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10 Household Uses for Borax

Borax, or sodium borate, is a very cool old-school natural cleaning agent that has many uses around the home. It is most commonly used as a laundry booster or as a base for DIY laundry detergent, and it’s great for this. But there are actually many household uses for borax!

A box of borax is easy to find, typically sold in four-pound boxes at your hardware store or Walmart (in the laundry section) and will last a long time. You can use it for all kinds of DIY cleaning agents, many of which will replace toxic, expensive cleaning products that also probably wouldn’t even be half as effective.

Here are some creative ways you can use borax around the house!

Laundry booster: just add 1/3 of a cup to every load
Stain remover: make a paste with 2 parts water and 1 part borax (a spoonful will do) and scrub into a stain. Let sit for a few hours, then wash as normal
In homemade deodorizing spray: mix 1/3 cup into a quart spray bottle of water and use as you would Febreze
To deodorize mattresses: mix 1 part borax with 1 part baking soda and sprinkle into your fabric, wait a few hours, and vacuum up
Cleaning grout and tile: make a paste with water and apply liberally, let sit, then scrub away and rinse off
To clean floors: add 1-3 tablespoons to your mop water for extra clean floors
To sanitize brushes and combs: soak in warm water with a handful of borax added, then rinse thoroughly
To unclog toilets and drains: unclog the toilet or drain as much as you can, then dump borax into the clogged area. Let sit for 20 minutes, then pour drown with boiling water
To sanitize sinks and counters: add a tablespoon to a spray bottle with water and vinegar and use as an all-purpose cleaner
To kill cockroaches: nothing kills cockroaches like borax! Mix borax with sugar and sprinkle in the path of cockroaches. Clean up and refresh regularly and **make sure to keep out of reach of small children and pets. **

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10 Household Uses for Borax

Laundry booster: just add 1/3 of a cup to every load

Stain remover: make a paste with 2 parts water and 1 part borax (a spoonful will do) and scrub into a stain. Let sit for a few hours, then wash as normal

In homemade deodorizing spray: mix 1/3 cup into a quart spray bottle of water and use as you would Febreze

To deodorize mattresses: mix 1 part borax with 1 part baking soda and sprinkle into your fabric, wait a few hours, and vacuum up

Cleaning grout and tile: make a paste with water and apply liberally, let sit, then scrub away and rinse off

To clean floors: add 1-3 tablespoons to your mop water for extra clean floors

To sanitize brushes and combs: soak in warm water with a handful of borax added, then rinse thoroughly

To unclog toilets and drains: unclog the toilet or drain as much as you can, then dump borax into the clogged area. Let sit for 20 minutes, then pour drown with boiling water

To sanitize sinks and counters: add a tablespoon to a spray bottle with water and vinegar and use as an all-purpose cleaner

To kill cockroaches: nothing kills cockroaches like borax! Mix borax with sugar and sprinkle in the path of cockroaches. Clean up and refresh regularly and make sure to keep out of reach of small children and pets.

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