One item which I never hear mentioned as an advantageous survival item - BORAX - Yep, good old fashioned 20 Mule Team Borax!
When we have to be self-reliant, we can use all the help we can get Borax’s unique properties serve to enhance stain removal and bleaching, stabilize enzymes, provide alkaline buffering, soften water and boost surfactant performance.
Because borax acts as a biostat, they also serve to control bacteria and fungi in personal care products.
Borax treated wood is on the rise as a safe and long-lasting method to protect homes from wood destroying organisms. There are several types of borate wood preservatives used to treat solid wood, engineered wood composites and other interior building products like studs, plywood, joists and rafters.
Borax prevents fungal decay and is deadly to termites, carpenter ants and roaches and many other insects - but safe for people, pets and the environment. Borates interfere with termites’ metabolic pathways when ingested through feeding or grooming, effectively killing them. Surviving termites avoid the treated wood products like the plague.
Boron is an essential micronutrient for plants, vital to their growth and development. Without sufficient boron, plant fertilization, seeding and fruiting are not possible.
On every continent of the world, crop yields and food quality are diminished due to insufficient boron concentrations in the soil. Sandy soils are notoriously deficient in boron. These deficiencies can be corrected with borate fertilizers, produced to meet farmers’ varied needs and application methods. In areas of acute deficiency, borates can increase crop yields by 30 to 40 percent.
I use it on fruit trees as a fungicide spray (and essential element). Mix it with diatomaceous earth for dusting garden vegetables. Mix it with soapy water and it works even better than Safer Soap insecticide (and way cheaper). Beans are one exception - they don’t take to too much boron - just about everything else either tolerates it or thrives with it.
If you live in an area where termites are a problem, it is the safest, most effective, quickest acting treatments you can imagine. (I found some at the back of one of my outbuildings the other day - mixed up a strong mixture of water and borax, sprayed everything, soaking it well, and poof - termites are history - so I have now sprayed all around the bases of the outbuildings for the long term protection. You can even use it to protect wood from just about all wood enemies - fungus, rot, etc. It is very long lasting.
If you are ever troubled by nail fungus - soak nails in a gallon of hot water with 2 or 3 heaping tablespoons of Borax a couple of times a week and you will really see improvement way beyond what all those commercial preparations give.
Borax is Na2B4O7·10H2O Sodium, Boron, Oxygen and Water.
More than half of all the boron mined in the world is from the California Death Valley desert.
They’re safe too. Used for centuries, borates pose no risk to people, animals or the environment under normal handling and use. Even those who handle borates every day have experienced no adverse health effects.
So, I keep 3-4 of the 76 oz. boxes on hand - uses are way more than I have listed here.
I've used Borax mixed 1:1 with sugar for ants. The ants go after the sugar and get the borax and they're GONE.
Thanks for all that additional info.
Because borax acts as a biostat, they also serve to control bacteria and fungi in personal care products.<<<
Yes, I use borax, have for many years.
The natural soap and lotion makers say that it should not be used on the body, I forget all the dangers, but it is not used in good and natural cosmetics, soaps, lotions and bath salts.
10 years ago there was talk of the gov outlawing it, in cosmetic/body uses, I do not know if they did.
>>> So, I keep 3-4 of the 76 oz. boxes on hand - uses are way more than I have listed here. <<<
‘Ole 20 mule team is a very handy item to have laid back, and I have become a fan of arm and hammer Washing Soda as well,, around here usually $2 a box.. does wonders for washing..