Better Than Soda: What Is Borax and How Does It Make House Cleaning Easier?

Over the years, the popularity of borax has faded, but recently the sodium salt of boric acid has regained its place. We remembered it from slimes: parents would buy borax for kids who made jelly toys at home, then discover that the powder helped clean the house.

Why does borax make cleaning easier? As Maryann Amirshahi, PharmD, PharmD explains, baking soda has a pH of 8 and tetraborate has a pH of 9.5, making it more potent. (And even more harsh – unlike soda, borax cannot be swallowed and it is best to work with gloves to avoid skin irritation.) There are many ways to use borax to clean the house – here are the more common.

Borax as a means of removing stains from fabrics is very effective: as Christine Di Nicolantonio, employee of the American Cleaning Institute, explains, it helps restore the color of clothes, eliminate unpleasant odors and eliminate mineral residue from fibers when washing in hard water. . Using tetraborate is very simple: just add half a glass to the powder.

Using borax to remove stains will also not require much effort: dissolve 100-200 grams of borax in 10 liters of warm water, soak things in it for half an hour – this will be enough for the product destroys stains without damaging the fabric. fibers. After half an hour, wash your clothes as usual.

The benefits of borax for house cleaning extend to the kitchen: Borax, as the powder is also called, can be used to clean pipes and get rid of blockages. To do this, Christine explains, you need to pour half a glass of product down the drain, pour a glass of boiling water over it, wait 15 minutes, then wash off the remaining dirt and tetraborate with hot water.

Borax is essential to combat scale and rust: as the president of the cleaning company, Marla Mock, explains, tetraborate can deal with this thanks to its abrasive properties. “Make a thick paste of borax and water, apply it to the stain, let the mixture dry, then scrub the mark with a damp sponge until the rust is gone,” advises Marla.

Mock also recommends using borax for easier cleaning when you need to remove plaque and hard water stains from stainless steel: make a paste with one cup of the powder and a quarter cup of lemon juice, rub it on the stains, leave for a few minutes, then rinse with lukewarm water.

Cleaning surfaces with borax will not only help eliminate mold, but will also prevent its appearance in the future. To prepare a home remedy, it’s very simple: dissolve a glass of Borax in four liters of lukewarm water, apply it to the affected area using a sponge or spray, wait 20 minutes, then rinse the rest of the product thoroughly with a cloth or microfiber dampened in clean water.

Plastic chairs and tables placed outdoors get dirty very quickly, but borax will help make them look new again. “Remove dirt and dust with a dry brush, mix borax and water in a ratio of 1:4, apply the solution to the furniture, wait half an hour, then rinse with warm water,” advises Cleaning company employee Katie Cohun. .

Using borax when cleaning will also be effective in the case of carpets. It can be used in different ways: for example, if fleas have settled in the carpet, sprinkle it with Borax, rub it into the surface with a brush (it is better to do this with a mask or respirator) , leave it overnight (close the room during this time so pets don’t wander around the powder and spread it around the house), then vacuum. Repeat cleaning after three to five days in case there are insect eggs remaining in the pile.

Is your carpet starting to smell bad? Mix baking soda and borax in equal proportions, add 20 drops of water-soluble essential oil to your taste, sprinkle the powder on the carpet, leave for 10-15 minutes, then vacuum – this will help refresh the coat and destroy mites. .

As Marla explains, there are two ways to freshen up your shoes with brown. If you don’t want to bother, just pour two tablespoons into each shoe, leave the powder overnight and shake it in the morning. You can also prepare a spray: dissolve two tablespoons of boron in a liter of warm water, spray the liquid on your shoes, wait 15-20 minutes, then wipe the product with a damp cloth and let the shoes dry.

Borax does a great job of removing organic dirt and plaque that forms due to the minerals in hard water – all of which makes it a great tool for cleaning toilets. The longer you leave the Borax to act, the better the results will be: rinse off the water, sprinkle the powder on the damp surface, leave it on overnight and in the morning, rub the powder with a brush.

Borax solution is a great solution for cleaning vinyl or tile floors. Add two tablespoons to a bucket of water and wash the floor first with the solution, then with clean water to remove any remaining borax.

The beauty of borax is that it can be used while the dishwasher is loaded with dishes: place them as usual, pour the detergent you use regularly into the dispenser, and pour a quarter cup of borax into the bottom of the machine. Borax will not only clean the interior of the device, but also bring the quality of washing plates and glasses to a new level.

Also read: 11 things you should never clean with soda: the opinion of professional cleaners

Borax has antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and antiseptic properties, making it an excellent cleaning product for kitchens and bathrooms. It is very simple to prepare a universal spray based on borax, which is suitable for almost any surface: just mix a tablespoon with a glass of water in a spray bottle.

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