That popular homemade slime that caused a glue shortage this year comes with a warning.
Some of the recipes for the do-it-yourself slime call for a combination of glue, water and borax.
However, you should take precautions when it comes to borax, Consumer Reports’ Chief Scientific Officer James Dickerson said.
“Borax is meant to be a household cleaner or an additive for your laundry,” he said. “Just because you have it around, just because it seems to be perfectly safe for those types of applications, doesn’t mean it should be used in anything else, particularly household slime.”
Borax comes with a label saying, “Keep out of reach of children.”
“Sodium tetraborate hexahydrate, or borax, is a known eye, nose and respiratory tract irritant,” Dickerson said. “So we really don’t want young kids, particularly young kids, to be exposed to this because it’s a potential hazard.”
Another concern is toddlers or younger children getting a hold of the slime or its ingredients and eating them.
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Avoid direct contact with the eyes and wash your hands after making and playing with the slime.
And it’s always a good idea to store household cleaning and laundry products out of reach of children.
If you do get borax in your eyes, rinse with plenty of water for 15 minutes.
In case of accidental ingestion, call poison control or seek medical attention.
