Years ago, I was introduced to something that humans have been utilizing for thousands of years...boric acid. In the modern age, we can aquire it cheaply in a product called Borax. Borax is one product that all homeowners should own. Advertised as a laundry booster, borax can be used with warm water to clean porcelain, fiberglass, fine china, toilet bowls, garbage cans, and it can remove hard water stains. Borax removes odor just like baking soda and can also be used to freshen carpets. Simply sprinkle borax on your carpets an hour or two before vacuuming. It can also be used to keep refrigerators fresh. Just wipe down the inside of your fridge with a combo of 1 quart warm water and 1 tablespoon of borax. It kills odors and cleans the surface. Once done, rinse thoroughly with water. Borax can also keep your humidifier free of odors. Add one tablespoon of borax per gallon. Rinse with pure water between refills. Borax in your laundry also helps remove stains and is safe for delicates and baby clothes. Just add 1/2 cup of borax to each load. Borax has two other less know benefits. Borax kills black mold, a well known respiratory attacker, and it kills most bugs. With even a little residue of borax in your carpets, furniture, etc., most bugs have their moisture sucked out of them, reducing the chance of infestation. You can also wipe out a nasty flea infestation. Just repeatedly stab a screw driver into the top of a box of Borax (thus turning it into a giant salt shaker) and shake it over all infested surfaces. Take a broom and brush it all over the place. Get into all the cracks and corners. Let it sit for a few hours, and then vacuum it all up. Immediately dispose of the vacuum cleaner bag. Borax is cheap and readily available in the laundry isle of your local grocery store.
