Shower cleaner – Borax can be used like Comet. Sprinkle it on a damp sponge and scrub down your bathtub and shower. Soft Scrub – Mix 2 parts borax to 1 part dish soap, and you've got homemade soft scrub!
Prevent mildew buildup
Dissolve 1 cup of borax in 1 gallon of warm water. To clean mildew stains, pour the mixture into a spray bottle, spray onto bathroom tile, then let sit for ½ hour. Wipe away with a damp rag. To prevent mildew buildup, spray the formula on tile and let dry.
Clean your floors
Borax removes dirt and stain from tile, linoleum, and wood floors, says Syren. Adding it to your floor cleaning solution will soften water and improve cleaning power. How to do it: Fill a mop bucket with warm water. Add 2 tablespoons of borax, 1 tablespoon of Castile soap and 4 tablespoons of vinegar.
Borax has long been recognized for its disinfectant and deodorizing properties. Mix a 1/2 cup of Borax into 1 gallon of hot water or undiluted vinegar and clean with this solution.
Mix the warm water with the borax until dissolved. In a spray bottle, add in this borax water, vinegar, and soap. Give it a little shake. This works exceptionally well on ceramic showers, outside of toilets, sinks, bathroom counters, bathroom floors, and anything around the bathroom.
First, make sure to keep it away from children's reach. Second, avoid using it as a cosmetic product and handle it with care at all times. This usually means wearing a mask and gloves when using it. Finally, do NOT mix Borax with any boric acid products, such as pesticides.
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.
Borax can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea if you ingest it by itself, and large amounts can lead to shock and kidney failure. It's banned in U.S. food products. It also can irritate your skin and eyes, and it can hurt your nose, throat, and lungs if you breathe it in.
Borax isn't just great for cleaning laundry. It works well on your grout, too. Use a damp sponge to rub Borax into the grout. Let it sit for 5-15 minutes.
Borax is an abrasive scouring powder that can get rid of mold and mildew and remove soap scum. However, using this cleaning agent – even when diluted with water – can harm the surface of your tub, eating away at it over time.
Before you reach for a caustic drain cleaner to unclog that kitchen or bathroom drain, try this much gentler approach: Use a funnel to insert 1/2 cup borax into the drain, then slowly pour in 2 cups boiling water. Let the mixture set for 15 minutes, then flush with hot water. Repeat for stubborn clogs.
The easiest way to clean grout without scrubbing involves hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. Mix the two into a paste with some dish soap and apply to the grout lines. Alternatively, you can use a cleaning solution of water, vinegar, lemon juice, and baking soda.
It serves as an excellent way to clean your tiles and your tile grout to get them looking shiny and new again. You can clean using a simple mixture of water and borax. Alternately, you can make a mixture of borax, soap, and vinegar, and you'll have the perfect, at-home cleaning solution for your floors.
Mix Cleaning Solution
To remove everyday dirt and debris, mix two parts baking soda with one part water. For stained or discolored grout, mix two parts baking soda with one part vinegar. And if you have coarse or fragile tiles, mix two parts baking soda with one part hydrogen peroxide.
Some of the insects that borax kills include ants, flies, and other insect larvae. Borax is an ant poison, and it controls flies around manure piles. It also prevents larvae from growing. The main insect borax kills are termites.
Boric acid is low in toxicity if eaten or if it contacts skin. However, in the form of borax, it can be corrosive to the eye. Borax can also be irritating to the skin. People who have eaten boric acid have had nausea, vomiting, stomach aches, and diarrhea.
Borax can kill pests, though it is not nearly as effective as boric acid. You will often find boric acid used in pesticides. You should be able to find it as a tablet, liquid, or powder or in a trap. Boric acid kills certain insects by absorbing into their bodies and poisoning them.
Instead of sprinkling borax in the bottom of your trash can, try baking soda or used (or fresh) coffee grinds, which all work wonders. You can also use baking soda and water to clean your trash can. Throw in some vinegar for extra odor-fighting action.
Borax can be substituted by a number of natural ingredients, including vinegar, baking soda and coffee grinds.
A recent draft risk assessment by Health Canada has found that overexposure to boric acid has the potential to cause developmental and reproductive health effects.
Borax is a common household cleaner with a pH between 9 and 10. Its alkalinity makes it a great cleaning product for mold and mildew removal without the risks of bleach.
Oxiclean powder is essentially washing soda with sodium percarbonate, which turns into hydrogen peroxide. It's color safe and works great to get rid of stains and keeps whites white and colors bright. It's also much safer / less toxic than Borax. Borax works well too, helps get rid of stains, and whitens clothes.
What do professionals use to clean grout? Whether you believe it or not, most professionals use a solution of white vinegar and water with a 1:1 ratio.