Borax vs Clorox vs Clorox 2: Is Clorox and Borax The Same?
It is always a battle to get the dirt and grime out of fabrics. What one bleach does for one fabric may not be safe for another. It is all in the ingredients and there are some differences you should be aware of.
Is Clorox and borax the same? No, they are not. Borax is a natural mineral that you have to mine to get access to. It is white, colorless and dissolves easily in water. Clorox is a bleach compound and is a liquid which uses hydrogen peroxide as its active ingredient.
To learn more about the differences between Borax, Clorox and Clorox II just continue to read our article. It delves into the topic to make sure you know how to use each product correctly and without harming yourself.
Difference Between Clorox and Borax
One of the main differences between the two cleaning agents is that Borax as a powder is used n a variety of products. Not all of those products are for cleaning. Borax is also found in flux which is used in many different welding applications.
Then Borax is used in a variety of detergents to help you get your clothes clean. Clorox is a liquid bleach whose only purpose is to clean clothes and other items, It may help remove stains.
To use Clorox bleach effective you should add it to your washing machine as the water is filling up the tub and before you put your clothes inside. This will help dilute the bleaching compound making it a better cleaning agent without ruining your clothes.
Borax is a solid salt and its chemical compound is Na2B4O7 while Clorox bleach’s chemical compound is NaClO. Both products will clean your clothes but Clorox may do a better job of brightening them up. That is because Borax contains some whiteners which do tend to fade colors after several washings.
Borax vs Clorox
The first thing that needs to be pointed out is that Clorox is a brand name only. It is not the name of a variety of bleach. The company puts its name on its bleach to distinguish it from the many other bleach brands on the market.
The company started in 1913 and has made a variety of cleaning products over its 100+ years of existence. On the other hand, while there is a brand name with the word Borax in it, 20 Mule Team Borax, but it is not the name of a corporation.
Borax is also known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate and it is an important boron compound. It needs to be mined and is sold as a dehydrated product. Among its many uses, you will find borax in fire retardant, cosmetics, anti-fungal products, enamel glazes and as well as a variety of laundry detergents. The mining of Borax has a longer history than Clorox company as it was mined in the 8th century AD and was part of the Silk Road trade.
If you want your clothes nice and clean you go with Borax. But if you want them to remain bright and looking almost like new, you use Clorox or Clorox 2.
Clorox vs Clorox 2
While they have the same name and come from the same company, Clorox is not the same product as Clorox 2. One reason for this is the latter product is what is called an oxygen bleach. It is a lot milder than Clorox ingredients and is seen as safe for most machine-washable fabrics.
Both products are good at removing dirt and stains, it is just that Clorox is tougher n fabrics and colors. Also, Clorox 2 is supposed to be chlorine-free which also makes it safer to use when you are washing colorfast clothing.
What you should be aware of is that the EPA does not list Clorox 2 as a disinfectant that kills germs or bacteria. If you are thinking it does, then you would be making an error. Clorox bleach should kill both germs and bacteria with ease.
What makes Clorox 2 different is that it is usually made with hydrogen peroxide. It is a good stain remover but it is not that effective on the germs that get into clothing. You should not try to add Clorox bleach and Clorox 2 in the same wash load.
The 2 bleaches counteract each other and produce less than desired results.
Does Clorox have Borax in It?
In the variations of Clorox bleach we looked at, Borax was missing from their ingredient list. One ingredient Clorox bleach contains is Sodium Chloride. You would know it as rock or table salt. This salt is also used in laundry detergents, fabric softeners, and even hand dish soap.
Another ingredient is Sodium Hydroxide which is also known as lye. That is a powerful ingredient to use in a cleanser and it works on fatty, acidic and oily stains or grime. Then there is Sodium Polyacrylate whose job is to keep the dirt from returning to your fabrics during the wash cycle.
Clorox makes a wide range of Clorox bleach products and it is hard to list all of the ingredients here. Click on this link to see what ingredients are in the Clorox product you want to purchase.
Just find the type you are or want to use and then got the right and click on the detail button. You will be taken to a new page that lists all the ingredients in each Clorox product. Borax is not one of them.
Can You Mix Clorox and Borax?
It is possible to mix both borax and Clorox. The combination is not life-threatening or even harmful to your health. The result of mixing the two may offend your nose, which may be the reason why Clorox doesn't use borax as one of its ingredients.
The other reason you may not want to mix the two is that like Clorox and Clorox 2, the end cleaning result may not be what you want to see. So if you want to try combining the two just hold your nose and do not have high cleaning expectations.
There are 3 compounds that you should never mix with bleach and there are no exceptions to this series of combinations.
- Alcohol- some people may think it is safe to mix rubbing alcohol with bleach. But you are not creating a great cleaning solution. Instead, you are making chloroform, the chemical used in movies to knock people out.
- Acidic products- these include vinegar, drain and toilet bowl cleaners, and other cleaners. The result you get from these combinations is chlorine gas which is very harmful to your health after long term exposure. Chlorine gas can be absorbed through your skin.
- Ammonia- when you do, what you get is not something you can clean with. Instead, you are getting chloramine gas and it too is very harmful to your health. Just so you know urine stains contain ammonia so be careful when cleaning those types of clothing stains.
What's the Difference Between Clorox and Bleach?
The real difference between the two is in their names. Clorox is not a variety of bleach among hundreds of variety of bleaches on the market today. It is a brand name and the bleach that the company makes is not that much different from all the different brands of bleaches you can buy.
What makes people think there is a difference is that Clorox is a very popular brand to buy and most people consider the other brands as inferior bleach. Just so you know, there is little difference between Clorox brand bleach and the other bleach brands.
Also, bleach has not changed much in its properties since it was first discovered thousands of years ago. Not every ancient society used bleach but enough did. After awhile the knowledge of bleach was lost until modern scientists made a discovery.
They found bleach when they separated Sodium Hypochlorite from seawater. Clorox does not have any special, magical formula that provides it with a special type of bleach. Bleach is bleach no matter who you buy it from.
Some Final Words
Borax is more of laundry detergent than it is bleach. It works hard to get your whites whiter because of its whitening power. The borax you use may not be as good for colors as Clorox or Clorox 2 bleach.
Also, borax can be and is used in a variety of products to help make those products perform better than they would if borax was excluded from their ingredient list. You may be able to mix Borax with Clorox but it is not the wisest move you can make.
Clorox usually stands on its own as a very powerful cleaning agent that helps you be proud of the clothes your family is wearing.
