32 Amazing Borax Hacks To Keep Your Home Fresh & Clean
Looking for cheap and effective ways to clean your entire house without much elbow grease?
Then you are going to love these 32 Borax Cleaning Hacks!
From unclogging of drain, to cleaning the toilet, Borax shines in numerous ways, making them a must have around the house.
What is Borax?
Borax is a white mineral that is produced from several salt deposits.
Also known as sodium tetraborate, borax is an important ingredient in many cleaning mixtures and solutions.
Although Borax is made from naturally occurring mineral, but it does not mean it is 100% safe, so we should take care when using.
Let's get to the juicy part on how you can use Borax as a cleaner around the house.
Skip Ahead If You See Something You Like to Read First:
- 1. Effective Stove Top Cleaner
- 2. Kill Mold And Mildew
- 3. Toilet Cleaning
- 4. Unclog the Drain
- 5. Whiten Grout Lines
- 6. Miracle Floor Cleaner
- 7. The Best Bathroom Tiles Cleaner
- 8. Deodorize Garbage Can
- 9. Cheap Effective Laundry Detergent
- 10. Make An All Purpose Cleaner
- 11. Powerful Rust Removal
- 12. Sterilize & Clean Mattress
- 13. Goo Remover
- 14. Powerful Ant Killer
- 15. Sterilize Brushes & combs
- 16. Cleans & Sterilize Linens
- 17. Revive Old Dish Cloth
- 18. Clean the Sink
- 19. Powerful Deodorant For Your Fridge
- 20. Carpet Deodorizer
- 21. Removes Pencil & Crayon Marks From Wall
- 22. Restore Old China Dish Set
- 23. Kills Weed
- 24. An Amazing Glass Cleaner
- 25. Rusty Bathtub and Faucet?
- 26. Create Your Own Dish Soap
- 27. Remove Stubborn Clothes Stains
- 28. Dissolve Hard Water
- 29. Freshen Up Your Humidifier
- 30. Cleaning Porcelain Sinks
- 31. Clean Patio Furniture
- 32. Eliminate Pee Stench
1. Effective Stove Top Cleaner
Greasy stove top? Use a Borax cleaning solution!
Start by mixing 1 tbsp of borax with 1 cup of warm water and then add 1 tsp of dawn dish soap.
Dip a sponge or microfiber cloth into the solution and spread over the stove top.
In some case, you might want to let it sit for 30 minutes for the food particles to loosen before scrubbing.
Why do all the manual scrubbing when you can attach a cleaning brush onto a drill and push a button?
That's precisely what this drill brush set is all about!
Say goodbye to elbow grease and power your way through stubborn stains, dirt and grime effortlessly with the push of a button!
2. Kill Mold And Mildew
Create a mixture by combining a liter of water and 1 cup of borax into a spray bottle.
To remove mold or mildew, spray and saturate the affected area and leave it for 2 hours.
Use a little scrubbing to get the mold off then rinse with water.
3. Toilet Cleaning
To begin, add 1 cup of borax into your toilet bowl before going to bed.
In the morning, you want to brush all corners of the toilet bowl just like you normally would with a cleaner.
Allow the mixture to sit for another day before flushing. You'll get clean and odorless toilet bowl just like that!
You can even ditch your toilet cleaners because borax is probably cheaper and more effective.
4. Unclog the Drain
Clogged drains are huge headache, but borax will get it unclogged fast
To begin, boil a kettle of water.
Add 1/2 cup of borax directly into the clogged drain then add 1 tbsp of white vinegar over it.
Allow the mixture to sit for 2 minutes before pouring 1 quart of boiling water.
After 20 minutes, run the tap to clear the drain
Borax, when used with hot water dissolves the gunk while vinegar helps with disinfecting.
5. Whiten Grout Lines
To start, create a a mixture with 1/3 borax and 1/2 cup of baking soda and hot water.
With an old toothbrush, apply this mixture or paste onto the grout and let it sit for 10 minutes.
Scrub the grout with an old toothbrush and watch the dirt drop off like magic!
you may use a microfiber cloth for cleaning grout lines if you don't have old toothbrush.
Here's a stiff and narrow scrub brush designed for cleaning the windowsills, grout line and narrow space.
It comes with a built in scraper at the ends to trap and pick up debris trapped in the corners.
A great handy tool that is there when you need it.
6. Miracle Floor Cleaner
The next time you mop the floor, create a floor cleaning mixture as follows
Combine half a cup of borax, a gallon of boiling hot water with 1 tsp of dawn dish soap in a bucket
Use this special mix to mop the floor to get rid of food stains, scent and repels insects.
This is also a fantastic way to deodorize and disinfect your floor.
Want to make your cleaning experience much easier? This spin mop eliminates the manual work of squeezing water out of your mop!
Just place the mop head into the wringer, step on the pedal until you get the desired moisture before mopping.
It's special microfiber cloth is great at picking up everything on the floor so pebbles, pet hair and dirt are not a problem.
