Everyday Use
An integral part of our world
Trace amounts of borates are found in soil and water – and trace amounts nurture all the greenery that sustains life on the planet. Plants need boron to grow. It seems that people need boron, too - not only as a nutritionally important part of their diet, but also as an essential ingredient in a dazzling array of the products we use every day.
Something so basic to life is also basic to livelihoods, from heavy industry to the fine arts. Manufacturers, farmers and craftsmen rely on borates – a reliance that stretches back thousands of years.
The versatility of borates lies in their distinct bonding and structural characteristics. In living systems, these characteristics make borates vital to metabolism – the fundamental way in which organisms translate food into energy. Borates abound in industrial systems as well, for two reasons.
First, they’re extremely low-risk. Used for centuries, borates pose virtually no risk to people, animals or the environment under normal handling and use. Even those who handle borates every day have experienced no adverse health effects.
Second, they’re versatile. In some applications, there is simply no substitute for borates. In other products and processes, their natural functions impart a wide range of performance, cost, environmental, health and safety advantages.
Here is just a partial list of the many products that depend on borates:
| Adhesives | Foot powders | Ointments |
| Aerosols | Foot soaks | Paint |
| Air bags | Fuses | Paper |
| Antifreeze | Glass | Particleboard |
| Bleaches | Glass cleaners | Pesticides |
| Bone china | Glazes | Photo developing solutions |
| Brake fluid | Golf clubs | Plaster |
| Capacitors | Grinding wheels | Plywood |
| Cellulose insulation | Halogen lights | Porcelain enamels |
| Cement | Hand cleaners | Roofing |
| Ceramics | Headlamp lenses | Rubber |
| Charcoal briquettes | Heat-resistant glass | Sailboards |
| Christmas trees | Herbicides | Semiconductors |
| Circuit boards | Hosiery | Shampoos |
| Contact lens solutions | Hydraulic fluids | Snow (real and artificial) |
| Cosmetics | Ink | Soaps |
| Dental adhesives | Laundry additives | Silly Putty |
| Detergents | Leather tanning solutions | Silverware |
| Dishwashing products | Lip balm | Steel |
| Dyes | Liquid Crystal Displays | Surfboards |
| Enamels | Lubricants | Swimming pool solutions |
| Exfoliants | Matches | Taxidermy |
| Eyewashes | Metal polishes | Textiles |
| Fabric softeners | Motor oil | Wallboard |
| Fiberglass insulation | Mouthwash | Waxes |
| Fire blankets | Nuclear shields | Windscreens |
| Flower preservatives | Nylon carpets |
