Silica Gel Beads: Indicator vs. Water

Just to see what happened, I dumped a few of those beads:

Into a few drops of water in a bottle cap:

After a few days, it was obvious only the larger beads changed color and, no matter what the description said, they were not going to become any color I would recognize as green.

While the larger ones did get darker, the smaller ones must have already been at their limit of adsorption and remained at the same shade.

For humidity levels under about 20%, I think changing the desiccant every month or so is the only way to be sure.