Borax used to be a very popular cleaning agent, used for everything from washing the laundry to making the toilet bowl extra sparkly. It is still often recommended by bloggers and news outlets, but there is a catch: you can no longer buy borax in the UK. The chemical compound of Borax’s common substitute, Sodium Sesquicarbonate, is very similar to that of Borax itself, which makes it a great cleaning product.

Instead, you can either choose a less harsh cleaning agent, or get yourself a Borax Substitute. What happened to borax, and is it really that dangerous? Can You Buy Borax in the UK?The U.S. Boraxsupply mostly comes from Death Valley and has been a staple for over 145 years in the U.S. Yet, the first known deposits are credited as coming from Tibet where the substance has been used for over 4,000 years. What Is The Difference Between Borax And Boric Acid? Baking soda and vinegar are a great combination you can use all around your home to get rid of stains, limescale, smells and mould. It is however less powerful than borax substitute, so you may need to let it sit for a bit longer, or scrub a little harder. Nippon Ant Killer Powder is one of the most well-known products for killing ants both inside the home and out. Not to be left out, sodium tetraborate decahydrate is the name for borax under the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). Because we needed a fourth name for it—thank you, chemists! Where Does Borax Come From?

However, a sparkling clean house or pool is no substitute for a fully functioning liver, a working reproductive system, and good health! One of the better-known brands which produce a borax substitute is Dri-Pak. This company is based in Derbyshire and is a family-run business which has been going since the 1960s, supplying a range of household goods to the many across the UK. By the 1980s, with the continued improvements and new formulations, as well as the introduction of liquid detergents, the use of borax started to decline quite a bit. By the 1990s, borax had outlived its heyday as the up-and-coming generation seemed to have skipped adding it to their laundry altogether. Is Borax A “Green” Product? You may decide that certain products are more suitable for use indoors or out – for example, bait traps are a lot less messy than spreading powder through the home. When to Apply Ant Killer Keep the borax out of reach of children and pets so they are not able to ingest large amounts of it.Finding the nest, and treating it directly, is the most effective way to cause problems caused by carpenter ants.

Kitchen Mixer Taps Pull-Out Kitchen Taps Low Pressure Kitchen Taps Filtered Water Taps Boiling Water Kitchen Taps Cold Water Kitchen Taps Filters & Accessories Liver toxicity is a big problem, as the liver is our largest filtering organ, responsible for getting rid of toxins, so you don’t really want to be using any products that can adversely affect it. Washing soda and Bicarb make a great substitute for Borax – these compounds contain similar cleaning agents, without the added health risks associated with Borax itself.There is water bound up in the crystal compound, which makes it cold-water-soluble. Sodium carbonate is not water-soluble, meaning it cakes up when exposed to water. Have you ever found that your laundry product hasn’t dissolved properly? That’s probably why! If you live in another country that is not the UK or part of the EU, you should be able to buy Borax relatively easily, from a hardware store or even from larger supermarkets. In the U.S., the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) takes an “innocent until proven guilty” approach where chemicals are assumed safe (and allowed to enter the marketplace) until they are proven otherwise. Soda crystals and borax are soft, white powders; they have similar properties but are not the same substance. Soda crystals are generally considered less harmful to human health.