Wet footwear is no fun. But if you are in a humid area in can be difficult to get your boots dry. Applied high heat might damage your boot, and air drying is just too slow.
Calcium chloride is one of many minerals which is very hygroscopic - it will absorb water out of the air. I propose metal mesh bags full of calcium chloride nuggets which could be inserted into wet shoes / ski boots at the end of the day to suck moisture out of them. In the morning your boots would be dry and the bag would be wet.
The bag is metal because to recharge the drying agent, you bake it in the oven and drive off the absorbed water. Alternatively you could put it over a campfire and roast it dry. During the day you would carry the drybags in an airtight box to prevent them from wasting their power on humidity.
This seems bakeable (so to speak).-- bungston, Mar 15 2003 What is silica gel and why do I find little packets of it in everything I buy? http://www.howstuff...com/question206.htm"Are those *my* feet?" [my face your, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004] Drybag(TM) http://www.desiccan...ges/retail0100a.htmUses a special clay rather than silican gel or calcium chloride. But the name's taken, anyway. [DrCurry, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 06 2004] Aint this what silica gel is fo'?-- my face your, Mar 15 2003 Plenty of other dessicants out there - see link.-- DrCurry, Mar 15 2003 there are plenty other sodas too and Dr Pepper seems to sell many units per year! I think it's bakeable, and the fact that there are other "dessicants" out there doesn't mean it can't be done. It's not a very original idea, that's true, but hey! Entrepreneurs are the key to this world's future!-- Pericles, Mar 16 2003 A desiccant bag you can roast dry over an open fire must be new, shirley? A quick google fails to throw up anything on a domestic scale.-- egbert, Mar 16 2003 Try Lithium Bromide Salt, it's more 'thirsty' than the stuff you're proposing, and faster as well.-- X2Entendre, Mar 16 2003 Those DryBags in [DrCurry]'s link would be the perfect thing for that Car Dehumidifier subject that keeps coming up. Just store a DryBag in the van.
By the look of those things, I guess mine would be called DryBaggies. Possibly DryBaglings?-- bungston, Mar 16 2003 2 oz. footwear wetness 1/2 oz. dry Vermouth Olive Shaken, not stirred-- thumbwax, Mar 16 2003 random, halfbakery