Home is where the boron is
Borates keep you warm, and help save on household bills. They prevent timber and lumber from becoming home to insects and fungus. Tiles on the floor and walls are glazed with them and electrical cables are fireproofed with them.
Boron is very much at home in your home.
It starts with the frame
Wood frames and “engineered wood” panels and sheeting such as oriented strand board or medium-density fiberboard are often borate-treated. Bugs and fungus don’t like it at all, and this stops them from sharing your home.
At sufficient borate levels, these wood composites can offer fire protection too.
The proof in the roof
As a clay tile or slate alternative, textile fiberglass roof shingles offer low weight, long life, fracture resistance, and high durability. Textile fiberglass is used in both asphalt roof shingles and translucent roofing panels.
Originally commercialized in the late 1930s, E-glass fibers are one of the most widely used continuous glass fibers for general purpose reinforcement. Incorporating boron trioxide, B2O3 provides the optimal balance of melting and fiber formation, while maintaining necessary mechanical and electrical properties.
Boron in glass fibers
Wired for safety
Lights, gadgets, heaters, cooking stoves, washers all need their electricity. It’s carried safely around your house by insulated cables, which often incorporate a fire resistant zinc borate.
Because borates possess strong synergistic effects when used with other flame retardants and are effective at enhancing formulation performance.
Boron in fire retardancy
Making walls feel like home
Wallpaper adheres to wallboard with a starch of PVA based adhesive containing borates, which make it easier to apply and less liable to attack from fungi.
Borates in starch-based adhesives help them reach optimum viscosity, resulting in greater tack, faster bonding, and the right fluid properties.
Boron in adhesivesInsulating against weather
Up to 15 centimeters of borosilicate insulation fiberglass or borate-fireproofed cellulosic insulation is a barrier to the movement of heat—keeping you warm in winter and cool in summer to save energy and fuel bills.
Cellulose insulation is comprised of several highly combustible organic materials (wood, cotton, and other plant fibers). The right concentration of borates can significantly reduce flammability risk, extinguish smolder, and help you exceed safety standards.
In both fiberglass and cellulose insulation products, borates also aid in soundproofing, anti-corrosion, and mold and pest resistance.
Boron in insulation
Hanging walls
Internal walls and ceilings are often finished with gypsum boards. A handful of U.S. Borax's Optibor® boric acid in the mixture makes the boards stronger and more rigid which allows them to be thinner and lighter. In fact, Optibor reduces gypsum boards' weight by about 10%.
Borates also help provide better adhesion of the paper backing and prevents wrinkle formation on the surface. And, they create a harder gypsum edge that withstands nailing and handling.
Like in other home applications, adding borates to gypsum board during manufacturing enhances fire retardancy as well.
Optibor in gypsum board
Kitchen and bath protection
Borate-glazed ceramic tiles for kitchen and washroom floors and walls are good-looking, easy to keep clean, and scratch resistant.
Some tubs and shower trays are made of boron-containing fiberglass, while others are steel which are coated with borate-containing porcelain enamel. That same porcelain enamel helps protect porcelain sinks and toilets from day-to-day wear and tear.
If the water for your home is stored in a roof tank, it is often molded from textile fiberglass reinforced resin. And, hot water heaters can be enamel-lined as well.
Boron in ceramics, enamels, and glazesLook down! Find borates
Wallpaper adheres to wallboard with a starch of PVA based adhesive containing borates, which make it easier to apply and less liable to attack from fungi.
Borates in starch-based adhesives help them reach optimum viscosity, resulting in greater tack, faster bonding, and the right fluid properties.
Boron in adhesivesOutdoor living
Some paints for exterior use are formulated with U.S. Borax's Neobor® borax pentahydrate—to act as a self-protecting wood preservative and to resist staining.
Just like the wood frame of your home, outdoor wooden decking is protected from moisture-induced decay and fungi such as wood rot by borates. And, they protect both solid and engineered wood products from pests such as termites, carpenter ants, and wood-boring beetles.
Don't forget the garden! Boron is a micronutrient which is essential for plant growth. Proper boron is necessary for proper absorption of macronutrients and for maintaining the integrity of plant cell walls.
Boron in insulationAs you can see, borates are fundamental components across so many products that help make your house a safe home. By improving the safety, durability, and performance of materials and products essential to contemporary living, borates have become an integral part of modern life.
Now that you know just a few examples of where you can find borates in your home, learn more about about this amazing mineral.
Basics of boron