7. The Best Bathroom Tiles Cleaner
Borax is the best cleaner for your bathroom tiles period.
It dissolves even the toughest stains, leaving your tiles squeaking clean.
Make a spray by combining 1 cup of borax into 2 cups of warm water and 2 tsp of dawn dish soap.
Spray the mixture onto your bathroom tiles and let it sit for 5-10 minutes before scrubbing with a scour pad scrubbing brush and rinse.
8. Deodorize Garbage Can
Does your garbage can smell like death? Tried washing it again and again but the smell is still there?
Give your trash can a rinse with Borax!
Combine 1 cup of Borax with 2 cups of water and pour it into the garbage can, and swoosh it around.
Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes before rinsing.
Dry under the sink and just like magic the smell will disappear!
9. Cheap Effective Laundry Detergent
If you prefer making your own laundry detergent, then you should give borax a try.
They can be used alone or as a laundry booster
Borax will whiten, deodorize and clean your clothes, towels, bedding as effectively or better than commercial laundry cleaners.
10. Make An All Purpose Cleaner
With it's amazing cleaning properties, Borax is an excellent ingredient for an all purpose cleaner.
To make a spray, combine 6 tbsp of borax with 2 cups of white vinegar and 3 cups of warm water.
The combination of borax and vinegar will ease the any type of cleaning making it the king of all purpose spray.
Use this spray for your kitchen, stove, countertop, tables, fabric, remember to avoid marble material because vinegar is acidic.
11. Powerful Rust Removal
Rust will weaken any piece of metal and can be expensive to treat using polish and paint.
Instead here's what you can do
Combine 1 tbsp of borax with 1 tsp lemon juice in a quart of warm water.
Soak the rusty metal in the solution for 4 hours before scrubbing off.
If the rust is stubborn
Create a paste with lemon juice and borax and apply to the rusty area.
Borax and rust do not go together because Borax will react with rust and remove it.
12. Sterilize & Clean Mattress
When cleaning mattress, take care to not drench your mattress.
Create a spray with 1/3 cup of borax with 2 cups of warm water and drops of lemon essential oil for its antibacterial properties.
Spray all corners of your mattress taking care to not saturate any parts of the mattress.
This mixture kills hidden bed bugs, mites while keeping your bed smelling fresh and clean.
Finally, you want to end off with a vacuum to suck out any remaining dirt
Here's an ergonomic frosted spray bottle that delivers super fine mist without leakage!
Perfect for DIY cleaning sprays and looking pretty too!
13. Goo Remover
Have children at home? Then it's probably quite common to find sticky glue and paste all over the place.
But fret not!
You can create your own goo remover by combining 1 part borax with 2 parts water into a spray.
Spray over the gooey areas and clean with a scrub or sponge.
14. Powerful Ant Killer
If you have annoying ants in your home, then you can create a borax sugar trap.
Simpy mix equal parts of borax and sugar then sprinkle along the ant's path
Alternatively you can add tiny cotton balls for them to bring back to their ants nest, killing them all.
15. Sterilize Brushes & combs
Skip the hard work of manually scrubbing away at brushes and combs.
Here's what to do instead,
Fill a mug with 2 tbsp of borax, 4 drops of dawn dish soap and warm water then soak your combs and brushes in it for about an hour.
Rinse, and your combs or brushes will be cleaned and ready to be used.
16. Cleans & Sterilize Linens
To remove mildew and mustiness from your pillowcases and linen, simply follow these steps.
Remove all linens from your pillow and mattress
Place them into the washer, add warm water and half cup of borax.
Allow the linens to soak for 1-2 hours before washing in the machine.
17. Revive Old Dish Cloth
Most of us throw out dishcloth away after they get all greasy and musty.
Here's how Borax can save your cloth so you don't have to waste them away
First, boil a gallon of water
Add a a cup of borax to a pot of boiling water then add the dishcloth.
Soak for 2 minutes before add a few drops dawn dish soap to the mix.
Soak for another 20 minutes before rinsing and sundry.
Your dish cloth should be as good as new and don't have to be thrown away!
18. Clean the Sink
Do you have stains on your sink?
If so grab a cup of borax and a quarter cup of lemon juice and combine into a solution.
Spread the mixture onto the affected area or simply spread across the sink and scrub.
Once cleaned, rinse and wipe dry with a microfiber cloth for the best results.
19. Powerful Deodorant For Your Fridge
If you happen to run out of baking soda and need an alternative to clean the refrigerator, you can use borax and here's how:
Create a solution with a cup of warm water and 1 tbsp of borax
Dip your microfiber cloth or sponge in the mixture and use it to wipe down the interiors of your fridge.
You'll be able to remove any rotten or funny smell just like that.
20. Carpet Deodorizer
Borax is an amazing carpet deodorizer that works better than commercial carpet deodorizers.
Mix 1 part Borax into 1 part baking soda and add a couple drops of peppermint essential oil.
Sprinkle the mixture over your carpet and allow it to sit for an hour before vacuuming it off your carpet.
