Borax: Just ordered some to do some cleaning...

[Connecting with Sauce]

Borax has been mentioned before in a thread started by Tango here...

* * * Safely Avoid and Remove Dangerous Man-Made Fluoride * * *

But his thread was specifically about fluoride detox, which is great but this article I recently came across in NEXUS magazine is well worth a read..

An Article 'The Borax Conspiracy' How the Arthritis Cure has been Stopped Walter Last

You may not be able to imagine that borax, this humble insecticide and laundry detergent, has the potential of singlehandedly bringing down our entire economic system. But you do not need to worry, the danger has been recognised and the necessary steps are already being taken to defuse the situation. I will start with the basics and you will understand what I mean as the story unfolds.

Borax is a naturally occurring and mined mineral salt and the source of other manufactured boron compounds. The main deposits are in Turkey and California. Chemical names are sodium tetraborate decahydrate, disodium tetraborate decahydrate, or simply sodium borate. This means it contains four atoms of boron as its central feature combined with two sodium atoms and ten molecules (or sometimes less) of crystallisation water. Therefore, borax is the sodium salt of the weak boric acid. Because sodium is more strongly alkaline, this makes a solution of borax strongly alkaline with a pH between 9 and 10 (pH 7 is neutral). When ingested, it reacts with hydrochloric acid in the stomach to form boric acid and sodium chloride. The boron content of Borax is 11.3% while for boric acid it is 17.5% or about 50% higher. Ingested boron compounds are rapidly and nearly completely excreted with the urine. Formerly boric acid was widely used as a preservative in foods but is now banned for this purpose in most countries, and is also banned from public sale in Australia.

.... more at the link..

Quite compelling. Enough for me to purchase some, not least to see if it sorts out my itchy left foot

[Kindred]

I've been using this for several years now, not only as an additive to my laundry detergent - it really helps at increasing the cleaning effectiveness of the detergent - but also as an additive to the spring water I get from a friend, who has a 300' well. It's recommended to use about 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon to each gallon. As you state, it's a great way to 'take care' of the fluoride in your system... particularly in your pineal gland!

Fortunately, it isn't banned here, and is sold in many stores - quite inexpensive too!

[conk]

Thanks Sauceman, I had not heard of this before and I'm a professional know-it-all.

[Arrowwind]

I have been taking boron supplements for a number of years, 3mg about twice a week. I didn't know that it detoxes flouride. Thanks for that info. Between the iodine and boron I take all should be quite well.

Boron also makes your bones strong. It is essential to bone matrix.

Kindred, you could just eliminate that laundry detergent and learn to make your own.. It only costs pennies to make two gallons. Its made from Borax, washing soda and fels napa bar soap. 1/8 to 1/4 cup will do it, depending on how hard your water is. I make it and sell it at farmer's market.

[CeltMan]

Bumping:

Seems pertinent,- here in UK with such a high flouride content in many water supplies.

** Also wondered if anyone knows of any cost effective 'dechlorinator equipment' available here in UK?

[crosby]

i love borax. it cleans almost everything. i did not know that you could ingest it though. hmmmmm. interesting.
regards, corson

[CeltMan]

Posted by corson (here)
i love borax. it cleans almost everything. i did not know that you could ingest it though. hmmmmm. interesting.
regards, corson

That's my concern, as well...lol.......i need convincing.

[WhiteFeather]

Its also great in raising the PH in your swimming pool. I use it all the time.

[Vitalux]

thank you for this post....I am going to study this further and pass along the info.

definitely have tagged this post so i can return to it later too

[enfoldedblue]

Hi,
I live in Australia and have been meaning to buy some borax for a while now. When I read here that it was not available in Australia I investigated and found that it is available in every supermarket in the laundry section. As I was looking into it I came across the following..and thought I should add it to the discussion:

Borax is NOT a Green Cleaner!

We need to take on board the fact that BORAX is not a green cleaner!

Eco-literature that recommends the use of Borax, both as a laundry aid, and an insecticide, ignores the fact that it is toxic and highly soluble.
While Boron is a valuable trace element, like most other trace elements it is toxic when more than a trace is present!
In days gone by it was used as a weed-killer!
Recent environmental studies have shown a high proportion of boron in seagrass collected from metropolitan beaches in St.Vincent's Gulf, South Australia.. Such contamination probably affects any area where a modern city discharges treated or untreated effluent directly into the sea.
I believe Boron contamination is due not only to the use of heavy duty commercial laundry liquids, most of which contain Borax, but to it's use by environmentally aware, but ill-informed individuals, and maybe even manufacturers of 'Green' cleaners and detergents.
Since people have been avoiding the use of phosphates in detergents and cleaners the use of Borax has probably escalated. Though used with the best of intentions, it has now obviously become a serious contaminant of sewage discharges, and therefore of our local seawater.

I believe we should stop using Borax, except perhaps in very small quantities as a comparatively safe killer of ants and cockroaches. We should also check the ingredients of our 'Green' cleaners and detergents, and avoid any which contain Borax.

Gardeners who find that using seagrass or seaweed seriously retards the germination of seeds, or affects plant growth, should suspect boron contamination. Mixing it with large quantities of organic material before use, and composting, are both ways of reducing the problem, while still taking advantage of the soil-conditioning properties of seagrass and seaweed.

