I live in a tropical environment that has LOTS of humidity during the rainy season. I'd been using "absorbent" coasters with multiple paper towels on top to catch the condensation from my glass of ice water that I usually have by my side while working at my computer. With these, I am able to ditch the layers of paper towels. After 2 or 3 days the coaster becomes completely saturated and I need to take the absorbent center out and let it dry and switch to a dry coaster. Since my desk remains completely dry and I am no longer using a stack of paper towels a day, I think this is a big success!!