For some Borax is a product they can’t live without and for others, they haven’t even heard of it before. Borax is a product that can be useful to have on hand even if you don’t use it all of the time. There are several common uses for borax but, I am going to share with you some of my favorite hacks:
Shower Tiles
If the grout in your shower is full of mold that can be difficult to clean. Make a paste out of borax and water and apply it to the grout. Leave it on overnight and the mold should easily come off in the morning.
Stinky Beds
If your mattress has a smell you just can’t get rid of, borax is your answer. In a spray bottle mix three parts water to one part borax and spray it on your mattress.
Pet beds can get pretty stinky too. If this is the case this trick works on pet beds too.
Weeds
Spraying borax on weeds will kill them. Mix borax and water in a spray bottle and spray on the weeds. Be very careful with where you are spraying this though as it will kill anything it touches.
Stainless Steel Sinks
If you have ever had a stainless steel sink you know that no matter how hard you try, they occasionally end up with hard to remove stains. Using a mixture of lemon juice and borax you can clean those marks out.
To make the proper mixture be sure that you are using just enough lemon juice to make your borax soft and slightly watery. A little bit of elbow grease and rinse the leftover mixture off and your sink should be nice and clean.
Clogged Drain
Borax is also great for unclogging drains. Dump the borax down the sink and then follow it with hot water. Let the mixture sit for a bit to work on any build up and then flush it down again with hot water.
The gritty texture of the borax helps to scrape off anything that may be stuck to the pipes. Borax also holds an antibacterial property that will kill any odors that may be in the drains.
Rust
Anything from patio furniture to silverware borax can help to get rid of the rust. Using a mixture of one part borax to two parts water you can make a paste and rub it on the rusted parts you want to clean. If this doesn’t work, you can soak the metal in the same mixture. The rust should easily scrape off in the morning.
Pests
Borax will kill many household pests. To make it more appealing you can mix in some sugar as well. If you do mix the sugar in make sure that it is equal parts sugar and borax. Sprinkle it in a place where your household pets (and kids) can’t get to it as it is not safe for them. Get the ant killer recipe here.
Toenail Fungus
Toenail fungus is uncomfortable at it’s best and can be pretty dangerous if left alone. You can try an at home treatment of borax paste. Using a tablespoon each of borax and baking soda mixed with water to form the paste. Applying the paste to the infected nail should give you results in a few days. If you do not see any results, contacting your doctor is important.
Preserving Flowers
There are many reasons that people preserve flowers but, a couple of the most popular reasons are for memories and decorations. Using a mixture of one part borax and two parts cornmeal, coat the flowers in the mixture and seal them in an airtight box for two weeks.
Oven
Cleaning the oven is probably my least favorite chore. Plus, by the time the oven cools down I completely forget I need to clean it until I open it again. Thankfully, borax makes it much easier to clean. If you you dissolve one part borax to two parts hot water, and wipe the oven down with it. Leave it sit overnight and you should easily be able to scrub off any stains.
Make Slime
Mix 1 teaspoon borax in 1 cup of water. Stir until the borax is dissolved. In a separate container, mix ½ cup (4 oz) white glue with ½ cup water. Add food coloring, if desired. This makes fun slime for the kids to play with!
Borax has many out of the box uses that I myself have never thought of. It is a product I didn’t use to keep in my house but, now that I know all of these other uses I will be sure to always keep borax in my house.