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.
It is quite strongly alkaline, so it's probably best to wear gloves if you are putting it into washing up water or using it for cleaning surfaces. It's not very reactive which means that it can be safely combined with other cleaning products. Don't mix it with acids or store it with acids.
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.
Make an all-purpose cleaning spray
To create an all-purpose spray, dissolve 2 teaspoons of borax into 4 cups of hot water, then mix with 1 teaspoon of dish soap and 4 tablespoons of vinegar.
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.
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.
Dr. Robin Jacobson, a pediatrician at NYU Langone Medical Center, warns families to stay away from the white powder altogether. "Borax can cause burns, especially when you touch it multiple times," she says. "When you're mixing it up, Borax can get in the air and irritate your airways.
It is an insecticide and kills them on contact. It also makes treated material unappealing for termites to eat. Borax is also a digestive poison and repellent that keeps termites away. Depending on the level of borate concentrate, the pesticide can poison the termite over an extended period.
Simply fill your bathtub with hot water, add ¼ cup. borax, ¼ cup washing soda, and ½ cup powdered Tide. detergent, then submerge your linens (think sheets, pillows, towels) as demonstrated in this video by.
Reaction of Borax with Hydrogen
Sodium borate reacts with hydrogen peroxide and gives peroxoborate as a result.
A: We do not recommend mixing any Pine-Sol® product with other cleaning products or chemicals. Mixing cleaners can result in the release of hazardous gases.
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.
Not all products react with bleach in that way. I can assure you that borax is NOT one of them! It is safe to mix with chlorine bleach and detergent, which has been proven to improve the cleaning power of both. Think of borax as a maintenance product that will keep white things white.
As she zooms in on the ants gathering around the solution, she says, "Did you know that if you mix borax and honey and put it out where you have an ant infestation, all of the ants will come to drink the delicious honey. And then it will kill them, solving your problem."
Nicholls said the combination of Borax and alcohol can be dangerous, as with any chemical. He said mixing the two produced a flame, which got out of hand. Boric acid is frequently used as cleaning solution and Nicholls said you never want to get it on your skin.
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.
On Household Management 101 it was suggested to mix half and half of Oxiclean and Borax into an empty container, and then use one scoop (about 1/2 a cup) of this in all loads of laundry when you don't use chlorine bleach. This helps with both laundry odors and stains.
For a bathtub, add 1/4 cup borax, 1/4 cup washing soda and 1/2 cup laundry detergent. Stir until all three dissolve completely. Submerge your "clean" towels or sheets in the mixture and soak until the water has cooled, which usually takes at least four hours.
6. Keep pests away from your house. Keep pesky bugs away by sprinkling Borax around your home. Borax can be an effective way to keep pests away from your house because it acts as a natural insecticide.
A roach that steps in borax won't die instantly. Instead, they'll go back to their hiding place before eating the borax dust their legs picked up. You might not see the dead bugs lying around out in the open but you should notice a drop in their numbers in a week or two.
Boric acid and sodium borate salts (borax) are natural pesticides and an effective home remedy for cockroaches. You can usually find it in the form of a white powder or dust at your local pharmacy or home goods store.
Its longevity is a testament not only to the cleansing power of borax, but to the power of marketing, as well. But first, some history: In the 19th century, borax was an ingredient used in ceramics and gold mining, but it was also touted as a cure-all for everything from dandruff to epilepsy.
Borax is a compound used to make glass, and is found in many cleaning products. If ingested, borax can cause stomach upset and irritation in pets. In high doses, it can even cause injury to the kidneys.
Or can we clean with this natural ingredient worry-free? Unfortunately, borax is, in fact, toxic to both dogs and cats. And although it's considered natural, borax can cause harmful side effects in pets—and humans.