Regarding Borax

[ironrite]

From time to time there has been discussions on Borax on the boards here. A couple of weeks ago had to make a quick trip to the San Francisco area. While driving back I took a quick shot of this and almost missed the sign. It's on the turn off near Boron California.

 

[ironrite]

And there is a museum there. Kinda crummy photo from a fast car and a cheap camera phone. Sign for the Boron Museum and Twenty Mule Team. Did anybody else have the little model of the Twenty Mule Team? My mom used Borax in her washing brew and used to send away for little model kits of the twenty mule teams and carts.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I remember Death Valley Days in syndication on TV because it would be on when my brother and I ate on TV trays watching anything but the news. Rosemary DeCamp would talk about 20 Mule Team Borax. I would always hope a washer would be shown during her ad so that I could try to identify it. It was really great if they showed one agitating. Someone, maybe The Old Ranger would talk about Boraxo powdered hand soap. I remember that the mule teams hauled water in to the miners and hauled the borax out. The dust probably was not healthy to breathe; hellish picture all the way around.

If any of you have seen or remember seeing those nursery sets with the glass containers with labels like "cotton balls" "swabs" or "pins" etc, there was usually an empty one labeled Boric Acid. As a child I asked about that and was told it was no longer used. I later found out that applying it to things like the circumcision wound or the healing navel area was responsible for killing babies because boron is a poison. Why the labels persisted on the jars for so long, I don't know. It has some bacteriostatic action from the residue which is left in clothes which were washed in it and that is how it reduces perspiration odors in garments while they are being worn.

 

[pekedogs]

I don't live too very far from Boron and will be moving even closer (California City) in the next two weeks. It is right out there in the middle of nowhere, to say the least.

 

[rp2813]

We used to drive through that area when on our way to visit my uncle in Phoenix. Lots of town names that screamed desolation.

I was never much of a "Death Valley Days" fan myself, but caught enough of it to immediately associate that series with 20 Mule Team Borax.

Didn't the old Richfield gas claim boron as an additive?

 

[whirlcool]

Boric Acid Kills things...

Boric Acid powder also makes a good roach killer. Just dump some behind your walls and the roaches will go away forever.
If you live in an apartment, it will get rid of your neighbors roaches too!

 

[MikeS]

"Borax is nature's sweetner for laundry." That's what Rosemary DeCamp said in the commercials on "Death Valley Days" and on the box of 20th Mule Team Borax. Prove it yourself with the sniff test. Take a sour dish cloth and soak it for a few moments in a borax and water solution. Now sniff. Not a trace of sourness. Prove it yourself next washday:
"Borax Sweet...Borax Sweet...Only Borax, Nature's Sweetner, Makes Your Laundry Borax Sweet!"

 

[polkanut]

Both of my grandmother's did, and my mom & I swear by borax for it's water softening and deodorizing abilities. Thanks for the reminder that I'm running low on my supply. Ronald Reagan was the host of and a performer on "Death Valley Days."

 

[sudsmaster]

Boric acid is still used as an antiseptic in topical use, such as for eye wash and contact lens solutions.

It can be fatal if injested, but a baby or child would have to consume about a tsp full of the powder. They aren't going to get anywhere near enough from a dilute solution being dabbed on a circumcision or umbilical wound. Kids that drink the dilute solution direct from bottle, that would be a problem.

I've been to Boron. About 40 years ago. I bet it hasn't changed much.

 

[launderess]

That Reminds Me

Have a huge case of vintage borax soap must start using.

L.

 

[laundryshark]

...And Look What I Found!...

From the Old Ranger himself.--Laundry Shark

 

[laundryshark]

...And from Ronald and Patty...

Here you go.--Laundry Shark

 

[sudsmaster]

I still use powdered Boraxo for cleaning my hands after garden/shop/auto work. It's effective and economical, and I prefer it to the various dedicated shop hand cleaner like Gojo.

 

[supersuds]

Boraxo is also pretty good for getting fountain pen ink stains off of fingers....ink stains being a problem for me, anyway. I doubt if anybody else uses a fountain pen!

 

[whirlcool]

Whenever I smell Boraxo, I think of an automotive repair shop. I guess the two just go together.

I used to use 20 Mule Team when washing dog beds, but since I have been using STPP, I haven't.

There used to be an Zinc Oxide ointment called Borofax that was really good for chapped lips. It literally cured them overnight.
But it disappeared from the market about 10 years ago. I thought it had Boric Acid in it, but after reading the label, it didn't.

 

[ironrite]

Everything old is new again

If any of you want model kits of the twenty mule team of your own, it appears you can buy them again through the link below. As I mentioned my mom got this kits. Either she or my older brother put them together and they resided on high shelves in my bedroom. It didn't take long in Phoenix's heat for the glue to come apart and the plastic to warp and they fell apart. These kits are ever the same odd looking colors. I just hope the plastic is better.

To those that have driven Route 58, it is an odd stretch of highway. From two lanes to divided and back again through the desert, with a stop light along the way. You don't want to get stuck there in the heat of the desert. The road bypasses Boron and there is a rather new bypass around the town of Mohave.

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www.furnacecreekresort.com

 

[dirtybuck]

As I have a tendency to wear thongs (the footwear, people, not the...) and sandals during the summer months, the bottom of my bathtub can get quite dirty and nasty looking due to my feet. I use a little bit of borax and powdered detergent to clean it, and it comes out looking nice and clean.

 

[imperial70]

When I do whites I add a 1/2 cup of borax to my washbasket (if I'm using liquid detergent). If I'm using Gain powder, then I pour the borax over the detergent in the dispenser drawer.

Hope I'm not poisoning myself.

 

[polkanut]

Imperial70,

You're definitely not poisoning yourself by using borax. You're actually increasing the cleaning and deodorizing power of your detergent. Borax aids in softening the water, and leaves a slight residue on clothing which helps neutralize any odors.