As blogger Julia from Simply Living Well explains, borax can be a safe yet powerful natural laundry booster (as long as you're not planning to eat or inhale the powder while washing your clothes). It can also be used for other cleaning.
Borax is a naturally occurring mineral salt that's sold as a laundry booster. It promises to fight stains, brighten whites and help laundry detergent more effectively clean all kinds of fabrics, colored fabrics included. Unlike bleach, borax is safe to use on colored fabrics without fear of dye removal or other damage.
Don't use Borax at the same time as vinegar or you'll just create a nice little acid-base reaction and make salt. What is this? When using Borax to help soften or condition your water, for both high efficiency and most top-loading washing machines add 1/2 cup of Borax per load.
Borax is effective in areas like laundry, where it removes stains and odors well, and in the bathroom where it's excellent at cleaning toilets. Meanwhile, baking soda can be used more in areas like the kitchen where it's great at cleaning sinks and ovens.
Amongst many other advantages, Borax assists in the saponification of any organic oils and fats that may be soiling the linen weave. Oxiclean on the other hand is a fully built Hydrogen Peroxide producing, colour-safe bleach additive which can be used as a soaker or as a detergent additive.
Washing soda (sodium carbonate) has a very high pH level, making it an extreme alkaline compound that is very effective as a cleaning agent. Borax (sodium tetraborate) pH levels aren't as high as washing soda, and it doesn't have the same cleaning power as washing soda.
Borax as a Detergent Booster
Add the standard amount of laundry detergent to your washer, and put the borax directly into the machine's drum. Run your load of laundry on the standard cycle. The added borax will help boost the detergent's cleaning power as well as strip your clothes of odors and dirt.
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.
20 Mule Team Borax™ combats this by helping detergent do a better job of cleaning clothes while making sure that they maintain their shine. Borax works as a great laundry booster and it helps normal laundry detergent get clothes even cleaner than an average wash.
Borax is a great product with lots of uses around the house. The 20 Mule Team Borax brand has traditionally been used for laundry, cleaning and even for killing ants.
Whiten Your Whites: 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.
Borax, also known as sodium tetraborate, is a naturally occurring salt mineral with amazing cleaning properties. Because borax is used in its natural state, it doesn't have any added chemicals. This makes it safer for use in clothing than your typical store-bought cleaning agents.
1. Borax as a laundry booster. 20 Mule Team Borax bills itself as a “detergent booster.” It's not effective as a laundry detergent by itself, but since borax is alkaline, it increases the pH of the wash water.
Pour ½ cup of borax powder to every gallon you used. Stir to agitate the borax and dissolve it. Soak your clothes for 30 minutes. Transfer clothes to your washing machine and wash them like normal.
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: Helps to clean and deodorize. Use on wallpaper, painted walls and floors. Use it with your detergent to remove stains and boost cleaning power. Vinegar: Helps remove stains, wax build-up and mildew.
Borax. Although you shouldn't use it on delicate fabrics, borax is an effective product that can help remove sweat stains. All you need is one tablespoon of this powder mixed with a little water to turn it into a paste.
For a front-load washer, put 2 tablespoons of oxygen bleach or borax and 2 tablespoons of washing soda in the tub of the washing machine. For a top-loading machine, put 1/2 cup of each of the powders into the wash tub. Run the biggest cycle at the hottest temperature or use the “clean tub” setting on the washer.
IN THE LAUNDRY
Natural Laundry Booster to each washload along with the recom- mended amount of detergent. For large - capacity machines (over 12 lbs.) and front - loading machines, add 3/4 cup. Diapers and baby clothes will get a cleaning boost when soaked and washed with 20 MULE TEAM® Borax.
20 Mule Team Borax™ is an all-natural powder used to help with cleaning, laundry, odor control, DIY crafting, and more!
Add to Each Laundry Load
Add one-half cup of borax to each load to boost the cleaning power of your detergent. The dry powder should be added directly to the washer drum in a front or top-loading washer before adding the dirty laundry.
Borax can be difficult to find because it's not as marketing heavy as your other cleaning products. You'll need to go the laundry aisle of a big box store (Walmart, Target etc) and then look toward the bottom of the shelves or out of reach on the top shelves.
When it comes to precious cashmere and wool garments, borax or vinegar are successful in how to shrink clothes. Fill your sink with lukewarm water, and add 1 to 2 tablespoons of borax or vinegar per quart of water. Soak your wool item in the water, working it into the fabric.