This will remove odors, destroy germs, dust mites and harmful microbes.
21. Removes Pencil & Crayon Marks From Wall
If you have overly creative kids who loves to doodle on the wall, then all you need is some borax spray.
Combine 1 tbsp borax and 1 cup of warm water into a spray.
Spray affected areas and use a cloth to wipe off the pencil and crayon marks.
22. Restore Old China Dish Set
Make your china dishes shine again with borax!
Here's how
Soak your dishes in the sink filled with warm water and 1/2 cup of borax.
Let the dishes soak for 30 minutes before removing and rinsing.
Borax restores it's shine by simply removing the dirt.
23. Kills Weed
Destroy weeds in the concrete cracks and walkways with borax.
Simply sprinkle borax powder on the weed and add some water. Borax will surely kill the weeds.
Take care not to use borax in your garden as it will also kill your plants.
24. An Amazing Glass Cleaner
Combine 1 tbsp of borax and 1 cup of warm water into a spray bottle.
To use, spray on both sides of your windows or glass door and wipe it with a microfiber cloth on a rag.
Wipe dry with a squeegee or newspaper and you'll have clear shinny window in no time
Tired of regular squeegee that leaves streaks of water behind that is not comfortable to hold?
With this all in purpose squeegee, streak almost never happens because of it's innovative design that uses only the best materials.
25. Rusty Bathtub and Faucet?
Remember that i mentioned that rust and borax are enemies?
If your bathtub or faucet is rusty, here's what you can do
Add Borax to a damp cloth and use it to scrub away at the rusty areas of your bathtub.
Instead of filling up a sink with soapy water you can now quickly wash knives, bowls, and pans without taking more time and wasting water.
So easy to use, just fill with soap to clean and rinse. With magic dish wand you'll never go back to a normal sponge scraper now.
Plus, you also don’t have to use rubber gloves anymore and inserts are easy to replace.
26. Create Your Own Dish Soap
Want to make your own dish soap? Here's how
Combine 1 cup of borax with 1 cup of grated soap, 10 cups of hot water and 10 drops of lemon essential oil.
Add the soap to a dispenser.
27. Remove Stubborn Clothes Stains
If you have sporty kids or family member, then you'll surely find yourself washing heavily stained clothes.
So to clean up the awful mess, mix 1 tbsp of borax with 2 tbsp of water and apply onto the stained area.
Allow the paste to sit for 2 hours before scrubbing the stain away and adding to the laundry.
28. Dissolve Hard Water
If your water supply contains hard water then, you will find gunky build ups around your faucet and sinks.
So, instead of throwing your faucet away, you can restore it's shine by using borax.
To remove hard water stains, create a mixture of borax solution by combining 1 tbsp of borax and 2 tbsp of lemon.
Apply this to the faucet or sink before scrubbing and rinsing.
For more severe water stains, you might want to wrap paper towels around the faucet and soak with the same solution for hours before scrubbing
29. Freshen Up Your Humidifier
Humidifier starts to smell bad with time and need to be deodorized from time to time.
To do this, add 6 tbsp of borax and 3 quarts of water into the water tank of the humidifier.
Run the humidifier for about 30 minutes before emptying and rinsing with clean water.
Any musty smell from your humidifier will be gone and they will be smelling fresh and clean.
30. Cleaning Porcelain Sinks
Porcelain can get stained easily with frequent use.
To clean, make a paste with 1 cup of borax and quarter cup vinegar. Add more or less vinegar depending so that the paste isn't too watery.
With a sponge or microfiber cloth, rub the stain away with the paste and rinse with warm water.
31. Clean Patio Furniture
Instead of buying patio cleaners, you can use Borax as the cleaner.
You will need to combine 1 tsp of dawn dish soap and 1 tbsp of borax and 1 quart of water into a spray bottle.
Spray onto your patio furniture and wipe the dirt off with a microfiber cloth.
32. Eliminate Pee Stench
Having boys or pets at home means that you have to deal with the disgusting urine stench from time to time.
Urine stench does not go away quickly but with Borax, it does.
You can use the all purpose borax spray mentioned earlier in this post or simply wet the area with water and sprinkle it lots of borax.
Allow the spot to dry and clean the borax residue by vacuuming or wiping away.
Shop This Project
Here's our 3 in 1 squeegee broom that has the functionality of a squeegee, a broom and a carpet brush for pet hair.
It use hundreds of rubber bristles like a rake to pull the pet hair from the carpet pile and can be used as a regular broom for sweeping your entire home.
The back of the broom is a squeegee that can be used to dry the floor or your windows and give them a streak free look
Now It's Your turn
I truly hope, i have helped motivate you to do more cleaning with borax
Also,
Which borax cleaning hacks did you find most useful?
Let me know in the comments below
Please share this content or save on Pinterest if you find it helpful!
Thanks for reading
Hello! My name is Nancy, i’m an organization expert and i love everything planning, cleaning, staying organized and enjoy gardening in my backyard!
