Sodium tetraborate is the sodium salt of boric acid. Sodium tetraborate (or borax), due to its huge number of beneficial properties, is widely used both in industrial production and in the household. Thus, sodium tetraborate is currently widely used in the production of licks and slimes. It is thanks to him that these toys have their unusual properties, have an antiseptic base and last a long time. You can buy sodium tetraborate in hardware stores (“borax” - in powder form), or in pharmacies (in glycerin), and also order it on the Internet. Its price varies from 15 to 80 rubles. If there is no opportunity to buy sodium tetraborate, then our article is ideal for solving such a problem. We will provide simple recipes for preparing a thickener, and also offer a recipe for slime with Borax and its alternative replacement.
So, how to make sodium tetraborate at home? It is known from chemistry that the production of sodium tetraborate is based on the reaction of ordinary soda, sodium carbonate or hydroxide and boric acid.
Recipe for sodium tetraborate from borax
To prepare sodium tetraborate using this method, you will need borax. Borax can be purchased at a hardware store. The cost of a package of borax (20 g of powder) is 40-50 rubles.
We will need:
- 20 grams of borax
- 80 g glycerin
Pour 80 grams of glycerin into a container, add 20 g of borax. Mix everything vigorously. After a day, the precipitate will dissolve and it will be possible to work with sodium tetraborate. Next, you can start preparing the slime.
Safety precautions when making tetraborate at home
Obtaining substances at home is a very exciting pastime, especially for children. Despite the fact that sodium tetraborate is a fairly harmless substance (hazard class 3), you should not neglect safety measures:
- Children must work directly under adult supervision. Even in the simplest manipulations with chemicals there is a risk of injury. And the production of borax from dry sodium hydroxide can only be carried out by an adult.
- It is best to use gloves when working, as the substance can cause allergic reactions if it comes into contact with the skin.
- No food during the experiments - there may be a substance on your hands that gets into your mouth with food. If ingested, the lethal dose of tetraborate is 10-20 g, for children 4-5 g.
- Sodium tetraborate obtained at home cannot be used for medical purposes! If the drug was prescribed by a doctor, then you need to purchase it at the pharmacy, since the concentration of the active substance in dosage forms is strictly observed.
- After work, be sure to wash your hands!
- If trouble does occur and chemicals get into your mouth or are swallowed, seek medical help immediately!
Sodium tetraborate slime recipe
We will need:
- Sodium tetraborate, half a teaspoon
- Stationery glue, 35 g
- Water
- Dye of the desired color.
Sequencing:
- Place sodium tetraborate in a bowl of warm water and mix vigorously.
- Pour half a glass of water, glue and dye into the second container. Mix until smooth and uniform in color.
- We take the first container and pour its contents (an aqueous solution of tetraborate) into the second mixture (with glue) in a thin stream. Mix. Our sodium tetraborate slime is ready.
What can replace sodium tetraborate for licks and slimes? In these cases, soda is usually used as the main component, and a number of other components that are responsible for the structure of the toys. These include: flour, starch, glue, shampoo, detergent, toothpaste. Sodium tetraborate itself is replaced with naphthyzine or lens liquid.
From soda
The main ingredient of this recipe must be purchased at the pharmacy, and soda is sold in the grocery departments of stores. The amount of the latter is calculated here. But if more soda is used than necessary, it’s not a big deal. Boric acid simply will not absorb the excess volume; the food additive will remain at the bottom in the form of sediment.
Ingredients for preparing the activator
- 30 ml of boric acid alcohol mixture,
- 1 tsp. baking soda.
How to make sodium tetraborate with your own hands
- Boric acid must be poured into a deep container.
- Then the required amount of soda is added to it.
- The components must be mixed until most of the grains are dissolved.
- Then the liquid must be filtered through a thick cloth or napkin to remove undissolved soda, and the thickener is ready.
Watch in this video how to make sodium tetraborate at home from soda:
Slime recipe without sodium tetraborate
We will need:
- PVA glue, 65 ml
- liquid for lenses, 35 ml
- soda, three pinches
- water, 125 ml
Pour the required amounts of glue and activator into a bowl-shaped container, which will be liquid for lenses. In the second container, prepare a solution of soda and water. Add one teaspoon of the resulting solution to the adhesive mass. Next, stir all the contents well until the mass begins to move away from the walls of the dish. Let's crush the slime in our palms and make sure it's ready for use. If desired, the slime can be decorated with beads or given color using dye.
