The 20 Mule Team Borax brand has traditionally been used forlaundry, cleaning, and even for killing ants.
Despite that long history, it’s not always easy to find in stores.
It’s sold in a white box with red lettering and touches of green.
The Spruce / Taylor Nebrija
Be sure to look high and low on the shelf for it.
The Spruce / Hugo Lin
What Is Borax?
Borax is used in everything from toothpaste and cosmetics to laundry boosters and dishwasher detergents.
The Spruce / Hugo Lin
It is sold in powder form and has a consistency that’s similar to powdered laundry detergent.
What Is Borax Used For?
There are manyhousehold uses for borax.
It can be used to create natural cleaners or added to homemadelaundryordishwasherdetergents.
It will boost the cleaning power of other ingredients.
Many homemade cleaners also take advantage of its ability to soften hard water and whiten whites.
Borax is also popular as a pesticide.
Borax is also popular as a homemade slime ingredient.
Is this really a good idea?
Borax is safe in slime as long as it’s not consumed.
Whenmaking slime, supervise your children and ensure they wash their hands thoroughly afterwards.
That’s also true if you think your kids might leave their slime out where pets could find it.
Why is borax used in slime recipes, to begin with?
This ingredient gives the mixture its thick and stretchy quality.
Other ingredients can be used to achieve the same thing.
Some recipes use contact lens solution instead of powdered borax.
Contact lens solution contains boric acid in a safer form that eliminates the risk of inhaling.
Is Borax Safe to Use?
Borax is a natural ingredient, but as noted, it’s still toxic if ingested.
You may know what’s in your concoction, but other people in your household may not.
That’s where 20 Mule Team Borax gets its name.
It was even hosted by Ronald Reagan in 1964-65.
This made the name very familiar in those decades.
While you might consume baking soda, you should never consume borax.
Borax has endless uses as a cleaning agent.
Some recommend mixing borax with sugar to use as an insecticide in the home but this can be dangerous.
Children or pets can inhale or eat the concoction causing harm.
It is safer to use pesticides made with boric acid because it’s much lower in toxicity.
Borax + sugar and other dangerous homemade pesticides.
College of Agriculture and Bioresources, University of Saskatchewan.
Boric Acid Fact Sheet.
National Pesticide Information Center.
