What is Borax?
When it comes to cleaning, it is a material that we may never think of; borax. However, borax is an excellent cleaning component with its completely natural, environmental and economic feature . So, what are the other uses of borax and how is it used?
Borax is an important boron component. In other words; The salt of the oxy acid of boron is called ‘borax’. Other known names of borax, which is mostly used as an industrial raw material; sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, disodium tetraborate. Borax originally came into our language from Arabic. It is derived from the word ‘burak’ used to mean bright. In our country, it is known as ‘tenekar’ in some places in Anatolia.
Borax in powder form is colorless, crystalline, easily soluble in water and has a soft structure. It is a natural substance . It is also soluble in glycerin but insoluble in alcohol. It starts to melt at 75 degrees and boils at 200 degrees. It arises from the combination of water, oxygen, boron and sodium. Its density is 1.73 gr / cm3. Borax crystals are obtained by evaporation and subsequent crystallization of salty lake waters. It is then produced in laboratories by the reaction of boric acid and anhydrous sodium carbonate. When borax comes into contact with hot water, it converts the molecules in the water to hydrogen peroxide and has a bleaching feature.
Resources in Turkey cover almost 63 percent of the world’s boron reserves. This means the production of 1.72 million tons of borax minerals and compounds during the year. The biggest boron production after America is made in our country, all over the world . Some of the boron minerals are processed in the facilities and used in industry as boron compounds with high borax content in the form of concentrated calcium, borax pentahydrate, anhydrous borax, boric acid, sodium perborate.
Notes on Borax’s Journey through History
- Borax has a long history. It is said that the Babylonians first imported borax from the Far East 4,000 years ago. Also at that time, borax was very popular as a material used in gold mining.
- For the first time, borax was discovered in Tibet in dry lake beds. At that time, borax was brought from the Himalayas to India by sheep in big bags tied around their necks.
- It started to be used as a medicine in Arabia in 875 AD.
- One of the most common cleaning materials used in Rome and Ancient Greece was borax.
Various Uses of Borax
Cleaning
Borax, which has antiseptic, antibiotic and antifungal properties, is a natural disinfectant substance. It is evaluated in more than one way when used for cleaning purposes. Although it has both deodorizing and deep cleaning features; It is also perfect against the formation of fungus and mold. Borax has been widely used for many years as a natural option in household cleaning. It is a powerful germ killer. Especially in recent years, those who want to avoid the negative effects of chemical cleaning products on human health have started to turn to natural cleaning products. Borax has also become a preferred product in this respect.
Borax is known to be as potent as the effective chemical cleaners available in the grocery store. Moreover, if it is used at a reasonable level, it does not harm human health and does not have any side effects.
Borax can be used with peace of mind in laundry and dish cleaning, garden cleaning and many other areas.
Dish Cleaning Without Detergent
Detergents or hand detergents we use in dishwashers; All of them contain chemicals that are effective enough to adversely affect our digestive system and give an opportunity to chronic diseases. The best thing to do in this case is to get a natural dish cleaner. Everyone can easily apply our Borax recipe at home. Since this recipe is natural, you should not expect foaming as in other detergents.
Dish Cleaner with Borax: Mix 1 glass of borax, 1 glass of washing soda, orange-lemon and rosemary oil. You can use this mixture in one liter of water. We recommend using vinegar water for rinsing.
Natural Liquid Detergent : Add 1 glass of olive oil soap powder, 1 tablespoon of borax and 1 tablespoon of baking soda into a glass of boiling water. After boiling for a short time in a suitable pot, the mixture, which should reach a gel-like consistency, is transferred to a glass container. It is better for health to be stored in glass. We recommend that you rinse the dishes you wash with this mixture with apple cider vinegar.
Detergent for Dishwasher : You can add 1 tablespoon of borax, lemon oil and lemon powder to the detergent compartment of your machine and run it.
Important note : Borax is not preferred because it leaves a residue when used in the dishwasher. For this reason, mixtures with borax are generally used for hand washing.
Laundry Cleaning Without Detergent
Thousands of laundry products sold in the markets are both very expensive and threaten our health in a negative way. Make a difference in your bridal laundry with health. You can mix borax with soapy water and lemon salt in hand-washed laundry. All of them can be in the same amount, the size of 1 teaspoon. You can wash your laundry in the water to which you have added this mixture. If you want to use borax in the washing machine, it will be sufficient to add a measure of borax instead of detergent.
