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Comment by megous | Hacker News Reader

Good,... as long as you don't injure yourself using borax.

Mhmm, borax is very safe. I have even eaten it (food grade obviously) for weeks without problem. For some people with arthritis it can be life changing. It was far more frequently used a while ago and do not really understand the bad reputation it has recently acquired. Maybe it is the scary sounding name

Boric acid on the other hand is much more toxic. However I have bought OTC eye washes containing it and they work very well.

How would you go about injuring yourself with borax? It's poisonous, so a small child might eat it. It's an eye irritant, so keep it out of your eyes. But is it significantly worse than other household detergents? This is a genuine question. It might be more hazardous than I think, but my prior impressions and my quick web search didn't make me worried. But I might easily have missed something...

We don't use other household detergents as toys, we use them as cleaning chemicals and keep them in safe places.

If you’ve never made a baking soda and vinegar volcano (or rocket), well, there’s no time like the present!

He probably didn't make a big jelly ball from borax, random glue, and whatever, and mashed his hands in it and inhaled it for hours.

Sure, have fun with chemicals, but some sense is needed.

I feel like bubble solution and bubble bath products fall squarely in the household detergent + toy department

Bubble solution is glycerin and not a great cleaner. It is also very safe. You could at most say it is hand soap and a toy.

> How would you go about injuring yourself with borax? It's poisonous, so a small child might eat it.

That's a significant issue when you're using it to make toys for children.

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