What is the drug
Sodium tetraborate or borax, borax, is a special compound with an alkaline reaction, a salt of boric acid. It is a strong antiseptic with bacteriostatic activity.
Can be used for various purposes. Often acts as an antiseptic for various fungal diseases. It is often used in crop production as an insecticide and pesticide. Can be added to enamels and paints, detergents and cleaning products. Glass production cannot be done without boric acid. The drug is also necessary when making slime or slime.
Why is this component needed when making slime?
Sodium tetraborate is almost always included in slime. It acts as a thickener. The children's toy becomes elastic, but at the same time viscous and elastic.
How to make slime without glue?
To avoid using glue, you will need shampoo and starch. First, you need to pour shampoo into the container, and then gradually add starch to form a viscous mass. It is very important to knead this slime thoroughly so that it does not stick to your hands later. Although a toy made using this recipe will initially be very soft to the touch, due to the starch it will dry out quite quickly and become harder.
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What is slime, its composition
This is the name given to a plastic mass that is smooth or has a jelly-like structure. The main characteristic is increased elasticity. In addition, the slime holds its shape well, which allows you to make different shapes from it. It is noted that the material is characterized by tensile strength. When stretched, even a thin layer of slime will not tear.
The external characteristics of the mass differ: there are transparent, glossy, matte, colored toys, with filler (foam, glitter, beads, special balls).
Slime contains sodium tetraborate. This is the main component contained in most types of products. It belongs to the group of thickeners. Another name is borax. This substance is included in some medications (Borax, Teymurov spray, drops for contact lenses). When using borax, the soft mass of slime gradually hardens, while simultaneously acquiring elasticity.
Slime often contains glue, another thickener. There is no need to talk about the dangers of using this product, since this is public information, but it is necessary to supervise children’s play with such slime. If glue enters the body, it causes symptoms no less dangerous than in the case of borax.
Other types of fillers, thickeners: shampoo, shaving foam, soda, lens solution, toothpaste, glycerin. All these components can cause harm to the body. The most dangerous slimes are those that contain thickeners and activators of various types. The chemical composition does not allow such mass to be consumed as food.
However, there are slime options that contain only natural ingredients - food and nutritional supplements. If such slime enters the body, the likelihood of severe poisoning is reduced, but the risk of complications still remains. The reason for this is the presence of harmful microorganisms, since the mass is often kneaded with hands. As a result, contamination will still enter the structure of the toy, and then into the human body.
The chemical formula of the salt is Na2B4O7, the Latin name is Sodium tetraborate. Synonyms for sodium tetraborate are borax and borax (Borax), the name depends on the manufacturer. The most common forms of release:
- medicinal preparation of sodium tetraborate solution (20% salt, 80% glycerin);
- powder or crystals for industrial, construction and other technical needs.
From laundry soap
The soap should first be grated so that its particles are very small. But after adding the chips, you can also put the mixing bowl in the microwave for 30-60 seconds. Heat will help all components connect faster and better.
What is needed to prepare tetraborate
- 200 ml water,
- 5 g boric acid powder,
- 2-3 pinches of shavings of 72% laundry soap.
Preparation method
- Place water and boric acid in one bowl.
- When the components are well combined, laundry soap is added to them.
- The liquid must be stirred with a spoon so that the last of the ingredients used dissolves.
How to make slime from shaving foam and glue?
Pour 100 g of PVA glue into the container. Then gradually add about a glass of shaving foam (it is better to use white rather than colored). If the mass is not airy enough, you can add foam. After this, you need to add a thickener; you can use a solution for lenses: it must contain boric acid, which will act as a thickener. Add the solution little by little until the mixture thickens, and knead the slime thoroughly. When the mass stops sticking to your hands, it is ready. Such toys are soft, elastic and seem to be airy to the touch.
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Lizun with tetraborate analogue - Naphthyzin
Naphthyzine as a thickener is much weaker than tetraborate, but it still needs to be used carefully and little by little. In this recipe, it is especially important to mix the base well at each stage. Then the slime will be soft, smooth and shiny.