While on this subject, those of us with highly alkaline soils which are difficult to wet, need to be aware of the effect of *all* alkalis on soil structure. Whether you use washing soda, bicarbonate of soda, or plain soap, you are adding more alkali to the groundwater and sewage discharge. This is extremely damaging to the structure of such soils. We need to use something to get things clean, but often we use cleaners when plain water and elbow grease, or soaking, would do. With awareness and comittment we can reduce our use of anything containing any form of soluble sodium to a minimum.

http://www.users.on.net/~arachne/borax.html

[Arrowwind]

Ive also been using borax in my laundry detergent. I make my own detergent and it is so popular I sell it at Farmer's Market. Its very easy to make and only costs pennies. I started selling it at $2 a gallon but no one would buy it. When I raised the price to $5 it sells like crazy... go figure.

anyway here's the formula. No need to provide to proctor and gamble any longer. Here's the recipie. Ive been using it for maybe 5 years now... and if you store food and supples this is not to be missed. When the SHTF you'll be the cleanest family in town.

Laundry Soap

By Crystal Miller

Making your own laundry soap is very easy! No longer do you need to rely on store bought detergents. With a few ingredients on hand you will be able to make batch after batch of laundry soap. The cost savings by doing this is incredible!

~If after reading through this you have a question PLEASE read the "Questions Answered" at the bottom of this page. I am no longer able to answer questions about the laundry soap via email. Thank you! Crystal

What Ingredients Do You Need?

You will need 3 basic ingredients; a soap of some sort, washing soda and borax.

The Soap: The most typical type of soap to use is Fels Naptha. It is an old-fashioned type of soap usually found in the laundry aisle. The other options for soap are Ivory or another brand called, Zote. Any of these will work. I use my own homemade soap and find it works quite well and I do have this for sale in my Country Store. If you use Ivory or your own homemade soap you will need to use the whole bar.

Washing Soda: This is not to be confused with baking soda. They are not the same thing. Washing soda is sodium carbonate or soda ash (baking soda is sodium bicarbonate). It is a white powder. Its purpose is to help remove dirt and orders. The brand to look for is Arm & Hammer Washing Soda. I find it in the laundry section of my grocery store. Many people have a hard time finding this locally. I know you can purchase it on-line, even through Amazon.com. I would also suggest asking your grocery store manager if it would be possible for the store to get it for you.

Borax: Borax is a naturally occurring mineral: Sodium Borate. It is a white powder. It’s purpose is as a laundry whitener and deodorizer. The brand to look for is 20 Mule Team. It comes in a 76 oz. box. You should be able to locate this in the laundry detergent aisle. Again as with the washing soda, if you cannot find it ask you store manager or look online.

The Recipe

Now that you have assembled all the needed ingredients here is the recipe:

Homemade Laundry Soap
1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap, as listed above
½ cup washing soda
½ cup borax powder
~You will also need a small bucket, about 2 gallon size~

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.

Use a large spoon to break up clots. Then take a whisk to it. Pour into 2 one gallon plastic water jugs.
A few times I found that I was about 3 or 4 cups short of the 2 gallons the recipe makes. I just topped it off with hot water after I had filled the gallon jugs and it works just fine.

**A few things to note about the soap**

~The finished soap will not be a solid gel. It will be more of a watery gel that has been accurately described as an "egg noodle soup" look.

~The soap is a low sudsing soap. So if you don’t see suds, that is ok. Suds are not what does the cleaning, it is the ingredients in the soap.




Optional: If you want your soap to have some sort of scent you can scent this with ½ to 1 oz. of essential oil or fragrance oil of your choice. My favorite scent is orange essential oil.



But is it Really Less Expensive?

Is the laundry detergent a cost saver? How do the numbers on this add up? Well I am a person who likes to know what I am spending and if my efforts save me in one way or another. This is one of the areas that I wanted to know if I was actually saving money. We do a lot of laundry and I make double batches of this soap and knowing that the time spent doing this was a savings for my family was important to me.

Here are my calculations:

The cost of making the above recipe of laundry soap was .71 cents. That was amazing to me! With this 2 gallon size recipe you will have enough to do 64 loads of laundry. That translates to about .01 cent a load.

How Did I Figure This Out?

Here is the breakdown of my costs and how I came up with those numbers (I am using the prices I paid for these items and you may find your price varies some based on what you pay):

Fels Naptha: $1.12 for a 5.5 oz bar. The recipes says use a 1/3 of a bar. I calculated 2 oz. just to make the math a little easier. The cost of the Fels Naptha per batch is: .40 cents


Washing Soda: $2.23 for a 55 oz. box. This came to .17 cents per batch. I calculated how much per oz (2.23 divided by 55) and then weighed a half cup of washing soda (4.2oz.) and multiplied my per oz. price by 4.2

Borax: $3.27 for a 76 oz. box. This came to .14 cents per batch. Did the same calculations as above, however a 1/2 cup of borax weighs 3.5 oz.

For the final numbers I have .40 + .17 + .14 = .71 for 2 gallons of laundry detergent

[nearing]

Found this about that:

Borax is a salt of boric acid.

It is a component of many detergents, cosmetics, and enamel glazes. It is also used to make buffer solutions in biochemistry, as a fire retardant, as an anti-fungal compound for fiberglass, as an insecticide.

Boron an element of borax is an ultra-trace element.

In biochemistry, an ultra-trace element is a chemical element that normally comprises less than one microgram per gram of a given organism.

Boron is necessary for the optimal health of rats and presumably other mammals, though its physiological role in animals is poorly understood.

Boron is dietary mineral - in milligrams.
The max you take is about 200 mg.

Boron compounds show promise in treating arthritis.

Elemental boron is nontoxic and common boron compounds such as borates and boric acid have low toxicity (approximately similar to table salt with the lethal dose being 2 to 3 grams per kg) and therefore do not require special precautions while handling.

Some of the more exotic boron hydrogen compounds, however, are toxic as well as highly flammable and do require special care when handling.

It was at a answer.com page.