Is Borax safe for cloth diapers?

Is Borax Safe for Cloth Diapers?

I have a free recipe cloth diaper detergent in my Etsy shop. I sometimes get the question whether or not Borax is safe for cloth diapers. I wanted to shine some light on the subject:

Borax is hydrated sodium borate, a naturally occurring mineral composed of sodium, boron, oxygen and water. It does not contain phosphates or chlorine.

My extensive research of reading numerous forums, blogs, articles & cloth diapering information has left me with the conclusion, that it is NOT proven that Borax breaks down fibers. I have spoken with cloth diapering veterans & they say they have not known this to be a problem either. I too have read that it causes breakdown but when looking for the cited articles or source of information, only leads to other people saying the same thing & citing back to the same people. I have not come across any specific scientific studies that prove it.

Borax is SAFE for cloth diapers!

My conclusion is, that excessive heat of the dryer plays a large factor in the elastic breakdown. I have not experienced any breakdown of elastic fibers in my cloth diapers by using this recipe nor have any of my customers.

If you are concerned about elastic breakdown, I would suggest that you hang dry any elastic you may be concerned about. Never try to stretch any elastic after it comes directly out of the dryer, as this can cause breakage. Only dry your cloth diapers, just until they are dry, on low-med heat per most cloth diaper instructions.

You can find other uses for borax at http://www.dialcorp.com/documents/borax.pdf