Can anyone tell me what BORAX is? I see it used for many things and it does not seem to exist in my country. is there a substitute for it or is it a brand name? i live in malta, europe. is there anyone out there who can help?
Borax, also called sodium borate, or sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate, is an important boron compound, a mineral, and a salt of boric acid. It is usually a white powder consisting of soft colorless crystals that dissolve easily in water.
Borax has a wide variety of uses. It is a component of many detergents, cosmetics, and enamel glazes. It is also used to make buffer solutions in biochemistry, as a fire retardant, as an anti-fungal compound for fibreglass, as an insecticide, as a flux in metallurgy, and as a precursor for other boron compounds.
The term borax is used for a number of closely related minerals or chemical compounds that differ in their crystal water content, but usually refers to the decahydrate. Commercially sold borax is usually partially dehydrated.
I don't know of a brand name that is sold in Europe, but Borax is "a naturally occurring mineral composed of sodium, boron, oxygen and water." Where I grew up, we always used it as a water softener when doing the laundry. In the US it's sold in the laundry/cleaning supply aisle at the super markets. I hope this helps you locate Borax or an equivalent in Malta.
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