If you have a box of Borax you’ve no idea how effective it can be in your home and garden. Must check out these unbelievable Borax Uses!
Borax is a naturally occurring mineral. It is safe to use!
1. As a Laundry Booster
It’s easy to see why borax is so popular as a laundry booster. It softens hard water, removes soap residues from clothing, and neutralizes musty odors, leaving your fabrics warm, fresh, and stain-free. To top it all, it inhibits fungal growth and infuses an airy feel to your clothes when the temperatures soar up. Just add a cup of Borax to your wash load, and your clothes will come out looking brand-new!
2. Treat Boron Deficiency in the Garden
Your plants can benefit from borax as much as you. Stunted growth, browning of foliage, and absence of blooms are all common signs of boron deficiency in the garden. Green, leafy vegetables like broccoli and cabbage are especially hungry for micronutrients like boron. Here’s a detailed post on Borax Uses for Garden!
3. Preserve Flowers
Borax can be used to naturally extract the moisture from leaves & flowers and prevent them from wilting away so that they retain a beautiful and dried look. Visit The Spruce to learn more!
4. Garbage Disposal Cleaner
We all know how smelly our garbage bin can become. Well, a nice way to counteract the odors and sanitize it is by sprinkling three tablespoons of borax onto the disposal. Then let it stay for an hour and flush it off with warm water.
5. Cat Litter Deodorizer
Mix two-three tablespoons of borax in the litter. This will help to create a dry and odorless atmosphere.
6. Kill Weeds
Stop the incessant hassle of killing weeds with a potent homemade herbicide containing borax and water. Spray this on the weeds carefully as you don’t want to kill the plants you like. See the recipe here!
7. Scrub Floors
Skid marks from your kids’ shoes can come off easily with the cleaning power of Borax. This DIY homemade cleaner leaves your floors sparkling clean and wipes off even the grossest of a mess. And the best part is that you don’t need to wash the floor after the borax treatment.
8. DIY Dishwasher Tablet from Borax
Make your own version of the dishwasher tablet with the help of an ice tray, a DIY solution consisting of borax, and a few other things. This tutorial here shows you how to do this.
9. Remove Crayon Marks from Walls
Removing crayon marks from clean, painted walls are the worst nightmare of every parent. What’s even worse is that those marks keep coming up every time your back is turned. Well, borax can be your answer. Here is a helpful homemade cleaner recipe to conveniently wipe off marks and keep your walls looking spotless.
10. Remove Tea Stains
If you love coffee or tea, you must have spilled it accidentally on your clothes at least once. Instead of discarding that stained t-shirt or dress, consider soaking it in a solution of borax and warm water. Let it stay for 30 minutes before adding laundry detergent and rinsing it off as usual.
11. Pre-soaking Gym Clothes
Being non-allergic and eco-friendly, borax is a nice mineral for pre-soaking gym clothes to alleviate perspiration stains and odors associated with them.
12. Clean Bathroom Fixtures
Rust, mold, and mildew are the common enemies of bathroom fixtures. Give them a much-needed revamp with quick borax cleanse. Borax dissolves stubborn grime and uncovers the natural sheen of metal showers and porcelain sinks. Watch the video here!
13. Remove Fleas
Fleas in the carpet is a common problem if you have pets in your home. Instead of calling the exterminator, try a more cost-effective option- a homemade borax cleaner. This video shows you how to prepare one. Borax basically acts as a desiccant to extract the water off fleas and larvae and get them dehydrated enough to perish. It’s a long-drawn process and takes time, so don’t expect instant results.
14. Homemade Ant Killer
Ants are pesky little creatures that come lurking in numbers to ransack your pantry and contaminate your food. You can try a natural remedy like borax to get rid of them. The latter works quickly and efficiently to destroy ants without leaving behind any noxious odors or stains.
15. Pre-soak for Baby Clothes
One of the primary considerations when choosing a laundry product for your baby is that it shouldn’t confer any allergic reactions. That is why borax fits the bill. It does a great job of removing food stains, dirt, and obnoxious odors from baby clothes. Borax even manages to remove laundry stains from brighter baby clothes to pale-colored work clothes or older kid’s clothes.
16. Cleans Carpet Stains
Prepare a solution of borax in hot water and lightly sprinkle it on your rugs, carpets, and any other washable fabric. Mop it up after waiting for 30 minutes. If the stains are too resilient to vanish at the first go, dip a washcloth in the borax solution and blot thoroughly.
17. Homemade Abrasive Cleaner
As compared to store-bought scouring powders, borax is a cheaper and more eco-friendly version of abrasive cleaner that you can use on your floor, walls, furniture, and appliances to get them clean! Follow these instructions here.
