Borax is a much-loved household cleaning product for many. It has been used for more than 500 years for doing the laundry, and is favored for being a naturally-occurring mineral that is completely harmless to the environment and safe to use.

You might think you’ve exhausted your uses of Borax – but you definitely haven’t! We’ve covered 12 of the most inventive uses of Borax in the list below:

1. Getting rid of fridge smells

No baking soda to hand? Borax can be used in exactly the same way to get rid of bad smells in your fridge. Just mix a tablespoon of Borax into a quart of warm water. Place it on a shelf in your fridge and leave it to get to work.

2. Adding sparkle to your fine china

When the guests come round, the fancy china comes out. Nobody needs to know you only save it for the special occasions. If it’s looking a bit dull, wash it in warm water with 1/2 a cup of Borax.

3. Making homemade silly putty

Kids love silly putty, but it turns kinda gross quickly, and you have to eventually throw it away. If you don’t want to keep spending money on the commercial stuff, you can easily make your own with Borax. You just need ¼-cup warm water, 1½ teaspoons of Borax, ¼-cup white glue, and one teaspoon of paint or food coloring. Mix together in a bowl, and voila! Silly putty for free.

4. Cleaning bathroom tiles

Borax is a great grime remover, especially in the bathroom. Sprinkle it onto a damp sponge, then get scrubbing in your dirty areas. Borax can even clean grout between tiles.

5. Cleaning mattresses

Accidents happen, especially when it comes to children and beds. Don’t throw out their whole mattress if they wet the bed – just dampen the mattress and sprinkle borax onto a damp cloth before wiping and leaving to dry.

6. Killing fleas

Borax is a natural flee-killer that many people don’t know about. Sprinkle Borax onto your pet’s toys and bedding. Make sure to sprinkle some onto your carpets, and anywhere else you think fleas may be living, too. This should prevent your infestation from worsening.

7. Making a natural air freshener

As Borax is good at absorbing smells, it makes a great natural air freshener for everyday use. Mix 1/2 cup water with 1 pint of water, then spray the solution around your home. You can add an essential oil for fragrance if you like.

8. Removing sticky adhesive

Is there anything worse than when you peel a sticker off something and it leaves behind its glue? Luckily, all it takes is a bit of Borax to clear it up. Mix a ½-cup of Borax with ¼-cup of warm water, then dip a rag into it and scrub at the glue.

9. Cleaning toilets

Spraying a toilet with something that smells nice is a short-term odor-masking solution. Cleaning it with Borax is for the long-term. Just sprinkle some powder into the toilet, then scrub with a scrubbing brush.

10. Warding off mice

No-one wants a mouse problem in their home, and using Borax is a safe, kind method of keeping the rodents away. Just sprinkle some Borax around the holes and gaps in your home. Mice don’t like getting Borax on their feet, so they won’t pass through that area.

11. Making bouncy balls

If your kids’ tennis balls have all mysteriously disappeared into the neighbor’s garden, you can make them a few replacements with Borax. Mix 1 tablespoon of Borax with 1/2 cup warm water, then add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, 2 tablespoons of white glue, and a drop of food coloring. Mix for 10 minutes, then pull out and roll into a ball.

12. Cleaning combs and brushes

Nobody really stops to think how dirty their hairbrush might be after years of use. A bit of Borax will help to keep things clean and fresh. Just take the hair out of your brush, then submerge it in a sink containing water, a ¼-cup Borax, and a tablespoon of dish soap. Leave for about an hour.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Source: Shareably