7 Reasons You Would Be Smart to Add Borax to Every Wash Load
Borax’s chemical name is sodium tetraborate. Sodium tetraborate is a salt compound from boric acid but not an acid. It is a salt found naturally in evaporation lakes with the most commercially important deposits found in Boron, Calif. Sounds boring right? Perhaps but only until we discover the power of borax to solve all kinds of home laundry issues.
What on earth?
There is a difference between boron, borate, boric acid, and borax. Boron is an element that exists in nature. Borax is a combination of sodium, boron, and oxygen and can be mined from the earth in its crude form.
Powdered borax is white, consisting of soft colorless crystals that dissolve in water. Borax is an ingredient in many detergents, cosmetics, and enamel glazes. 20 Mule Team Borax is a trademark, named for the method by which borax was hauled initially out of the California and Nevada deserts. Borax is readily available in supermarkets in the laundry or cleaning aisles and online under various brands, including generically.
Reasons to Add Borax to Wash Loads
Adding up to 1/2 cup* of borax to every load of laundry—whites and colorfast items (check labels)—will do all kinds of wonderful things to keep your white things white, your laundry, and your washing machine odor-free.
*The amount of borax depends on the hardness of your water. For example, the water is not extremely hard where I live, so I add about 1/4 cup to a full load, one tablespoon to a small load. Up to 1/2 cup for a full load would be appropriate for hard water.
1. Borax is safe with bleach
We know it can be dangerous to mix bleach with highly acidic things like vinegar. The result can be deadly chlorine gas. But don’t be paranoid about this. Only a few specific things react with bleach in that way. I can assure you that borax is NOT one of them! It is safe to mix with chlorine bleach and detergents and has been proven to improve the cleaning power of both.
2. Borax whitens whites
Think of borax as a maintenance product that will keep white things white. Paired with chlorine bleach, it turbocharges bleach’s whitening power. But even if you don’t like to use bleach, it is still a whitener.
3. Borax softens hard water
Borax has a pH of 9.24. This changes the pH of the entire wash load making it slightly alkaline, which is ideal for cleaning. Touch the water once you add borax. See how it feels slick or even a little bit “slimy?” That’s what we mean by soft water. Soft water releases dirt and stains much more effectively than neutral or hard water, which prevents laundry detergents from working as we expect they should.
4. Borax releases soap residue
The rinse cycle of your washing machine is supposed to remove all of the detergent, soap, bleach, and dirt from the washed items. But that doesn’t always happen, especially if you have hard water. The result? A build-up of soap and laundry products in washed clothes and linens. You will know that when your towels come out scratchy and stiff. Your whites turn a dingy shade of gray. Borax keeps the soap dispersed—not stuck or clinging to the fabric fibers. That means it is more likely to flow easily down the drain with the rinse water.
5. Borax tackles odors
Borax attacks both mold and fungi. Those are the culprits that make your clothes and the inside of your washer give off a stinky, musty smell. Borax also removes body and baby odors; smells from workout clothes, sick room clothing, and linens. Borax inhibits the enzymes that produce those bad odors.
6. Borax is a laundry disinfectant
Borax inhibits bacteria, mold, fungus, and many other organisms. Amazing isn’t it?
7. Borax works as a stain remover
We know how tough tomato, mustard, grease, and oil stains can be, right? Well, here’s one more way that borax comes to the rescue. Do this: Pre-soak your laundry for 30 minutes in one tablespoon of borax per gallon of warm water or add 1/2 cup of borax to the washing machine pre-soak cycle.
Precautions
Eyes
You don’t want to get borax in your eyes. Borax is corrosive to the eye; contact can cause irritation and burning, and a possible visit to the emergency room. If contact occurs, flush your eyes out with water for 15 minutes. Always wear safety glasses while handling borax.
Carpet
Don’t breathe in borax. Although sprinkling carpets with borax, allowing to sit and then vacuuming may attack odors, that is a terrible idea. Borax dust is known to irritate the respiratory tract, according to the National Library of Medicine.
Homemade slime
Before allowing your child to attend a slime-making party or hosting an event of your own, make sure borax is not on the supply list. Kids love slime and they especially love making it. They do not know about the risks and dangers of borax and other slime ingredients. If borax comes into contact with the skin, it may cause irritation or even a severe chemical burn. Check this recipe to make slime that does not contain borax.
Skin
Wear gloves when handling borax or homemade cleaners made from borax. Exposure to skin may cause redness, rashes, or chemical burns. If skin comes into contact with borax, wash it immediately.
Toys
Avoid cleaning toys with borax. If a borax residue remains, this could become a problem for a child with respiratory problems.