18. Remove Stains from Mirrors
For a smear-free, presentable mirror, mix three cups of hot water and two tablespoons of borax to prepare a potent cleaning solution. Dip a cloth into this and wipe down windows, sliding glass doors, and mirrors in horizontal patterns. Use some elbow grease to bring out the ultimate shine.
19. Create Better Wicks for Homemade Candles
Take your candle game a notch up by treating the wicks with a solution of salt and borax. This will help diminish ash and smoke while burning and help your candles create a prettier show. You can even bathe the wicks in a tablespoon of salt, borax, and boiling water for 24 hours.
20. De-Stink the Humidifier
Over time, humidifiers tend to pick up noxious odors due to bacteria, mildew, or simply stagnant water build-up. No worries, you can get it smelling nice and fresh again with a simple borax treatment. Just dissolve half-a-cup borax in equal parts of water and add it to your humidifier. Let it run for 15 minutes and rinse off the tank. Add some clean water next, and you’re good to go. For more tips on using borax for odor control, follow this link here.
21. Remove Adhesive Residue
Whether it’s removing the label off from a new appliance or a pesky sticker from an older purchase, borax can be used in place of commercial products. Just dissolve two-three spoons in a cup of warm water and clean to dissolve the glue, gum, and other sticky spots.
22. Deodorize the Fridge
Spilled food and drinks inside the fridge can produce odors for a long period. Luckily they can be wiped and removed using a damp cloth that has been dipped in the borax solution. To prepare the solution, mix one tablespoon of borax with a quart of lukewarm water. Rinse away any remnant residues with cold water.
23. Eliminates Black Mold and Mildew
If your walls are riddled with mold and mildew, it’s time you treat them with a solution of borax in water. Scrub the problem areas thoroughly with a toothbrush and don’t rinse the solution completely. Borax will continue to deter fungal growth and keep the area looking fresh and clean after the first treatment.
24. Boost Dishwasher Detergent
Borax doesn’t just enhance the cleaning power of your detergent but also manages to remove hard water spots, soap stains, and rust stains from the interior of your dishwasher itself. The complete step by step post with pictures is available here!
25. Mice Deterrent
Sprinkle borax on the floor along the walls of your home to ward off mice and keep them from attacking your food stores. Mice hate coming in contact with borax, and moreover, the disinfectant properties of this mineral make the area seem like an inhospitable place for similar pests.
26. Rust Remover
Unsightly rust stains around drains, tools, and flatware are common. Commercial rust removers use toxic substances to remove rust, but eco-friendly alternatives like borax are safe and do this efficiently. Here’s a recipe to follow.
27. Spruce Up Old China
If your China set seems to have seen better days, it’s time you give it a little facelift with Borax. Just soak it in a tub filled with half-a-cup Borax and warm water. Let the dishes soak for around 30 minutes and rinse off the Borax with tap water.
28. Clean Baseball Caps
Borax is the perfect remedy for dirty, stained baseball caps. Just place them on the upper rack of your dishwasher, add a cup of Borax and run the cycle. The caps will come out looking brand new and tidy. See the step by step article here.
29. Unclog Drains
Borax is a cheap yet equally effective drain cleaner as the commercial ones in the market. It helps you break down grime build-up and dissolve gunk that gets clogged in your stain. Additionally, it also disinfects the area, so it smells much better after the initial treatment. Just add the Borax along with boiling water and wait for 15 minutes before flushing it all out with tap water.
30. Toilet Bowl Cleaner
Borax works wonderfully well to remove grime, gunk, and stubborn deposits off toilet bowls. Just add a cup of borax, scrub it properly with your toilet brush, and done. The results are instant and satisfactory!
31. DIY Homemade Flubber from Borax
Despite having a reputation of a dedicated floor-cleaner, borax is also an essential ingredient of homemade flubber– a soft, sticky substance that is super fun to play with and mold into quirky shapes. And best of all, it’s easy to whip up a set or two for playtime with kids.
32. Clean Up Car Upholstery
Is your car seats in dire need of a facelift? No need to spend tons of money in the car care aisle. With borax by your side, you can whip up a versatile homemade cleaner that polishes your car upholstery like a dream.
33. Clean and Save Violin Strings
Do you often play the violin or any other string instrument? Then you must be familiar with the problem of gumming and rosin deposits on the strings. Well, borax can help. Just use a dampened toothbrush and some borax to wipe the tiny bow hairs clean gently. Also, take care that the borax or water doesn’t come in contact with the wood.
Anything to make life a little easier. Thanks so much for great tips.
Please know that Borax is toxic to cats and shouldn’t be used in a litter box or around cats. Actually, it shouldn’t be used around dogs either. Ask your veterinarian if you don’t believe me.