Is Borax Safe to Use for Natural Cleaning?

Many people today make their own household cleaning products, and really it's no wonder why. In fact, the frustration in making a choice between traditional toxic cleaners (not an option) or a somewhat "green" cleaner that really doesn't work very well is what brought Tim and Kevin to create Better Life in the first place. Many people are just like Tim and Kevin, and feel there is no choice but to make their own products or simply just like to whip up a batch on their own.

Unfortunately making your own cleaning products isn't the safest choice. There are several things you should consider when making your own products. These homemade cleaning products lack performance testing, safety testing and often are not safe for surfaces in your home. Additionally homemade cleaners are often mixed with commercial cleaners (like dish soap or borax) which may not be compatible and unsafe. These homemade products are unstable and need to be used immediately after making them otherwise they will spoil (grow bacteria, yeasts and mold). 

Speaking of borax we often get asked if it is safe. The answer is no. Borax is a naturally occurring mineral but it is not safe or eco-friendly.  Borax is also known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate. It is a boron compound and a salt of boric acid.

Borax is listed as a poison, pesticide, and an fungicide. It is poisonous, especially to young children. Even as little as a teaspoon could prove fatal if swallowed by a young child. For this reason it is not safe to use around children or on surfaces that come in contact with food.

The infant death rate from boric acid poisonings is high. However, boric acid poisoning is considerably rarer than in the past because the substance is no longer used as a disinfectant in nurseries. It is also no longer commonly used in medical preparations.

Studies by the EPA have linked it to reproductive problems, kidney and liver problems, nervous system issues, and it is a skin and lung irritant. The other big issue with borax is that it accumulates in your body. So, the more you use it the more toxic it becomes to your body. Chronic exposure is especially harmful in children.

And as far as eco-friendly, borate is an open-pit mined mineral and borax is toxic to aquatic life. 
Environmental Working Group senior scientist Rebecca Sutton wrote a great article here.

We are very proud at Better Life to offer a completely safe and natural solution. A responsible solution. Our formulas far exceed U.S. and European biodegradability standards. Our cleaning power comes directly from plants and therefore is completely safe for people, rivers, marine life, pets and the planet at large. It was no small task to create Better Life, a natural solution that actually works, but every day we're glad we did.
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9 comments

We just saw you on Shark Tank and are quite impressed with your products and what they represent! I am a nurse and acupuncturist and am all about all-natural products! We’ve been having a major issue with mold on our shower tiles – which of your products would remove the mold and make our tiles white again? Thainks! Marcy Newman

Marcy Newman

Well, the problem seems to have taken care of itslef. I suspected my pest issues were related to the unusual weather it was so wet there was nothing much to eat besides my tender plants. In addition to the ants, I had baby slugs galore and baby roly-polies eating down my young curcurbits once their true leaves emerged. Now that it’s a teensy bit warmer, other things are beginning to flourish in the yard (if not exactly the garden), so I think the pests are dispersing. I lost most of the kale, but a few survivors, enough, are standing tall, and the new young kale I planted later is untouched. I stand at guard

Lainy

“Hi there! Just wanted to put some info out there. Borax isn’t any MORE toxic than TABLE SALT. The median lethal dose of borax is about 3g/kg, meaning three grams per kilogram of weight. The median lethal dose of common potassium chloride, or common table salt, is about the same.”

Laura, please note that common table salt is not potassium chloride. Common table salt is SODIUM chloride. NaCl

Adam

I am a tech guy, so Terro which is essentially the same Boric Acid and sugar reicpe my grandpa sold in his hardware store 75 years ago was about the last product I tried to control ants. Instead, over the years I have used every chemical bait system known to the FDA and then some. Of course, bait is the only way to go with ants; you never want to kill them directly because that will only increase their egg production and make the problem worse. Its total nest elimination, or else a worse problem a few weeks later. Over the years, I have found some decent modern bait systems. But this year, we were invaded by Argentine Ants. Literally thousands of these tiny eating machines appeared. I tried every ant bait I could find in home depot, menards and Lowes to absolutely no effect. Interestingly, they actually ate roach bait I had and they loved it (but no effect from that either). Finally, I bought Terro which was quite literally the last product available from the big box retailers that I had not tried: what chance did Boric Acid have where Avermectin, Dinotefuran, and N-Methyl-N’-Nitro-N-Tetrahydro-3-Furanyl-Methyl-Guanidine all failed?? I set 5 drops spread on the windowsill of the window where I saw the most ants. In 15 minutes, thousands of ants were swarming the drops. They fed all day and all night 24 7 (have to hand it to the Argentine Ant they are truly amazing creatures). I had to replenish the drops which were gone after about 5 hours! The feeding kept up for 2 days, and then I noticed a sharp dropoff in the number of ants and a lot of dead ants. A day after that, no ants. Moral? Don’t be fooled by thinking modern science can hold a candle to this stuff. If you have sugar eating (Sweet) ants of any kind, get this stuff.

Klaudia

Actually, Laura, table salt is three times more toxic than Borax… the lethal dose for table salt is 1 g/kg/ and will cause death at that dose.

Heather

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