Homemade skin products
Numerous websites instruct people to clean their skin and treat acne with borax. Undiluted borax should never be used directly on the skin because direct exposure can cause a rash, irritation, or even toxicity.
Aluminum cookware
The reaction between borax and aluminum pots, pans, and bakeware, can leave dark, ugly stains that are nearly impossible to remove. Just avoid that. And never ever put aluminum items in the dishwasher. Handwash only.
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Readers’ Unpredictable Responses
Two years ago I took over the laundry chores to lighten the work on my wife. I don’t do any cleaning around the house without checking out your web sight first, you’re the best. I’ve been using Borax with great success in every load I do.
Best part. My wife can’t believe how soft and fresh all her clothes and bedding come out.
Dear Wife: He’s a keeper. 🙂
Hi Mary. When you use Borax in a front loader, do you put it in the drum? Or do you put it in the powdered detergent dispenser along with your regular powdered detergent? Thank you!
Yes in the drum and I put it in first thing. Good question, and I’ll amend the post to add this. Thanks!
Are the 20 Mule Team and Earthborn borax the same strength? It seems in prior columns you had said that the name brand had additional inert ingredients, but maybe I’m confusing 20 Mule Team with the sodium percarbonate in OxiClean. Thanks for all the tips!
Exactly the same. Here are the 20 mule team borax ingredients as listed on the box: Sodium Tetraborate (a natural mineral). That’s it. It’s actually 95% Boron, mixed with sodium and oxygen and is mined in California, as explained in the post.
You may be recalling Oxiclean, which is only partly percarbonate with inert additives.
Hi Mary,
I live in MN, in an area where we have our own well. Our water is pretty soft, but I do have dingy whites, and some stains that will not come out of clothes. I add vinegar to the final rinse. I use a liquid detergent and my confusion lies in when/where to add the borax!? I have a HE Kenmore, top loading machine (which I loathe) and it frequently leaves a residue on clothes. I have had it serviced, so it is not malfunctioning.
Any tips you can give would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Susan
Add the borax first thing before the clothes. Then make sure you are not overloading the machine. But before you do anything, check out this post. I think it just may hold the solution to your problem. “Laundry Stripping” is the Easy Solution for Dingy Gray Sheets, Towels, Underwear
Would adding more Borax on top of what’s in the DIY laundry soap recipe be appropriate?
Yes this is in addition to your detergent, whatever type you are using. Borax IS one of the ingredients in homemade detergent, but it is a very small amount per load.
I accidentally spilled some Borax in my stainless steel sink and was amazed to see how it cleaned my sink. Since then I have used Borax to clean it. It cleans unbelievably well and stays clean much longer than using other products.
You’re right! Amazing. Also great in the toilet to removed stains. Just don’t get carried away and use it to clean anything aluminum. You won’t be happy with the results and I know this from firsthand experience!
Mary, I had a question and then Debbie asked it. But I don’t feel that you answered her/my
question, or I just am not understanding it. I use your laundry recipe that already has borax in it.
Am I to used more? Thanks. (I so enjoy the laughter segment…)
Yes this is in addition to your detergent, whatever type you are using. Borax IS one of the ingredients in homemade detergent, but it is a very small amount per load.
Mary,
I use Borax to clean my stainless steel sink. It does a fantastic job and stays cleaner longer than when I used other products.
Yes, that and lots more! 13 Reasons You Need to Keep Borax in the House (and Why It’s Safe!)
Hi Mary! Love your ideas and wanted to make my laundry detergent! I am having a problem locating washing soda and Fels Naptha bar of soap. The receipe calls for Borax. There are several types!
Please clarify!
Thank you!
Borax is generic so any brand will do. Twenty-Mule Team Borax brand is found is most supermarket laundry aisles. Super washing soda is more challenging but not at all impossible. The most common brand is Arm and Hammer. But “washing soda” is the common name for soda ash. You can get soda ash in 50 lb bags at swimming pool supply stores or the pool aisle at Walmart or Target. And you can find borax in large quantities on line. Both soda ash and borax get clumpy and can harden like a brick under high humidity conditions. I live where it’s very dry so the problem is less pronounced. But when it happens, I hit it with a hammer and break it up. Works well.
Fels Naptha bar soap is still available in most large supermarkets, again in the laundry aisle. Also online. The challenge I am facing is soaring prices. Thankfully I bought two cases of borax and a pail of washing soda (soad ash) before the prices began to climb.
Your comment has prompted me to prepare another post to address these products and where to find the best prices when the shelves are bar. Watch for that … I’ll do some deep-digging to get as many sources as possible. Thanks for that nudge!