Components
- 40 ml PVA glue,
- 2 tsp. water,
- 0.5 tsp. body lotion,
- 1 tbsp. l. starch,
- 6 tbsp. l. shower mousse,
- 5-6 drops of liquid pigment,
- 1 pinch of soda,
- 1-1.5 tsp. Naphthyzin drops.
How to make slime with your own hands
- In a clean bowl, combine PVA glue and water.
- The next component is body lotion.
- It needs to be mixed into the mixture with a spoon.
- Then starch is added.
- After this, you also need to mix the base with a spatula.
- To add airiness, add shower mousse.
- After another stirring, you need to pour in the dye.
- When the base acquires color, soda is poured into it.
- The mass must be stirred again.
- Then Naphthyzin is poured into it in portions.
- The base must be stirred with a spatula until the glue stabilizes.
- At the end, be sure to knead it with your hands to rid the slime of excess moisture.
How to make slime from toothpaste?
Slime can also be made from other available materials, which, as a rule, are found in every home. Toothpaste slime is very elastic and stretches well, and to make it you will need liquid soap, flour and, in fact, toothpaste. It is better to give preference to regular white paste; it may not work with gel or colored slime. Squeeze out about one third of a tube of toothpaste into a small container, add the same amount of liquid soap and mix well. Then gradually mix flour into the resulting mass. First mix all the ingredients with a spoon, and then knead the mixture thoroughly with your hands.
Tetraborate analogues
Instead of sodium tetraborate, you can use products that also contain borates:
- Spray, ointment, Teymurov's soap. Each of the preparations contains boric acid, so any is suitable for creating slimes. Spray has a liquid consistency, soap has a creamy consistency, and ointment has the thickest consistency. The concentration of the main substance in the preparations is lower than in sodium tetraborate, therefore the listed activators are used in larger quantities. They have a drawback - a rather strong smell. But you can buy the products at any pharmacy.
- Liquid for lenses. Many of them contain a borate buffer. For slimes you should use Licontin, ReNu, Opti-Free, Biotrue. There are few borates in solutions for CL, so a large amount of one of them should be added to slimes. Another important nuance is that these activators must be combined with baking soda. A little food additive is added.
Slime with tetraborate analogue - washing gel
The recipe uses concentrated Persil gel, but Perwoll or Laska are suitable for the same purpose. You will need a lot of activator. Still, it should be poured in little by little, and the base should be thoroughly stirred, first with a spatula and then with your hands.
What do you need
- 100 ml PVA glue,
- 1 pinch of powder dye,
- 6 tbsp. l. shaving foam,
- 2-3 tbsp. l. Persil liquid washing gel.
Cooking method
- The glue is placed in a bowl and dye is immediately added to it.
- You need to mix everything so that the color of the future slime appears.
- Next, shaving foam is squeezed into the composition.
- The base must be mixed again.
- Then Persil gel is poured in parts.
- Stir the mixture with a spoon until it thickens.
- Then it is kneaded manually until it comes away from the skin.
Storage conditions
Slime made from tetraborate should be stored in a cool place . It may be a refrigerator or a balcony, but not a freezer. If the toy freezes and becomes covered with ice, then after defrosting it will no longer be possible to restore the previous structure.
Moisture is also dangerous for slimes. If it gets moldy, you will have to throw it away. To prevent this from happening, store the slime in an airtight container. Otherwise, the toy may dry out and it will become impossible to play with it.
The lifespan of slime from the moment of creation ranges from 2 weeks to 2 months.
From boric acid powder
This recipe produces a weaker activator than traditional sodium tetraborate. It works primarily with thick office glue and is added in fairly large quantities. The slime will need to be kneaded for a long time and excess liquid squeezed out of it.
Components:
- 30 g boric acid powder,
- 500 ml water.
How to cook
- Pour water into a container with a lid.
- Then boric acid powder is poured there.
- The container should be tightly closed and shaken thoroughly to dissolve the crystals.
Causes of errors and their correction
There are several reasons that prevent you from making slime:
- Wrong choice of glue . It is better to opt for PVA glue from. You can also use silicate glue from various manufacturers. These types of glue are sold in bookstores and office supply stores. When purchasing, you need to pay attention to the production date.
- Expired sodium tetraborate . An expired product is less active.
- Not maintaining proportions . Add tetraborate drop by drop and mix thoroughly.
