pulled from the device to the mol sieve, the mol sieve continues to aggressively hold onto the moisture with very strong electrostatic bonding forces.

Adsorption is the binding of molecules or particles to a surface. You may see charts comparing adsorption capacities of various desiccant types, showing silica gel having a slightly greater surface area. However, the difference in surface area is very slight. Both desiccant types have a huge amount of surface area on their crystalline structures. Second, adsorption capacity is affected by humidity. The mol sieve has greater capacity than silica gels at relative humidity levels below 40%, which is the typical condition inside a drying device, whether passive or active. Third, the most important factor is how quickly the water molecule is attracted to the desiccant and how well molecules "stick" to the surface. Think of silica gel as a sticky note and molecular sieve as duct tape.

Recharging desiccants

The strong electrostatic bonding forces between polarizable water molecules and the surface of the molecular sieve crystals make mol sieve by far the best desiccant for hearing device drying. However, it is that moisture-bonding strength that also makes it difficult to reactivate for multiple use. The high temperatures required for thorough reactivation of a mol sieve desiccant would cause the plastic Dry-Disc desiccant container to melt before the mol sieve is properly reactivated. Even silica gel desiccants cannot be recharged an indefinite number of times because the silica gel's structure changes to the point that it does not attract or hold moisture. Overall, recharging simply is not a reliable process.

Dry-Disc and Dry-Brik desiccants

Dry-Disc and Dry-Brik desiccants are not interchangeable. The Dry-Brik should not be used in the Dry Caddy Hearing Aid Dryer system. The rate of adsorption is regulated by the number of holes in the desiccant container. The Dry-Brik desiccant has four tiny holes for use in an active drying system while the Dry-Disc desiccant has dozens of tiny holes in order to facilitate the movement of moisture to the desiccant in a closed passive drying system (the Dry Caddy jar) with no air movement.