Did you know that Borax dates back to the 1890’s?! I never knew that.

Although, I’ve been using borax forever. I keep a box of borax by my washer, too.

Borax has SO many uses.

Borax is a natural mineral without any of those nasty, modern chemicals. It can be used to deodorize your home, clean toilets, get rid of mildew, remove stains from your carpet, and so much more.

However, if you have sensitive skin, use borax with rubber gloves. Also, always keep borax, whether straight-up or part of a solution/mixture, away from kids and pets.

If an item came into contact with the borax and will come into contact with food, thoroughly rinse before use. Never use borax in a situation in which it may be eaten.

Boost Your Laundry Detergent

This is by far the best and easiest use for borax (IMHO). Throw 1/2 cup directly into your washer.

It works great with powdered or liquid detergents and helps them work more efficiently. It can help with tough stains and brighten colors.

Borax also softens your washings. It’s the best.

Adding some borax also helps keep our brights bright and whites white.

Deep-Clean and Freshen Carpets

Another great borax trick is to sprinkle it lightly all over your carpets. Leave the carpet to sit for about an hour then vacuum up the borax.

The carpet will be refreshed and any nasty odors will be banished forever. Just be sure to keep kids and critters away from borax’d carpet until it’s been thoroughly vacuumed.

At the end of a crazy day or just plain crazy week, month, or year, my living room carpet could really stand a freshen up, especially after Gigi’s contribution to the bouquet. Simply sprinkle some borax and let it sit for a bit, then vacuum it up, making sure you get it all before letting Gigi back into the room.

Scrub the Toilet Bowl

Sprinkle borax into your toilet bowl and leave it overnight. In the morning, it’ll be easier to scrub, and then just flush.

Bonus: borax helps prevent stains and hard-water rings. This is another trick I’ve been using in our kids’ bathroom that takes the grrr out of cleaning.

Kill Mold and Mildew

For a quick, low-effort mold and mildew remover, mix borax with a little water and apply to mildewed or moldy areas. Let sit, then scrub and rinse.

I use this in the corners of our kids’ shower to prevent and slow down mold.

Tackle Soap Scum in the Shower

Mix borax with just enough water to make a paste. Borax is a mild abrasive that’s safe for shower walls and glass shower doors.

Scrub away clouded glass with borax paste to remove soap scum and other build-up without scratching your shower door.

Make an All-Purpose Cleaning Spray

If you’re into traditional, one-size-fits-all cleaners, try an all purpose borax-based cleaner. It cuts through grease and dirt on all types of surfaces, including kitchen counters, cabinet fronts, you name it.

Dissolve two teaspoons of borax in a spray bottle of warm water, shake until borax dissolves. Label and store away from little fingers.

Freshen the Garbage Disposal

Have you ever smelt your garbage disposal? It’s not pretty.

If you’re anything like me, garbage disposal stench is enough to make you question everything else that happens in your kitchen. A few tablespoons of borax, allowed to sit for about an hour and then flushed down the disposal with warm, running water, will dissolve gunky build-up and deodorize the disposal, attacking the offending stench at its source.

Borax is particularly useful for stinky disposals that have been resisting lemon-peel treatments.

Boost the Dishwasher

Alongside or in lieu of your dishwasher detergent, add a dash of borax to the bottom of your machine each time you run a load. Borax will help to deodorize your dishwasher, and it’s an effective treatment for common problems like spotting, build-up and less-than-sparkling dishes.

When our dishwasher began leaving an apparent film on dishes, I assumed that we needed a new machine. A couple of washes with borax banished the problem.

Remove Rust and Hard-Water Stains

Mix borax into a paste, optionally adding a splash of lemon juice, and apply to rust or hard-water stains. Allow it to soak into stains, scrub, rinse.

Chalky orange hard-water stains have been defeated. For me, borax is still the only thing that gets them.

Scrub Sinks and Tubs

Sprinkle borax onto a damp sponge for a gentle and effective scouring powder that will help to freshen sinks and tubs and won’t scratch surfaces. Bonus: No need to keep a dedicated commercial cleaning product for this task, save yourself the trouble of lugging a container under the sink; borax lives happily in the laundry room where it belongs.

Brighten Dingy Grout

If your white grout has begun to look more of a drab gray, a paste of borax can help. Mix into paste, apply to grout, let sit.

Then use an old toothbrush to scrub into grout. Rinse and admire your brightened tile.

Important: This is not a treatment for natural stone tile. Stone doesn’t like abrasives of any kind.

Deodorize the Trash Can

Borax makes a fine deodorizer for trash cans.

