What Is Borax?
Borax is a natural mineral, sodium tetraborate, which has been mined and used for thousands of years. It’s safe to mix with chlorine bleach and detergents and has been proven to enhance their cleaning power.
Borax has many uses throughout the home. Add it to your dishwasher for cleaner dishes; use it to clean your toilets, and make it your go-to for pest control.
A warning about Borax in the home.
Do not ingest and keep it out of the reach of children and pets. It’s natural, but that doesn’t mean it’s non-toxic. Less than 5 grams can kill a child or pet. Adults could also have a lethal reaction to 15 to 20 grams of Borax. It can irritate your skin, eyes and respiratory system. Keep your box of Borax in a secure cabinet that children or pets cannot reach, and in a container that cannot be opened easily. When you use it for other purposes, such as pest control, be sure you’re not leaving quantities around that could be eaten by children or pets.
Awesome Uses For Borax Around The Home
Whiten your whites with Borax.
When your washing machine fills up with water, Borax converts some of the water molecules to hydrogen peroxide, which is a whitening agent. This enhances the action of bleach, whether you add it separately or it’s already present in your laundry detergent. If you don’t like to use bleach, borax is still a good whitener on its own.
Borax acts as a brilliant pH buffer.
Borax has a high pH. When you add it to water, it changes the pH to around 8 (a neutral pH is 7). This slightly alkaline pH is ideal for cleaning. Since borax acts as a buffering agent, it helps to keep the water at this pH, even after detergent or other cleaners are added. For you, this means cleaner clothes.
Borax Softens Hard Water.
Hard water prevents laundry detergent from working like it’s supposed to. This keeps your clothes from coming out as clean as they should, and is often the cause for gray, dingy looking clothing. Since borax contains sodium, it helps to soften the wash water, so your clothes come out looking great.
Borax removes soap residue from your clothing.
The borates in Borax work to keep soap dispersed throughout the load, so it’s more likely to rinse out. Try washing your clothes in just water some time (no detergent), and you’ll be amazed at how much detergent comes out of your clothing.
Borax neutralizes odors from household clothes washing.
Borax inhibits fungi and mold, which often grow in the moist environment of your washing machine and are notorious for giving it a musty odor. It also helps to get rid of ammonia odor in baby clothes, diapers, bed pads, and incontinence pads. If your workout clothes are super stinky, use Borax to inhibit the enzymes responsible for the bad smell.
Borax increases the stain-removing power of ordinary washing powder.
Pre-soak your laundry for 30 minutes in a solution of one tablespoon of borax per gallon of warm water or add 1/2 cup of borax to a pre-soak cycle. The alkaline pH of borax helps to break down acidic stains, such as tomato or mustard. It works well on grease and oil stains, too.