You can fix a failed slime in the following ways:
- If, when preparing the mixture, glue was used that has lost its properties, then a film mask is used to correct this. It is added to the mass. If it does not begin to thicken, you can add more borax.
- If the glue does not thicken even after adding tetraborate, you can add washing gel, starch or lens care liquid instead.
- Sometimes it happens that drills add more than the required amount. The glue begins to curl into flakes or the slime becomes very hard. In this case, do the following:
- add more glue;
- use a film mask;
- add cream or gel to the mixture;
- heat or add warm water.
The safest slime
If all the above methods do not seem safe to you and do not inspire confidence in you, but you want to please your child, then we suggest you make a beautiful and interesting toy (slime) without sodium tetraborate and starch, without shampoo and dishwashing detergent, without glue and washing powder .
The shelf life of such a toy is not very long, and it differs noticeably from the original in appearance, but it is safe, and you can be sure that nothing will happen to your child, even if he puts the handgam in his mouth.
So, here are the ingredients you will need to make safe “smart” plasticine:
• Wheat flour.
• Sieve.
• Hot water.
• Boiling water.
• Container for mixing ingredients.
• Fork or whisk.
• Food coloring (you can even use beet juice or spinach juice, for example).
Cooking method:
• Pour 4 cups of flour into a container prepared in advance, sifting it through a sieve.
• Add half a glass of ice water to the flour.
• Pour half a glass of boiling water there.
• Mix everything as thoroughly as possible, the mixture should be smooth and without lumps.
• Now it’s the dye’s turn: add a few drops to the mixture and mix again.
• Place your future safe slime in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours.
The slime is ready, now you can rest assured about your child.
How to make ice slime?
“Refreshing” slime can be made with the addition of ice. First you need to cool the glass container in which the ingredients will be mixed: just put it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. Then you need to pour very cold water and add a few ice cubes. Gradually add or pour in sodium tetraborate until you get a thick mixture. This slime needs to be stirred quickly to preserve the ice. However, its “shelf life” is short: it melts quickly.
Question answer
How to make a bright soft toy from felt?
Of water
In this recipe, before mixing, the water should be slightly warmed up so that the soda dissolves in it better and faster. It is more convenient to place all components into the bottle through a funnel. Then the entire measured amount will be used and not spilled or spilled.
Proven recipe
- 1 tbsp. l. water,
- 1 tsp. soda,
- 1 tbsp. l. boric acid.
Cooking method
- The specified amount of soda must be poured into a plastic bottle.
- Water is also poured there.
- Another essential component is boric acid.
- The bottle must be closed and shaken to mix both liquids and dissolve the soda in them.
- Then the composition is filtered through a cotton pad to get rid of the remaining particles of soda, and the activator can be used.
Watch this video for a DIY recipe for sodium tetraborate from water:
Safety regulations
Tetraborate is used as a preservative in creams and as an antiseptic, which can be applied to mucous membranes. Therefore, slime made with its addition is suitable for play. After all, when used correctly, the product does not pose any danger. The exception is people with individual intolerance to a chemical solution.
Tetraborate may cause a chemical reaction. In this case, it is better not to use it.
When preparing slime with the addition of sodium tetraborate, you must adhere to the following safety rules:
- avoid contact with eyes;
- do not ingest;
- do not make edible slimes with this substance;
- Use only special containers when making slimes;
- After playing with slime, you need to wash your hands thoroughly with soap.
What happens if you eat slime?
This type of product is most dangerous for children. If a child swallows slime, there may be unpleasant or painful sensations in the stomach. When the body is strong enough, the slime comes out without causing significant harm. However, for young children this can cause poisoning due to the high content of chemicals.
Symptoms:
- nausea;
- vomit;
- fever;
- diarrhea;
- dizziness.
Signs of an allergy appear on the skin: redness, itching, rash. Sodium tetraborate is an antiseptic, harmless in small doses, except in situations where a hypersensitivity reaction to the drug develops. With regular contact with the product, skin irritation occurs. If sodium tetraborate periodically enters the body, the substance accumulates, because...
If an adhesive substance enters the body, especially Moment or another aggressive composition, more severe consequences may develop: breathing problems, digestive tract problems, and deterioration in the functioning of other internal organs.
