How can saline hydrides remove traces of water from organic compouds?

Explanation

Saline hydrides (i.e., `NaH,CaH_(2),`etc) react with water forming their corresponding metal hydroxides with the liberation of `H_(2)` gas. Thus, traces of water present in organic solvents can be easily removed by distilling them over saline hydrides when `H_(2)` escapes into the atmosphere, metal hydroxide it left in the flask while dry organic solvent distils over.
Alternatively, organic compounds containing traces of water can be dried by placing them in a desiccator containing saline hydrides at the bottom for a few hours or perferably overnight.