How to Use Borax in Your Laundry for a Fresh Load

How to Use Borax to Boost Detergent Cleaning Results

1. Add to Each Laundry Load

   Less expensive liquid laundry detergents are often mainly water and do not contain sufficient active ingredients to leave freshly-washed clothes clean. Add one-half cup of borax to each load to boost the cleaning power of your detergent.

   The dry powder should be added directly to the washer drum in a front or top-loading washer before adding the dirty laundry.

How to Use Borax to Whiten Dingy Laundry

When borax is added to water, it converts some molecules in the water to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), a mild oxidizing or bleaching agent. Just as other oxygen-based bleaches, hydrogen peroxide breaks down safely into water and oxygen.

1. Use as a Presoak

   To whiten dingy washable items, add one-half cup of borax for every gallon of water. Add the white clothes and allow them to soak for at least one hour (longer is better). The clothes should then be washed as usual.

2. Boost the Performance of Chlorine Bleach

   Chlorine bleach is added to the washer from the automatic dispenser about five minutes after the wash cycle begins. It is safe to add borax at the beginning of the wash cycle with the detergent when also using chlorine bleach.

3. Reduce Residue Left in Fabrics

   The borates in borax help to keep detergent dispersed throughout the wash water in each load, so it's more likely to rinse out. Getting rid of residue left in fabrics leaves them whiter, brighter, and softer to the touch.

   How to Use Borax to Improve Water Quality

   Some areas of the country have acidic or hard water that causes problems in the laundry room. Adding borax to a laundry routine can help improve water quality.

4. Improve Acidic Water

   Borax has a high pH of about 9.24. When you add one-half cup per load of laundry to water, it changes the pH to around 8 (a neutral pH is 7). This slightly alkaline pH is ideal for cleaning. Since borax acts as a buffering agent, it helps to keep the water at this pH, even after detergent or other cleaners are added. For you, this means cleaner clothes.

5. Soften Hard Water

   Hard water is found in 85 percent of America and is defined as having high levels of calcium and magnesium; the greater the concentration of these minerals, the harder the water.

   Hard water prevents laundry detergent from working as it should leaving your clothes gray and dingy. Since borax contains sodium, adding one-half cup per load helps to soften the wash water, so your clothes come out looking great. 

How to Use Borax as a Stain and Odor Remover

Borax is an effective stain remover for both food and grease stains. It also inhibits the growth of fungi, mold, and bacteria, which can cause strong odors in clothes.

1. Use a Spot Stain Remover for Washable Clothes

   Mix one tablespoon of borax with two tablespoons of water. Spread the paste on the stained area of the garment. Let it work for at least 30 minutes before washing as usual.

2. Neutralize Odor in Washable Laundry

   To remove offensive smells like mold, sweat, and cooking odors from clothes, create a presoak solution of one-fourth cup of borax per gallon of water. Submerge the stinky laundry and let it soak for at least 30 minutes. Wash as usual.
   

   Tip

   Adding one-half cup of borax to the washer before adding every load of smelly laundry will help reduce odors during each wash.