Borax substitute?

[lucybelle]

I want to make the homemade "slime" (putty, whatever) from glue, water and borax. But I have been quite unsuccessful finding borax here. No one even knows what it is. They don't sell it in the grocery store. At the pharmacy they tried to sell me boric acid. Is there another way to make the slime? Or some substitute for borax? I looked at the laundry detergent and they don't have the borax compound in them.

OR- do you know of any other fun, cool experiments to show "compounds"?

:thumb:

 

[czacza]

I believe baking soda is a compound...

http://www.ehow.com/baking-soda-experiments/

 

[TeacherNY]

I saw a recipe that included cornstarch instead of borax. Not sure if it works as well.

 

[lucybelle]

I saw a recipe that included cornstarch instead of borax. Not sure if it works as well.

Thanks I just googled and saw that people used cornstarch, liquid laundry starch or epsom salts instead of borax. But has anyone actually made these with any success?

 

[TeacherGroupie]

Well, there's "oobleck": water plus cornstarch. I don't recall the proportions offhand, but it's runnier when still than it is when in motion.

Wikipedia on borax gives a couple other names you could ask under: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borax.

 

[TeacherGroupie]

I'll add that I use cornstarch a fair amount for thickening... and a slurry of cornstarch and water DEFINITELY behaves oddly.

 

[lucybelle]

Honestly, cornstarch is even a little tricky to find. Most of it is flavored to make some sort of awful dessert. I have yet to find just regular cornstarch.

 

[TeacherGroupie]

Hm. What about laundry starch?

 

[TeacherGroupie]

Ah: the ever-helpful Wikipedia... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_starch

Look for Maizena or cornflour.

 

[lucybelle]

Ah: the ever-helpful Wikipedia... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_starch

Look for Maizena or cornflour.

:lol: Thanks! Maizena is the flavored stuff here. Like I said, it's hard to just find normal cornstarch! Last time I bought what I thought was cornstarch and it wasn't. So we ate chocolate pudding instead of chocolate pie

 

[TeacherGroupie]

I honestly don't know whether arrowroot would work, or potato flour, but either might be worth a shot.

 

[janney]

http://www.projectsforpreschoolers.com/easy-slime-recipe/

This page says that you can use Tide detergent instead of borax.

 

[lucybelle]

http://www.projectsforpreschoolers.com/easy-slime-recipe/

This page says that you can use Tide detergent instead of borax.

Thanks! I'll look for Tide in the grocery store. I've never seen it but I've also never looked. Here's to hoping

 

[scmom]

Yes, I have used starch. It comes in liquid form in the detergent ailse and is used for stiffening when ironing. I know it is in Hispanic markets here, but under a different brand name. It contains borax which is why it works. It does turn out a little slimier but has a lot of the same properties.

Borax comes in powdered form and is located in the same place in the store. I have actually been to the area it is mined - Trona. It is a natural mineral used in many laundry detergents (including ones used for diapers because it is abrasive and is a cleaning boost) so it makes sense that Tide or other powdered detergents may work but you might have to use more????

 

[mrachelle87]

I use cornstarch and food coloring

 

[TamiJ]

Oh yes, finding all those things can be tough, can't it? Hope you figure something out. I have had to modify plenty of times because I can't seem to find something here. Good luck!

 

[paperlabs]

You might try several dif.glue.bonding materials to see the effect. Students might note the effect of replacing borax with starch, epsom salts, etc.

 

[Peregrin5]

I would think that most powdered laundry detergents would work, but I'm not certain.

Edit: Apparently not. They use washing soda instead.

I think you might be able to find Borax at a pool supply store if you have one nearby.