If you want to prepare a natural detergent for your washing machine, here is our recipe :
Grate some natural soap into a large jar. Then add 3 or 4 glasses of borax and the same amount of washing soda. Close the lid of the can and shake it tightly. Keep shaking until you are sure it is well mixed. Your detergent is ready to use.
Carpet Cleaning Without Detergent
If you want your carpets to be clean easily, you should try our borax recipe. Add 2 spoons of borax to a bucket of warm water and mix. Wipe your carpet thoroughly with a cloth or brush. After cleaning, leave your carpet to dry in the open air.
Detergent-Free Surface Cleaning
You can consider borax as an ecological and economical option for cleaning floors and other surfaces. Mix 1 cup of borax with 1 cup of washing soda and white vinegar. Optionally, you can add your favorite fragrant natural oils to this mixture. It can be used on surfaces with the help of a sponge or brush.
In addition, you can use borax mixed with washing soda on bathroom surfaces, hard surfaces such as bathtubs, toilet bowls and sinks. After wiping, you should rinse the surfaces with water. Borax does not damage bathroom tiles. On the contrary, it is a good option to provide strong hygiene.
Polish, Clean, Renew with Borax!
Cleaning with borax is possible in all conditions. By putting borax on a damp cloth, you can handle almost all of your cleaning chores. You can use borax for cleaning aluminum pans and pots, porcelain, refrigerator and oven interior, blinds and pimapens, straw and plastics, and you can ensure safe hygiene.
Borax in Pest Control
Borax is effective not only in cleaning the house, but also in the fight against insects. If you want to prevent insects from entering your home, put borax in front of nests or in areas where insects are found. Borax will prevent insects from entering your home. If your goal is to poison insects that have entered your home, boil foods such as potatoes or eggs and mix them with some borax. Then leave them where the insects can reach these foods. You can apply the same method for mice. Mice especially like doughy foods, so you can get rid of them by putting borax in floury-pastry type foods.
Cosmetic
Borax has a wide variety of uses. For example, it is used in the cosmetic field to increase the consistency of creams or lotions. Borax is found in most commercially available cosmetic and personal care products. Borax is also used in hand soaps because it is a good cleaner due to its structure. In the cosmetics industry, the cleansing property of borax is also used. Borax is used in products to purify the skin from dead cells, treat oily skin and prevent acne formation. The peeling feature, which is included in many facial cleansers, is created by borax.
Construction Industry
Borax is used in the construction industry. A more robust form is obtained by using borax in cement preparation. While the borax is purified, large amounts of solid waste are generated every year. It is very difficult to preserve or evaluate them. Studies have shown that borax wastes contain the same components as clay minerals and have a mild pozzolanic character. Thus, the use of waste material in cement production has come to the fore. In summary, all researches on this subject say that it is possible to evaluate borax solid wastes together with cementitious binders in mortar and concrete, as it is used in other building materials.
Thus, it is aimed to reduce the effects of waste materials that threaten the environment and human health.
Other Uses of Borax
Borax is out of the areas mentioned above; It is also used in paints, porcelain enameling, starch, adhesives, textile dyeing, printing, the manufacture of unbreakable boron silicate glass and some handicrafts. A small amount of borax is beneficial for the growth of plants, while in large amounts it can kill plants. Therefore, it is also considered as a herbal medicine. In addition to these, borax is used in soil maintenance when problems such as unproductive soil are encountered.
Where to Get Borax?
Borax is not sold in grocery stores. It can be obtained from pharmacies, herbalists or shops selling organic products.
Are There Any Ways Borax Is Harmful?
In case of direct contact with borax, the skin must be rinsed. In cosmetic products using borax, people with borax allergy may experience problems such as itching and skin flaking. It may cause skin irritation due to its highly alkaline nature.
In case of excessive inhalation, it may cause damage to the lungs . In people whose lungs are damaged by borax; symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea and intense abdominal pain are observed.
Borax should not be taken into the body through food. Borax is banned in the USA on the grounds that it negatively affects the sperm production of men . In fact, some studies say that borax has effects on infertility, regardless of gender. However, it should be noted that these are only research topics.
To summarize ; Borax is a substance that makes our life easier and even has positive effects when used in small amounts. However, overexposure to borax can cause serious health problems.
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