Simple "green" cleaning substitutes for borax

It's time to ditch borax -- a salt of boric acid -- as a "green" home-cleaning ingredient.

Six reasons to go borax-free:

1. You want your home to be pesticide-free (borax kills ants).

2. You can clean well with food-grade ingredients only -- baking soda, salt, vinegar and hydrogen peroxide (treat stains, too).

3. You can use borax-free "green" cleaning recipes.

4. You won't risk poisoning your child or pet.

5. You can clean risk-free while pregnant.

6. Your kids can help make the cleaners and do the cleaning!

SIMPLE SUBSTITUTES FOR BORAX

To disinfect: Add food-grade hydrogen peroxide (three per cent) to a spray bottle. Spray on hard surfaces and wipe clean. Optional: Add a few drops of lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, tea tree, lemon grass, thyme, lavender, rosemary and/or eucalyptus essential oil, which have antibacterial, antifungal and grease-cutting properties.

To whiten: Try oxygen bleach, in liquid or powdered forms. Follow product instructions. Safe for cloth diapers!

To fight mould and mildew: Clean with salt or use diluted white vinegar (50:50) carefully on tub and tile.

The safety of borax (its salts and precursors) has been

under review:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency called boric acid an irritant and hormone disruptor based on toxicity tests on rats, mice and dogs. Health Canada's science-based screening assessment recommends minimizing exposure.



The Environmental Working Group does not recommend using borax to clean your home because it's a short-term irritant and hormone disruptor.



The European Union reported developmental and reproductive toxicity effects in laboratory animals. (No clear evidence of male reproductive effects in studies of highly exposed workers in boron mines. But a possible risk of harm to unborn children.)

Finish off your last box of borax. Sign up for monthly digests with recipes, assessments and/or cleaning substitutes at queenofgreen.ca/solutions

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