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25 Great Ways to Use All Natural Borax
Photo credit: bigstock
In today’s modern world, we find ourselves surrounded by toxic chemicals, even in our home. But there are ways around this. It’s so easy to make your own all natural cleaning products that contain absolutely not chemicals whatsoever. Borax is a completely natural mineral whose technical name is sodium borate. It does not cause cancer, it does not accumulate (or build up) inside the human body, you will not absorb it through you skin, and it’s not harmful to the environment. Borax has been used for more than 100 years to clean everything from laundry to killing insects. It’s perfectly safe and harmless unless you (or your dog) plan on eating several pounds of it at one time. Don’t confuse Borax with boric acid. Two different animals.
Borax can be found in almost any supermarket in the laundry soap aisle. Besides being completely natural and non-toxic, it’s also super cheap!
Check out our list of the top 25 uses for Borax for cleaning almost everything around your home.
1. Clean and inhibit mold
Make a very thick paste of water and borax. Coat the area that has mold with this paste. Let it sit and dry overnight, then simply brush off the powder. You can reapply if it didn’t remove all the mold the first time around. This not only kills and removes mold, but inhibits it from growing back.
2. Clean hair brushes and combs
Mix a tablespoon of dishwashing soap (Dawn is super effective) in a bucket, pan, or sink filled with hot water. Add about a ¼ cup of borax and let them soak. When the water has cooled down to warm, swish the brushes and/or combs in the water, rinse, then let dry. This is great for removing oil and hair spray residue.
3. Carpet cleaner
When using those carpet steam cleaning machines, mix ½ cup of borax per gallon of water into the mix. You can also spot clean by using the same ½ cup of borax in a gallon of water and rubbing the spot with a stiff brush. Let dry thoroughly, and then vacuum up the powder.
SEE ALSO: 5 Fantastic Non-Toxic Cleaners that Should be in Your Home
4. Fertilize fruit trees
Sprinkle about one cup of borax around a fully grown fruit tree (or just a few tablespoons around the base of young trees) every three or four years to add an important trace mineral, boron, to the soil. This mineral is super important for fruit and seed development.
5. Insect killer
Keep those annoying water bugs, roaches, or ants away by sprinkling a mixture of equal parts of borax and sugar. You can also put some into some small lids and tuck under sinks or behind water heaters or other places bugs hide. They eat this mixture and the borax dries them up from the inside out.
6. Toilet cleaner
Pour one cup of borax into your toilets before you leave for work (or overnight) and let soak. When you return, clean the bowl. Borax loosens all the hard water deposits and grime making your toilet clean and shiny again.
7. Kills fleas
Sprinkle borax on your dog’s beds, carpets, play areas, almost anywhere you think fleas, or their eggs, might be hatching.
8. Mouse deterrent
Sprinkle borax in place where mice like to hide and along the floors next to the walls. (Mice like running alongside the walls) For some reason, they don’t like the feeling of borax on their feet, so they usually don’t return to that part of the house for a while.
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9. Sticky goo/glue remover
Mix 2 parts borax to one part water and rub on whatever sticky, gooey, gummy glue or adhesive that you want removed. Works like a charm!
10. Preserve cut flowers
Instead of preserve, perhaps drying would be a better word. Some fresh cut flowers can be permanently preserved by mixing two parts borax with one part dry white sand or one part borax and two parts corn meal. Borax removes the moisture from the flowers and leaves and prevents wilting.
12. Clean and deodorize humidifiers
Dissolve one tablespoon of borax into a gallon of water and add to your humidifier. Let set overnight, then rinse out the borax solution and refill with pure water when you are ready to use it.
13. Improve homemade candles
If you like making your own candles, pre-treat the wicks by first soaking them in a solution of equal parts salt and borax to help reduce ash and smoking problems.
14. Deodorize your refrigerator
Although many people keep a box of baking soda to absorb odors, you can keep your fridge smelling fresh by washing away spilled food or liquids by washing with a solution of one tablespoon borax mixed in one quart of warm water. Use a sponge or dishrag to remove the spill, and then rinse with cold water.
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15. Cleans cookware
Borax is a super mild and gentle cleaner for all your aluminum and porcelain cookware. Just sprinkle it on your pots and pans, and then rub with a dampened dishrag. Rinse thoroughly afterwards.
16. Rust remover
Rust come right off of everything by mixing 1 cup of borax with a ¼ cup of lemon juice and rubbing it in with a sponge or cloth, then rinse.
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Photo credit: bigstock
17. Shower, tub, and tile cleaner
Just sprinkle some borax on a damp sponge or rag and use the same way you would powdered cleanser without fear of scratching. Great on fiberglass tubs! Rinse thoroughly afterwards.
18. Clean linens
Get rid of mildew stains or that musty smell linens sometimes get by soaking them in a bucket with 2 quarts of water mixed with 2 cups borax. Let them soak for a few hours (or overnight) then wash as usual.
19. Clean patio furniture
In a spray bottle, mix 1 teaspoon of dish detergent, 1 teaspoon of borax, and 1 quart of warm water. Shake well, and then spray on your outdoor patio furniture. Rinse with clean water afterwards.
20. Deodorize the cat box
Keep those smells to a minimum by mixing a few tablespoons of borax into your cat’s litterbox.
21. Garbage disposal cleaner
Clean and deodorize your garbage disposal by putting 3 or 4 tablespoons borax down the drain. Let sit for an hour, and then flush with hot water.
READ MORE: The Top 10 Dangerous Toxins That Are Inside Your Home Right Now
22. Garbage can deodorizer
You can also keep that trash can smelling clean by filing it with a mixture of borax and water. Let it soak for a few hours, and then rinse it out. Once it’s completely dry, sprinkle some borax in the bottom to keep bugs out while absorbing any moisture that might cause odors.
23. Unclog drains
Unclog your drains naturally, without the use of harsh, toxic chemicals, by pouring ½ a cup of borax down the drain, and then add 2 cups of boiling water. Let this sit for about 156 or 20 minutes, and then flush with hot water.
24. Mattress cleaner
If you have a little one who still wets the bed on occasion, try this. Wet the mattress, and then rub in some borax with a damp cloth. Let dry completely, and then vacuum.
25. Weed killer
Forget RoundUp or any of those other deadly chemicals; kill those weeds that are cropping up in your driveway, patio or sidewalk by sprinkling them with borax. Don’t use in your lawn or garden because borax will kill your flowers and grass too!
Sources:
Ed Jackson
Sep 18, 2014 at 2:40 pm
I mix borax with equal parts cheap canned dog food and jelly in a zipper bag, squeeze it to even consistency, cut a small hole in the corner and drop several piles of it on ant hills. It takes about 3-4 days to kill the queen.