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Is it a good idea to put desiccant packs, like those you get shipped with electronics, into a working freezer to help prevent it from frosting up inside?

I open our freezer quite often, and the humid air getting closed in there seems to be causing it to frost up quite quickly. I know the contents of those packs are toxic — so that’s a worry — but if they’re sealed, they should be OK, right? I presume for a volume the size of a freezer, you’d need a few and have to replace them regularly...

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    If your freezer is frosting up, the first troubleshooting step is to examine the seals. It's unlikely that any residential freezer is accessed enough to make a difference, but a poor seal can constantly let in a small stream of air, and that matters.
    – user3757614
    Jul 4, 2021 at 4:23
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    If they're SEALED, they won't do what you want them to do.
    – Billy left SE for Codidact
    Jul 5, 2021 at 14:20

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You would need a tremendous amount of desiccant to make any significant temporary impact on ice build-up in a freezer. The only major drawback of ice build-up is that it takes up space in the freezer… and the desiccant would take up more space.

BTW, the normal material used as a desiccant is silica gel, which is non-toxic.

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    Ice build-up can reduce cooling efficiency, and can play havoc with auto-defrost cycles (when those don't prevent icing). Silica gel is a choking hazard and can cause internal blockages; the uncommon coloured types can be toxic. But it can hold very little moisture, so this answer is correct, it wouldn't be much use
    – Chris H
    Jul 3, 2021 at 21:02
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    Even worse, I'd be wary of that stuff freezing, expanding, bursting and shedding silica dust all over the food :)
    – rackandboneman
    Jul 4, 2021 at 22:19

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