Borax, also known as sodium tetraborate, is a naturally occurring mineral widely recognized as a cleaning product. For decades, it has been a staple in households for various purposes. While marketed as a green product due to the absence of phosphates and chlorine, with its main ingredient being sodium tetraborate, it's crucial to understand both its uses and potential side effects to ensure safe handling. This article delves into the multifaceted applications of borax, its associated health risks, and essential safety measures to consider.
What is Borax?
Borax (Na2B4O7(H2O)10) is a powdery white substance, also known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate. It is a salt of boric acid. Powdered borax consists of soft white crystals that dissolve in water. It is a combination of boron, sodium, and oxygen. Borax is often found in dry lake beds in places like California’s Death Valley, where the water evaporated and left behind deposits of minerals.
Common Uses of Borax
Borax has a wide array of applications, primarily centered around cleaning and household maintenance. Some of its most common uses include:
- Cleaning agent: Borax is effective at removing stains, mold, and mildew from various surfaces around the house.
- Insecticide: It can be used to kill insects such as ants. Boric acid kills insects by targeting their stomachs and nervous systems.
- Laundry booster: Borax enhances the effectiveness of laundry detergents, helping to whiten clothes and remove dirt.
- Water softening: It can neutralize odors and soften hard water. Borax is a chemical water softener that can be directly added to the laundry.
- Cosmetic products: In some cosmetic products, borax acts as an emulsifier, buffering agent, or preservative in moisturizing products, creams, shampoos, gels, lotions, bath bombs, scrubs, and bath salts. Manufacturers sometimes use borax to prevent or slow bacterial growth in cosmetic products, such as shampoo, makeups, and body soaps.
- Slime making: Borax is an ingredient combined with glue and water to make “slime,” a gooey material that many kids enjoy playing with.
- Fire retardant: Borax can also act as a fire retardant.
- Other household products: Many household products contain borax, including soaps and detergents. Borax is also an ingredient in enamel glazes, glass, pottery, and ceramics, and is used to make buffer solutions.
Borax vs. Boric Acid
It's important to differentiate between borax (sodium tetraborate) and boric acid, as they are sometimes confused. Boric acid, while having similar properties, is primarily used as a pesticide and is more toxic than sodium tetraborate. Boric acid is made from the same chemical compound as borax and even looks like it. But while borax is commonly used in cleaning, boric acid is mainly used as a pesticide. Boric acid kills insects by targeting their stomachs and nervous systems. Both borax and boric acid in loose powder form can be harmful if swallowed, particularly for children, and can also irritate your skin.
Boric acid is available in several forms, including wettable powders, dusts, rods, or baits, and can be used indoors in places like homes, hospitals and commercial buildings, as well as in outdoor areas, sewage systems, and on food and non-food crops.
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Potential Health Risks and Side Effects
Despite its natural origins and widespread use, borax is not without potential health risks. It's crucial to be aware of these risks and take necessary precautions when handling borax-containing products. The National Institutes of Health has associated borax with several adverse health effects in humans, including irritation, hormone issues, toxicity, and in extreme cases, death.
Irritation
Borax exposure can cause irritation to the skin and eyes, as well as to the respiratory system if inhaled. Some individuals have reported burns from skin exposure to borax. Signs of borax exposure may include:
- Skin rash
- Mouth infection
- Vomiting
- Eye irritation
- Nausea
- Respiratory problems
Hormone Problems
High exposure to borax and boric acid is believed to disrupt the body’s hormones. They may especially impair male reproduction, reducing sperm count and libido. Scientists found that rats fed borax experienced atrophy of their testes, or reproductive organs. In women, borax may reduce ovulation and fertility. High-level exposures to borax in pregnant lab animals crossed the placenta border, harming fetal development and causing low birth weight.
Toxicity
Borax is quickly broken down by the body if ingested and inhaled. However, scientists have linked borax exposure, even from cosmetics, to organ damage and serious poisonings.
Borax has the toxicity to humans, including reproductive and developmental toxicity, neurotoxicity, and nephrotoxicity. The degree of borax toxicity depends on the dose or concentration that the human received. The most sensitive endpoints of borax toxicity is developmental and reproductive toxicity. Borax causes irritation of skin and respiratory tract. The gastrointestinal tract, skin, vascular system and brain are the principal organs and tissues affected. It causes nausea, persistant vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, erythematous and exfoliative rash, unconsciousness, depression and renal failure.
