What is Borax?

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What is Borax?
Borax is a term used to describe any boron compound like sodium borate. It is the English translation of the Persian word ‘burak’. Borax is a natural mineral compound and today, it exists within every home as an ingredient in many of our household materials.

Borax is used in the mass production of detergents because of its good cleaning properties. It is found in a powdery and crystallized form. In addition to detergents, borax is also an ingredient found in many cosmetics. The mixture of Borax with other chemicals by manufacturing plants, commonly produce insecticides to kill ants, cockroaches, mosquitoes, and fleas.

Borax is also a common substance used to make vases, ceramic plates, and glass windowpanes. It is globally used as a food additive to reduce its spoilage rate, except for in the United States and a few other countries. At one time mercury was the preferred technique used for extracting gold in smaller mining facilities. However, in recent years, borax has replaced the use of mercury.

Outside of residential use, borax is used to treat thrushes in the hooves of horses and is considered a good anti-fungal compound. Another common use for borax is to lower the melting point of metals making it easier to solder. Low dosage of this compound can be used as a fertilizer.

Borax is non-toxic, but is not guaranteed to produce zero side effects on the human body. There are claims that this compound causes discomfort in the respiratory system and irritation in the skin. Substantial dosage of Borax leads to nausea, pains in the abdominal area, and seizures. Infertility or abnormalities to an unborn child may also occur if the patient is not careful enough in dealing with this compound. There are no reports of deaths possibly caused by Borax. However, research studies show that an extremely high dosage of this compound is enough to cause death.

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