Borax is an amazing cleaning agent that can help remove hard water stains in a toilet bowl, as well as stains in other plumbing fixtures.
This naturally occurring mineral is a powerful stain remover, disinfectant and deodorizer, and it's safe for all surfaces as well as septic systems. Borax works well on tougher stains, including mineral residue from hard water. It's also handy for regular cleaning of the toilet bowl and exterior toilet surfaces.
You can also unclog your toilet using borax. Scoop out as much water as you can from the bowl, and then add a half a cup of borax powder. Let it sit for 15 minutes, then pour 2 cups of boiling water in, and flush. Repeat as needed.
1. Toilet Cleaning. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of Borax and ½ cup of white vinegar into your toilet bowl, ensuring you reach all areas (including under the rim). Leave for at least 8 hours (or overnight) then scrub thoroughly with a brush before flushing.
However, as Taste of Home explains, borax can help you clean your toilet bowl effortlessly. Simply sprinkle about 1 cup of the powerhouse powder into your toilet and allow it to sit overnight — it'll make it so you can easily scrub away anything in the bowl and leave it sparkling clean and fresh.
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.
If you're dealing with extreme toilet stains, you can make a paste from Borax and vinegar and apply it directly to those stubborn rings. Mix a 1/2 cup Borax and a few tablespoons of vinegar to create a paste. Apply your paste directly to stains. Let it sit for 20 minutes to break down the stickiest gunk.
It mixes nicely with lemon, vinegar, and water for cleaning purposes, and is safe for use on any surface, including tile, ceramic, porcelain, slate, marble, granite, and stainless steel. Borax is a great DIY cleaner and here are 10 easy ways you can use it.
Mix 1 cup of borax with 4 cups of vinegar. Leave a couple of inches of water in the tank. Add the mixture to the tank. Take your toilet brush and scrub the inside of the tank.
When dealing with a clogged drain, you have several options to unclog it, one of which is borax. Just pour ½ cup of borax down the drain and chase it with 2 cups of boiling water. After about 15 minutes, turn on the faucet and let the water flush out the rest of the clog.
In the large bowl, mix ½ cup of Borax and 1 pint of hot water if you are putting the solution on upholstery. If you will be using the solution on a carpet, then use ¼ cup Borax, ¼ cup Salt and ¼ cup Vinegar. Use your sponge or towel to apply the mixture to the stain.
Since borax is very alkaline, it can irritate the skin in its undiluted form. Borax is prohibited in food products. Ingesting as little as five grams can cause nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, and large amounts can send your body into shock or result in kidney failure.
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.
Some products that you already use and have around the house are safe for your septic system. Vinegar (white vinegar and apple cider vinegar), Borax, OxiClean, and baking soda are some products that can be used to clean very well and be septic-system safe.
Cleaning with a mixture of baking soda and vinegar in the bathroom can work really well. To clean your toilet with vinegar, pour a cup of vinegar in the toilet bowl and let sit overnight. The next morning, sprinkle a little baking soda into the bowl, scrub, and then flush clean.
Leaving bleach in a toilet overnight is fine, but you shouldn't leave it any longer, or else it might corrode your toilet. If you do decide to leave it in the bowl overnight, let other members of your household know so that they don't use the toilet and accidentally mix the bleach with ammonia from urine.
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“Mix two teaspoons of Borax, four cups of hot water, one teaspoon of Dawn Dish Soap, and four tablespoons of vinegar in a spray bottle,” share Crandall and Rosser.
Both baking soda and Borax are effective because they are alkaline and abrasive. But Borax has a higher PH than baking soda, making it a slightly harsher but arguably more effective cleaning agent.
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.
If the clog still seems to be intact, start over at step 1 and repeat the process a couple of times. For extra-stubborn clogs, you can let the fizz mixture sit overnight or combine this method with plunging.
Borax acts as a buffer and raises the pH of the water to a slightly basic solution, right around a pH of 8. Don't use Borax at the same time as vinegar or you'll just create a nice little acid-base reaction and make salt.