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Risk to Children
Children are particularly vulnerable to borax toxicity. Ingesting as little as 5 to 10 grams of borax can lead to severe vomiting, diarrhea, shock, and death in young children. Exposure can occur through hand-to-mouth transfer, especially if children play with slime made with borax or crawl around floors where pesticides have been applied. According to the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, as little as 5 grams of borax can be harmful and potentially fatal if a child ingests it. Some potential risks if a child ingests borax include:
- Diarrhea
- Shock
- Vomiting
- Death
Fatal Doses
Fatal doses of borax exposure for adults are estimated at 10 to 25 grams.
Effects on Genetic Material and Immune Cells
Borax has been found to have effects on immune cell proliferation and can induce sister chromatid exchange in human chromosomes. Studies have shown that borax can decrease immune cell proliferation (lymphocyte proliferation) and induce sister chromatid exchange in human chromosomes. The borax concentration of 0.6 mg/ml had the most effectiveness to the lymphocyte proliferation and had the highest cytotoxicity index (CI).
Safe Handling and Precautions
To minimize the risks associated with borax exposure, it's essential to follow these safety tips:
- Avoid cosmetic products containing borax: Check the labels of cosmetic products and avoid those that list borax as an ingredient.
- Minimize inhalation: Avoid inhaling borax powder by keeping it a safe distance from your mouth.
- Use gloves: Wear gloves when using borax as a cleaning agent around the house.
- Rinse thoroughly: Fully rinse the area you’re cleaning with water after washing with borax.
- Wash hands: Wash your hands with soap after using borax if it gets on your skin.
- Rinse clothes: Make sure clothes washed with borax are fully rinsed before drying and wearing them.
- Keep out of reach of children: Never leave borax in the reach of children, whether it’s in a box or used around the house. Don’t use borax to make slime with kids. People with children should avoid using pesticides, cosmetics, or other products containing borax.
- Avoid use around pets: Avoid using borax and boric acid products around pets, including using borax as a pesticide on the ground, where pets may be commonly exposed. In addition, a person should store products containing borax away from where pets can access them.
- Protect your face: Keep borax away from your eyes, nose, and mouth to minimize your risks of exposure when using as a cleaning product.
- Cover wounds: Cover any open wounds on your hands when using borax.
- Read labels: Pay attention to Aid instructions on the product label carefully.
- Use in well-ventilated areas: Use borax in a well-ventilated area.
- Change contaminated clothing: Change your clothes if borax touches it. Remove contaminated clothing.
Safer Alternatives to Borax
Given the potential health risks, consider replacing borax-containing products with safer alternatives whenever possible. The Environmental Working Group recommends looking for the Green Seal or EcoLogo when purchasing cleaning and cosmetic products. Some effective and safe alternatives include:
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- Vinegar: A mixture of equal parts water and vinegar can be used to clean sinks, counters, and floors in the kitchen and bathroom.
- Lemon: Effective for cleaning soap scum and hard water stains, as well as polishing brass and copper. A paste of lemon and baking soda can be used to clean dishes and scrub surfaces. Olive oil mixed with lemon juice makes a good polish for hardwood furniture.
- Baking soda: Makes a good nonabrasive cleanser, as well as a deodorizer for garbage cans, refrigerators, and laundry. It can also be used to clean teeth and boost your laundry.
Boron in Diet
Boron is a chemical element contained in borax, and some believe it is an essential nutrient for humans. Boron is widely available in plant foods, being an essential nutrient for plants. If you'd like to up your boron intake, there are much safer ways to do it than adding a laundry product to your glass of water.
Some foods with their boron content include:
- ½ cup of avocado: 1.07 milligrams
- One medium apple: 0.66 mg
- One medium pear: 0.5 mg
- 1 ounce (28 g) of peanuts: 0.48 mg
- ½ cup of grapes: 0.37 mg
- One medium orange: 0.37 mg
- ½ cup of lima beans: 0.35 mg
- ½ cup of boiled broccoli: 0.2 mg
Boron naturally occurs in water, too - around 0.1 mg per liter.