Borax: The Unsung Green Cleaning Hero

15 by Becky Striepe on January 13, 2010

Borax is King. CC photo by Flickr user bensutherland

Baking soda and vinegar are the superstars of natural, home made cleaning supplies, but there is a lesser-known player that's key to a good green cleaning arsenal: borax

Borax is a little bit different from its cousin, boric acid. Boric acid is a great insecticide. Borax, on the other hand, is a salt that's derived from boric acid, and it's a key ingredient in many homemade cleaning supplies.

Cleaning Supplies. CC photo by Flickr user 49333775@N00 Unlike baking soda and vinegar, you need to handle borax with a little bit of care. You don't want to ingest or inhale the stuff, and it can irritate the skin if it's too concentrated, so you might want to wear gloves while handling it.

Borax is a great disinfectant. Mix 1/2 cup borax with 1/2 gallon of hot water to wipe down germy surfaces, like bathroom counters and kitchen floors. I wouldn't use this to clean wood floors, however.

Remember the tip for using baking soda and vinegar to clean the toilet? Adding a couple of teaspoons of borax to the mix can help disinfect and fight stains!

A 1:1 mixture of borax and vinegar or 1 teaspoon borax in a quart of water makes a great mildew remover. Just make your mixture in a spray bottle, spritz on, and wipe it off a few minutes later with a damp rag.

If the baking soda, vinegar, and hot water trick didn't work to unclog your drain, you can try pouring 1/2 cup of borax and a couple of cups of boiling water.

Do you guys have any other borax-related cleaning tips? Share away in the comments!

Image Credits:
Borax is King. Creative Commons photo by Ben Sutherland
Vintage Doll's House Cleaning Supplies. Creative Commons photo by The Shopping Sherpa

http://www.thecleaningcoach.us Leslie, the cleaning coach

Borax is great for your laundry. You can add a tablespoon to your regular laundry soap and it will brighten and whiten your clothes. You can also use less detergent! A simple green tip that will save you dollars and soap.
http://condo-blues.blogspot.com Condo Blues

I make my own HE laundry detergent using borax. It works great. Inexpensive too.
http://www.giftsbyjinnie.com Jinnie

Wonderful and unbelievable, All should try and enjoy white n bright clothings.Take care! keep off from kids its a chemical too may be useful at times.
http://ecomaidsofla.com/blog Alicia

You Can Also Use Borax To Remove Mold In The Bathroom:

You can use Borax and white vinegar to make a spray that you can aim directly at the mold in the tub or shower. Once you spray it , leave it to sit for 30-60 minutes and then go back in and wipe it off. Presto, the mold will start coming off and you did not have to inhale toxic chemicals to do so. Just mix about 2 ounces of Borax and a cup of white vinegar and you are ready to go. As a back up and a maintenance tip, you can also periodically spray the moldy “areas” with straight vinegar and just let it sit there and soak in. The vinegar will kill the mold that might be growing and it will halt the growth of new mold.
http://glueandglitter.com Becky

Great tips, you guys! Keep ‘em coming!
http://buygreencleaningproducts.com/ Laura Shapiro

These are all great suggestions. I’ve been using ready-made green cleaners but will give this a try!
http://www.debtmediators.com.au/blog/ Bankruptcy Ben

I’ve always been a bit freaked out about using Borax, I always thought it was a little too hardcore for everyday cleaning. I use it to clean my pipes… Mix up borax and water and poor it down the drains works a treat but never thought of using it on kitchen and bathrooms. Do you know if it’s safe on new faux stone bench tops?

http://www.greencleaningcoach.com Leslie, the cleaning coach

Borax is a great product – mined in Death Valley, it’s the same product today as it was in the late 1800′s. A brightner & whitener – I wouldn’t eat it and the people at Borax recommend rinsing once you use it, but it is a life saver in my house! I wrote a book called The Joy of Green Cleaning and I use Borax in a lot of the recipes. You can check out some of my DIY videos at http://www.greencleaningcoach.com too. More ideas!

JB

I use Borax for so many things! My favorite is using it in my trash can in the summer. Borax absorbs odors, so when the outdoor trash can starts to smell in the heat… I just sprinkle some Borax in. I’ll also use it to wash out inside trash cans.
Kim

I use Borax to stop ants from entering my house. I sprinkle it around the foundation of my house when I’m not expecting rain for a few days. My door thresholds get a sprinkle, too. Works like a charm.
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Wish we had more posts like this one. Props.
Kristi

I use a mixture of equal parts salt, borax and baking soda to scrub my kitchen sink, bathroom sink, tub and toilet. I pour it into the toilet after I flush to get the surface wet then dump in white vinegar and shut the lid for awhile. When I come back I scrub and flush. The salt acts as an abrasive to help scrub soap scum off in the bathtub. I use this mixture in sinks also and to keep the drains all flowing. Just dump in, follow with a vinegar “chaser” and boiling water. I keep it mixed in a bucket with a lid and a measuring cup in it…all ready to go! Been using this for years instead of the usual cleansers…I have asthma and was looking for something less harsh, though I take care not to breathe in the fumes anyway. I love this site!
Richard Head

say i wonder of leslie is seeing any one
Laura

If you mix 3 parts borax and 1 part salt…sprinkle on carpet and leave alone for at least 20 hours (no pets or people) vacuum and fleas will be dead and gone.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=720193727 Becky Striepe

That sounds a lot like the flea treatment we just had done! The company we hired – Flea Busters – uses salt to dehydrate the fleas and their eggs. They also treated our crawlspace. We don’t have any carpet, and they said fleas can come up from underneath the house, especially if furry critters pass under there.