Borax soap

Borax Liquid Soap
Empty 1 gallon jug
1/8 cup borax powder
Plastic funnel

Funnel the borax into the jug, fill with cold tap water. Shake a few times. Let settle. In a few minutes you can pour off the clear part into dispenser bottles. This is the soap!

Easier way: use any bottle, pour borax powder to a depth of a ½ inch or so. Add water. Shake. When you have used it down to the undissolved granules, add more water and shake again. Add more borax when the undissolved granules get low.

Keep a dispenser by the kitchen sink, bathroom sink, and shower. It does not contain aluminum as regular detergents and soaps do, and which probably contribute to Alzheimer’s disease. It does not contain PCBs as many commercial and health food varieties do. It does not contain cobalt (the blue or green granules) which causes heart disease and draws cancer parasites to the skin. Commercial detergents and non-soaps are simply not safe. Switch to homemade bar soap and borax for all your tasks! Borax inhibits the bacterial enzyme urease and is therefore antibacterial. It may even clear your skin of blemishes and stop your scalp from itching.

For Laundry
Borax (½ cup per load). It is the main ingredient of nonchlorine bleach and has excellent cleaning power without fading colors. Your regular laundry soap may contain PCBs, aluminum, cobalt and other chemicals. These get rubbed into your skin constantly as you wear your clothing. For bleaching (only do this occasionally) use original chlorine bleach (not “new improved” or “with special brighteners”, and so forth). Don’t use chlorine if there is an ill person in the house. For getting out stubborn dirt at collars, scrub with homemade bar soap first; for stains, try grain alcohol, vinegar, baking soda.

For Dishes
Don’t believe your eyes when you see the commercials where the smiling person pulls a shining dish out of greasy suds. Any dish soap that you use should be safe enough to eat because nothing rinses off clean. Regular dish detergents, including health brands, are now polluted with PCBs. They also contain harmful chemicals. Use borax for your dishes. Or use paper plates and plastic (not styrofoam) cups.

In The Dishwasher
Use 2 tsp. borax powder pre-dissolved in water. If you use too much it will leave a film on your dishes. Use vinegar in the rinse cycle.

In The Sink
Use a dishpan in the sink. Use ¼ cup borax and add a minimum of water. Also keep a bit of dry borax in a saucer by the sink for scouring. Don’t use any soap at all for dishes that aren’t  greasy and can be washed under the faucet with nothing but running water. Throw away your old sponge or brush or cloth because it may be PCB contaminated. Start each day by sterilizing your sponge (it harbors Salmonella) or with a new one while the used one dries for three full days. Clean greasy pots and pans with a paper towel first. Then use homemade bar soap.

Shampoo
Borax liquid is ready to use as shampoo, too. It does not lather but goes right to work removing sweat and soil without stripping your color or natural oils. It inhibits scalp bacteria and stops flaking and itching. Hair gets squeaky clean so quickly (just a few squirts does it) that you might think nothing has happened! You will soon be accustomed to non-lathery soap. Rinse very thoroughly because you should leave your scalp slightly acidic. Take a pint container to the shower with you. Put ¼ tsp. citric (not ascorbic) acid crystals (see Sources) in it. For long hair use a quart of rinse. Only citric acid is strong enough to get the borax out, lemon juice and vinegar are not. After shampooing, fill the container with water and rinse. Rinse your whole body, too, since citric acid is also anti-bacterial. All hair shampoo penetrates the eye lids and gets into the eyes although you do not feel it. It is important to use this natural rinse to neutralize the shampoo in your eyes. (Some people have stated that citric acid makes their hair curlier or reddens it. If this is undesirable, use only half as much citric acid.) Citric acid also
conditions and gives body and sheen to hair.

Homemade Soap
A small plastic dishpan, about 10″ x 12″
A glass or enamel 2-quart sauce pan
1 can of lye (sodium hydroxide), 12 ounces
3 pounds of lard (BHT and BHA are OK here)
Plastic gloves
Water

• Pour 3 cups of very cold water (refrigerate water overnight first) into the 2-quart saucepan.
• Slowly and carefully add the lye, a little bit at a time, stirring it with a wooden or plastic utensil. (Use plastic gloves for this; test them for holes first.) Do not breathe the vapor or lean over the container or have children nearby. Above all use no metal. The mixture will get very hot. In olden days, a sassafras branch was used to stir, imparting a fragrance and insect deterrent for mosquitoes, lice, fleas, ticks.
• Let cool at least one hour in a safe place. Meanwhile, the unwrapped lard should be warming up to room temperature in the plastic dishpan.
• Slowly and carefully, pour the lye solution into the dishpan with the lard. The lard will melt. Mix thoroughly, at least15 minutes, until it looks like thick pudding.
• Let it set until the next morning; then cut it into bars. It will get harder after a few days. Then package. If you wish to make soap based on olive oil, use about 48 ounces. It may need to harden for a week.

Liquid Soap
Make chips from your homemade soap cake. Add enough hot water to dissolve. Add citric acid to balance the pH (7 to 8). If you do not, this soap may be too harsh for your skin.