Add a squirt of the solution into the bottom of your trash can and let it dry. Or, for a quickie option, just sprinkle some of the powder into your can.

This is another instance where a scented candle would just mask the stench, but this solution will eliminate the stench at its source.

Freshen the Mattress

Sprinkle borax all over your mattress and leave for several hours or overnight. Borax is fantastic at soaking up moisture and neutralizing odors.

After letting it set for several hours, vacuum up all of the borax. This is a great option if you’re hesitant to pay someone to come and do a mattress deep-clean.

Lift Pet Urine Stains and Odor

If you have pets or had them at one time, then you’ve probably struggled with pesky urine stains that refuse to give up their scent. Mix together a damp borax paste, work it into the stain, and then follow the instructions on the box.

Keep your pet(s) away from the area until you’re done. We used this solution once on our rug when Gigi, who had a rough start as a puppy, kept marking the same corner again and again.

This was the only way to remove the stench so she’d stop marking the same area.

Unclog and Freshen Drains

Have you ever noticed your drains are slower than usual but not quite ready for a deep-clean? Save yourself a trip to the store and try flushing your drains with borax.

Add a handful or two down your kitchen or other drain, then follow with hot water. The mixture works its magic to loosen gunk and leave your drains smelling fresh.

We have a member of our family that likes to wash things that shouldn’t be washed down the kitchen sink…I’m looking at you. This solution comes in handy for us every few weeks to save my kitchen drain from its doom.

Scrub Greasy Pots and Pans

Mix a paste and apply to pots and pans. The texture of the borax is abrasive enough to lift burnt-on foods or greasy gunk but not harsh enough to ruin your pots.

A borax scrubber helps degrease dishes too. I’m notorious for leaving greasy pans to soak for extended periods of time.

Then all it takes is a few swipes with my borax scrubber to lift away baked-on grease.

Presoak Set-In Laundry Stains

Teenage boys’ clothes seem to attract every conceivable food and beverage. But rather than consigning a stained shirt to the rag pile, try soaking it in a solution of warm water and borax to loosen stains, especially protein-based or food-related.

Then toss them into a normal wash. Stains come out noticeably more easily, saving shirts destined for the rag pile.

Clean Walls and Painted Surfaces

Mix a batch of borax solution. Dip a nearly-dry, soft cloth into the solution.

Then wring out so it’s barely damp. Then use this dampened cloth to wipe walls, lifting away scuff marks and smudges, dirt, and fingerprints.

Afterwards, give walls another wipe-down with a clean, damp cloth. We used this method to wipe away handprints at various heights left by our teenagers on our stairway wall.

Instead of resorting to painting, we used borax to remove the handprints with ease.

Freshen Outdoor Furniture

Dissolve borax in a bucket of water. Use this solution to wash resin or plastic patio furniture.

This solution will lift away pollen, dirt, grime and the gray film left by a long, harsh winter. Then your patio will be ready for spring and summer.

Make a Roach and Ant Bait

Combine borax and sugar. Keep out of reach of children and pets, such as under the sink or behind an appliance.

Then leave out to eliminate pesky roaches or ants. We used this method to eliminate pesky ants without risking curious nibbles from our goldendoodle.

Clean and Deodorize the Diaper or Trash Pail

Mix up some borax solution. Then use to soak a rag.

Wipe down your trash can or diaper pail. Then dry and replace a new trash bag.

Persistent odors are lifted away, leaving your trash cans free of stink, even if you’ve given it a quick rinse.

Use to eliminate odors from trash cans and diaper pails. It seems to me like diapers were invented to test mothers’ resolve.

Borax came through during those trying days when nothing else would eliminate the stink. Use it now when the wet paper towel application fails to mask the kitchen trash bin’s funky aroma.

Remove Stains from Cookware and Pyrex

Apply the paste to stains on dishes, scrub, and wash. This will remove stains that nothing else seems to lift from your favorite ceramic dishware.

I’ve been able to rescue Pyrex glass bakeware using this trick when stains become too stubborn. You can’t beat the satisfaction of removing those pesky brown stains.

Deodorize the Refrigerator

Mix a mild solution with borax and use it to wipe out the refrigerator. This will remove the mystery food item’s stench that you’re sure will be lurking somewhere in there.

Or, maybe there’s a spill you can’t find and you know there’s something rotten somewhere. Whatever it is, borax will remove that funky smell.

Just make sure you give your fridge a good rinse since you eat food from your refrigerator.

Degrease the Stovetop and Range Hood

Apply the paste to greasy areas. Allow it to sit for one minute, then wipe away.

Even range hoods get a film of grease on them. Borax removes that stubborn layer of grease without emitting harsh fumes.

