Many household cleaning products include borax as an ingredient.
Borax is the common name for the chemical sodium tetraborate. It is a salt of boric acid. Powdered borax consists of soft white crystals that dissolve in water.
Many people know borax as a cleaning product. However, it has many other uses, including:
- treating mold and mildew
- killing insects
- softening hard water
- neutralizing odors
- acting as a fire retardant
- Also, many household products contain borax, including soaps and detergents.
Manufacturers sometimes use borax to prevent or slow bacterial growth in cosmetic products, such as shampoo, makeups, and body soaps. In some cosmetics, manufacturers use borax as an emulsifier to stop products’ ingredients from separating.
Is borax safe?
Many people automatically assume borax is safe since it is a naturally occurring substance.
While the National Library of Medicine (NLM) classifies borax as being noncarcinogenic, it does pose some risks, including:
- skin, eye, and respiratory irritation
- digestive problems
- infertility
- kidney failure
- shock
- Death
In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned borax as a food additive. Borax is not safe to ingest.
Borax is easy for the body to break down when either inhaled or swallowed. However, if inhalation or ingestion occurs, both serious poisoning and organ damage can result. Ingesting borax can also lead to reproductive issues, including with the testes, a developing fetus, and fertility.
In summary Borax should be treated with the same consideration as any other household cleaning product such as bleach or disinfectant. The argument does remain that t is natural and not caustic, however, like household salt, it isn’t something that should be ingested.
