# Borax



## Lopi (Apr 11, 2017)

Anyone know if it's safe to use borax to help get the pee smell out of hedge related laundry? IE: their fleece blankets and stuff?

It's natural, and hippies love it because of how "safe" it apparently is, and back in the day they used it to clean diapers in the laundry.

The evidence so far is that it seems very safe, but was wondering if there are informed opinions on it here. It apparently doesn't have much of a scent.


----------



## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

Vinegar in the wash will get the smell out of the liners and it is 100% safe and natural.


----------



## hanayokoizumi (Dec 28, 2016)

Personally, if possible, i would use alternatives that are already known to be safe (especially by experienced hedgie owners), such as vinegar like Nikki said, and I suggest you do too. 
But, If youre planning on using actual borax (like the powder stuff you see in laundry isles in target) , as long as you wash it out of the fleece well I think it would be safe. I make slime often, and i use a borax water mix to make it solidify, and it's safe to use unless ingested. Hedgehogs do absorb things through their skin more easily though, so if it wasnt fully washed out not only is there the risk of the hedgie eating it, but possibly getting it on the skin (although i feel that would be much harder to happen) and absorbing. 
I'm no expert on this, or this subject, so try it at your own risk. I still suggest using vinegar, but if you absolutely have to use borax make sure you rinse extremely well.


----------



## Lopi (Apr 11, 2017)

How much vinegar do I put in? Do I throw it in with the detergent?


----------



## nikki (Aug 28, 2008)

I use a cup of vinegar and add it at the beginning of the was while its filling.


----------



## Lopi (Apr 11, 2017)

I'm really just on a mission to not use vinegar. The stuff is so smelly to me. I guess I can try and gauge the stank, but if it's too smelly I think I'll give borax a shot. It's completely natural and has been used for so long I can't imagine if it's rinsed out in the wash it could possibly do any harm.


----------



## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

The benefit of vinegar is it somehow makes the laundry rinse better. It kinda strips out the fibers. And there is pretty much no smell from it once things are washed and dried. 
Most fabrics that are being washed already have a soap buildup in the fibers. That soap buildup gives odor a place to hang out. 
If you're not totally against using vinegar but notice a smell after it's washed and dried. Maybe run a cycle with only vinegar, no detergent, borax, washing soda, soaps, scent boosters or anything like that. Then after it's ran through the wash on a vinegar only cycle, then wash again with your unscented detergent.


----------



## ArizonaHazelnut (Nov 16, 2016)

Vinegar is just awesome, and its really not worth worrying about the scent (IMO). I use a 50/50 vinegar and water mix to clean Hazel's cage, and if you let it everything dry for a few minutes, the smell is completely gone! Hazel doesn't mind it one bit, and I'm a happy camper cause the cage doesn't smell. Using vinegar in the wash helps deodorize items, and as twobytwo mentioned, they rinse out better.


----------