Clean Tile Floors

Add a few tablespoons of borax to a bucket of warm water. Use to mop tile floors that need more than just a wetting down to really clean them.

Borax is not safe to use on all types of flooring. Be careful to avoid using this on unsealed wood floors and natural stone.

Clear Hard Water From Glass Shower Doors

Apply borax paste to glass shower doors. Rinse away.

Buff dry. Hard water leaves behind an ugly film that makes shower doors look old.

Borax will cut through that film leaving your shower looking better than ever.

When we got this house, our glass shower door was terribly cloudy. I used borax and it’s as clear as day now.

This also helps me see whether or not my kids got all of the soap off the walls…

Clean the Washing Machine

Who knew your washer needed a deep clean too?! Run half a cup of borax in a hot, empty cycle to eliminate residue and odors.

Since I noticed my washer had gotten a little smelly/musty (guilty!), I’ve been running borax through the washer periodically.

Remove Sticky Residue and Grime

Create a paste from borax and a little bit of water to get sticky residue or buildup off of surfaces.

I used borax on our kitchen cabinet handles, the most-touched part of the cabinet, especially around the stove. There’s so much gunky buildup from all of our cooking.

When I cleaned it off, I was shocked. I thought that dark color was the stain of the wood, but that was just years of built-up filth!!

Who knew?!

Freshen Pet Bedding

Wash pet items with borax to eliminate pet-related odors from fabrics. Either soak them in the borax/water mixture before washing or add some directly to the washer.

Just make sure to rinse them REALLY well so no borax is left behind for your fur-baby to lay on.

Gigi’s bed reeks. As in fills-the-entire-bathroom-and-stinks-the-next-day reeks.

Washing with detergent will eliminate the stench for a day or two, but adding borax and giving her bed a borax bath first has been a life-saver for us.

Brighten Dingy Towels and Linens

If you’ve got old, dingy linens/towels, soak them overnight in a bathtub with hot water and borax before washing. This will eliminate any buildup, musty odors and help them appear whiter and feel softer.

We always thought our towels stank and got stiff/gray-ish because they were getting old. I would replace them once a year, but I decided to try soaking them first.

It worked like a charm. I’m still using the same towels from over a year ago and they’re not even close to needing replaced.

Borax is definitely worth keeping on hand, especially in a hectic, messy, crazy, wonderful family like ours.

One of my favorite new (well not really new but new to me) cleaning supplies is Borax. It’s super versatile and inexpensive.

Use it as Laundry Booster & Toilet Bowl Cleaner. This basic mineral is so simple, yet incredibly effective.

The box with the mule team on it has graced cleaning routines for grandmothers for over 100 years! One box will take the place of a lot of single-use products.

CAUTION: Handle with caution. Make sure to store in a safe place from little fingers and small pets.

Wash anything that has come into contact with it if it pertains to food. It’s an excellent product that will take the power of your laundry a notch up (add it with your regular detergent) and bring new life back into those not so white towels/linens, scrub, odor removal, mold removal.

Common Questions About Cleaning With Borax

Is borax okay to clean with? And why does everyone keep saying you can’t use it anymore?

Yes, Borax is a chemical. It’s not food grade (meaning, if ingested, it’s not good for you), can irritate the skin, shouldn’t be inhaled, etc.

However, it’s perfectly fine to use Borax as a household cleaner or laundry booster as long as some common-sense rules are followed, namely: wear gloves when necessary, make sure to give items a thorough rinse if they’re going to come into contact with food, make sure there’s no residue on things that kids/pets might come into contact with (and subsequently lick), etc.

Can you mix borax and Dawn dish soap?

Yes. A common method of creating laundry presoaks and homemade cleaning pastes is to mix borax with some Dawn dish soap.

Dawn dissolves grease while borax helps remove stains and soften fabrics. Mix in warm water, label the solution, and keep out of reach of children and pets.

What should you never mix with borax?

Do not mix borax with bleach. Also, avoid using it with any other acidic cleaners such as vinegar.

You need to avoid acids if you want to get the most out of the cleaning power of borax since acids will deactivate borax. It’s best to use borax by itself, in warm water.

What stains does borax remove?

Borax can help remove stains caused by grease, oil and protein-based stains like wine, blood, food and sweat. Make a paste of borax and water, or use borax as a soak before washing.

Rub paste into the stain, allow it to sit. Wash or rinse.

What bugs does borax get rid of?

To eliminate ant or cockroach infestations, combine borax with a sweet substance like sugar to create bait and position it in areas that are inaccessible to kids or animals, such as behind or underneath your appliances.