Borax is a natural mineral, occurring in seasonal vaporization of salt lakes. His main ingredients are oxygen, water, boron, and sodium.
It has been a household ingredient for over 100 years, but many people don’t know they can use it for many things other things than boosting the laundry detergent.
Its high rank on the pH scale (9.3) is the root of the disinfecting, cleaning and deodorizing abilities. As the domestic water is slightly lower-ranked (6.5-8.5), adding a detergent to the washing machine means the water is far from pH neutral.
Too acidic or too alkaline water will not clean your clothes good enough, in fact, it can even damage the fibers down the road.
The water can be softened and brought closer to pH neutrality (8) merely by adding ½ a cup of borax along with the detergent.
Be that as it may, it’s one natural and safe product, and a perfect substitute for bleach.
Let’s have a closer look at the diverse ways of using borax that can be life-changing!
1. Clothes Stain Removal
One of the most powerful removers of oil, protein and greasy stains.
Add ½ cup of borax for every gallon of water and let your clothes (linen, soiled and discolored) soak in it for at least 30 minutes. After that add detergent and just follow the laundry process through as usual.
2. All-round Cleaner
Alternatively to other powdered cleansers, have your cloth trickled with borax, and remove all counter tops, sinks, tubs, faucets, tiles, toilets, and grout.
Also, you can use it to clean the kitchen fixtures and bathroom surfaces. When done, always splash water onto the surface to clean it.
3. Dishwasher Detergent Booster
Throw 1-2 cups of borax into the dishwasher’s basin, add the soap and run the washing process as usual. It improves the cleaning power of the dishwasher detergent making it able to clean soap stains, hard water spots, and cloudy glasses.
In addition, it purifies and disinfects the interior of the dishwasher.
4. Odor Neutralizer
You can make your own eco-friendly alternative to air-freshener at home.
Simply liquefy ½ a cup of borax with 1½ cups of warm water, and have it poured into a spray bottle. Add 5-10 drops of your favorite scent or essential oil at will, to reach the desired fresh fragrance.
5. Boron Deficit in Garden Plants Reducer
At the lack of micronutrient boron in the soil, plants are unable to bloom. The leaf’s tip foliage turns brown, and they get hampered. Fruits and veggies like broccoli, onions, pears, cabbage, apples, pears and carrots require a larger amount of borax.
However, there is a way of treating the affected plants with a foliar spray recipe you can make at home: dissolve 5tbsp of borax into five gallons of water with a few drops of dish soap.
The dish soap acts as an emulsifier in the compound. Sprinkle all the stems and leaves levelly.
6. Pesticide Control
The boron contained in the borax is lethal to many self-grooming insects like fleas, cockroaches, beetles, ants, silverfish etc.
Scatter a light amount of borax to the troublesome areas around your house, or make a paste to bait the insects with by combining borax with corn syrup or honey.
7. Corrosion Remover
Make a paste by mixing lemon juice with borax, exert it on corroded objects and let it set for about 30 minutes. Scrub with a brush and cleanse with water at the end. Repeat this process if needed.
8. Drains Un-blocker
A natural cleaner for clogged sinks. Simply pour ½ cup of borax mixed with 2 cups of boiled water down the drain and let it sit for the next 15 minutes (more/less). Finally, finish by flushing hot water into the sink.
9. Windows and Mirrors Purifier
Dissolve 2tbsp of borax into 3 cups of warm water, pour it onto a clean cloth and thoroughly clean glass surfaces.
10. Weed Killer
Have 2½ gallons of water mixed with 1¼ cup of borax and put into spray bottle. Only the leaves of the plants should you precisely drench with the sprayer, focusing only on the foliage of the unwanted plant, never the soil.
11. Mildew and Black Mold Terminator
The mixture of 1 gallon of water with 1 cup of borax should help you treat dry-rot and mold affected areas of the garden. With an old toothbrush, apply the mixture onto the troubled areas and scrub it thoroughly.
Furthermore, the process doesn’t require rinsing the mixture when done. Borax keeps to disinfect the plant and will hamper the growth of fungal for a long time.
12. Gooey Remainders Remover
Quickly remove sticky remainders like gum, glue, tar etc. by dissolving ½ cup of borax in warm water. Apply onto the surface using a sponge or cloth.
13. Excellent Carpet Stain Treater
Next time you clean your carpets using a steam cleaner, add up ½ cup of borax for each gallon of water. If you don’t own one, you can simply trickle borax on the carpets.
Let it stay for half an hour and use your regular vacuum cleaner to clean it up. Meanwhile, treat indelible stains using a cloth dipped into ½ a cup of borax dissolved in 2 cups of water.
14. Flower Freshness Keeper
In an airtight container, put part of the mixture made of 1 part of borax with 2 parts of cornmeal. From here on, place the flowers within and steadily cover them with the remaining mixture.
Store them in a dry, cool place and keep them covered for 2 weeks.
15. Make Your Own Candle Wicks at Home
Soak a big thread into a solution of 1tbsp of salt, 2tbsp of borax and 1 cup of hot water and let it stay for 24hrs. The threads should be drying for 2 days before you use them. As a result, the thread produces way less smoke and ash when burned.
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