Borax

Borax is a mineral, a salt of boric acid and a compound of boron. Borax is used in many different ways. It's a main component of many detergents, cosmetics and enamel glasses. It is also used to make fire retardant and as an anti fungal compound for fiber glass. The term Borax refers to a number of closely related minerals that differ in their crystal water content. Here are a few of the different "Borax" and their chemical equations. Borax is also replacing mercury as the preferred method for extracting gold in small mining facilities. This is called the Borax Method and is used in the Philippines.
 * Borax pentahydrate (Na 2 B 4 O 7 ·5H 2 O)
 * Anhydrous borax (Na 2 B 4 O 7 )
 * Borax decahydrate (Na 2 B 4 O 7 ·10H 2 O)[[image:borax.png]]

Borax is used as a buffer to create equilibrium between substances. It is also used as a flux in welding iron and steel; it lowers the melting point allowing the iron oxide to run off. It has been recently replacing the need for mercury for extracting gold called the borax method. Though it is banned in the U.S, borax is used as a food additive to improve firm, rubbery textures or as a preservative.



Borax does not have a high level of toxicity. For it to be toxic for human, a very large dose would have to be ingested. However a dose that high is not needed anyway. Nevertheless, Boric acid solutions that are used as an eye wash or abraded on the skin can be harmful to infants. Borax is often recommended as a "safe" pesticide, fungicide and cleaner, but it is officially classified as a poison. Government sites recommend that people who work with Borax use gloves and handle it with caution. Studies have linked it to reproductive problems in some lab animals, as well as a host of serious disorders at higher levels. Some examples of where someone could find borax would be in landuary booster, hand soaps, and toothpaste.

Borax has chemical properties that have cleaning power. It cleans and bleaches by converting some water molecules to hydrogen peroxide (H202). This reaction is much better in hotter water. The pH of borax is 9.5 which makes it a basic solution in water and increasing the effectiveness of the cleaning and bleaching. In other chemical reaction, borax acts as a buffer by helping maintain a stable pH for a cleansing chemical reaction. The boron, salt and oxygen inhibit the metabolic processes of many organisms. This helps disinfect and kill unwanted pests.

Borax, is used as a food additive in some countries but is banned in the United States. As a consequence, certain foods, such as caviar, produced for sale in the U.S. contain higher levels of salt to assist preservation. Its use as a cooking ingredient is to add a firm rubbery texture to the food, or as a preservative. In oriental cooking it is mostly used for its texturing properties. In Asia, Borax was found to have been added to some Chinese foods like the hand-pulled noodles and some rice noodles.The country's Directorate of Consumer Protection warns of the risk of liver cancer with high consumption over a period of 5–10 years.

__**Uses For Borax!**__

 * Ingredient in enamel glazes
 * Component of glass, pottery, and ceramics
 * Borax can be used as an additive in ceramic slips and glazes to improve fit on wet, greenware, and bisque.
 * Fire retardant
 * In powder form, it can be used in the house for treatment of fleas by sprinkling it on carpet and allowing it to sit for 48 hours, then vacuum it up. This method is used to dry and kill the flea's eggs.
 * Anti-fungal compound for fiberglass and cellulose insulation
 * Moth proofing 10% solution for wool
 * Anti-fungal foot soak
 * Precursor for sodium perborate monohydrate that is used in detergents, as well as for boric acid and other borates
 * Tackifier ingredient in casein, starch and dextrin based adhesives
 * Precursor for Boric acid, a tackifier ingredient in polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl alcohol based adhesives
 * Fluoride detoxification
 * Treatment for thrush in horses' hooves
 * Used to make indelible ink for dip pens by dissolving shellac into heated borax
 * Curing agent for snake skins
 * Curing agent for salmon eggs, for use in sport fishing for salmon
 * Swimming pool buffering agent to control the pH
 * Neutron absorber, used in nuclear reactors and spent fuel pools to control reactivity and to shut down a nuclear chain reaction
 * As a micronutrient fertilizer to correct boron-deficient soils.
 * To clean the brain cavity of a skull for mounting
 * To color fires with a green tint
 * Was traditionally used to coat dry-cured meats such as hams to protect them from becoming fly-blown during further storage.
 * Is found in some commercial vitamin supplements
 * For stopping car radiator and engine block leaks
 * As an important component in Slime
 * Is used by the modern Blacksmith in the process of Forge Welding. (Different from fabrication Gas or Electric style welding)