The Difference between Borax and Baking Soda
Thinking of cleaning your house? Got stubborn stains on your favorite cloth? I know, while looking for remedies, you found the two most popular options, borax, and baking soda. I remember the time when I was looking at my greasy and stained countertop, and was wondering, what material should I use? My investigative nature couldn’t hold me back from researching the difference between the two. So thought of sharing all the details here.
Where are you supposed to use Baking Soda and Borax?
From tackling stubborn stains to neutralizing odors, this humble kitchen staple has a host of surprising uses that will leave you amazed. So, let’s dive into the exciting world of cleaning with baking soda and discover how it can be your trusty sidekick in maintaining a spotless abode!
Kitchen Wizardry:
Say goodbye to grease and grime! Baking soda is a kitchen warrior that can effortlessly vanquish stubborn stains from your pots, pans, and stovetops. Simply mix baking soda with water, apply a paste to the soiled surfaces, and watch the magic unfold.
Bathroom Brilliance:
Wave goodbye to harsh chemical cleaners and say hello to the wonders of baking soda in your bathroom! This mighty powder can help you conquer soap scum, mildew, and hard water stains like a pro.
Carpet Charisma:
Don’t let those pesky carpet stains dampen your spirits! Baking soda comes to the rescue with its incredible stain-fighting prowess.
Laundry Sorcery:
Take your laundry game to the next level with the enchanting powers of baking soda! This humble powder can work wonders in freshening up your clothes and linens.
The interesting thing is, you can use borax as well in all these cleaning sectors.
One more extra tip for you, baking soda is a whitening and de-tanning agent as well. You can easily add it to your regular self-maintenance and body skin care. It is equally effective for teeth whitening as well.
When to use What?
As you can see, both the cleaning warriors work on the same premise. These two household heroes are armed with unique properties that make them formidable cleaners, but knowing when to deploy them is the key to victory.
Borax is a more heavy-duty cleaning agent. Wherever you can see some extremely stubborn stain, and it feels like no matter how hard you scrub it, it’s not going to go away, use borax. Or for a larger surface, where you can’t actually scrub, there’s where borax comes in handy.
Suppose you got a stained and greasy bathtub, leave a borax mixture in it, its going get its shine back. Or you have a stain on your favorite dress and no washing powder is working on it, use borax. But you have to keep one thing in mind that is pretty powerful, so don’t use it on something delicate that might damage your product.
On the other hand, baking soda is milder than borax. It can work pretty well on delicate surfaces. A bit of baking soda mixture and scrubbing is going to do the magic. Baking soda can reduce bad odor as well.
Baking soda is edible. So it is skin friendly and more delicate. So wherever you can fresh smell and delicate cleaning, you can go for that. Like you can apply baking soda on your delicate cloths as well.
The Chemical and Cleaning Method Difference:
Baking soda:
Its chemical name is sodium bicarbonate, NaHCO3. But let’s call it the “cleaning superhero” for now. This humble yet powerful compound is made up of sodium, hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen, all combined in a miraculous way. The oxygen component can work against odors and oxidize the stains with gentle heat and energy, it can remove the stain without causing any harm to the surface. The weak alkaline compound with a pH of about 8.4 makes it more gentle.
Borax:
This cleaning ingredient that’s been passed down through generations of savvy homemakers. The chemical component of borax is a naturally occurring compound called sodium borate, with the chemical formula Na2B4O7·10H2O. But don’t let the scientific jargon scare you away, because this humble-looking powder has some serious cleaning superpowers!
Borax is a strong cleaning agent because it has a higher pH of 9-10. So it can give you some tough cleaning. The budget and eco friendly material and save you from lot of hard work and time because of this higher pH. You can just leave it, and it will do its magic. No scrubbing is required because it has water molecules in it, so you don’t need to activate it by heat or scrubbing. It has used as a great laundry booster. A very little amount can show its magic.
So after you learn to use these two materials properly, your cleaning game will change forever. So have a happy cleaning!
