pH--soda ash vs baking soda

[mwsmith2]

No, borax is borax.

Borax is a somewhat generic name used to describe a number of closely related minerals or chemical compounds:

• Anhydrous borax (Na2B4O7)
• Borax pentahydrate (Na2B4O7 · 5H2O)
• Borax decahydrate (Na2B4O7 · 10H2O)

And there ya go.

Also, that washing soda (soda ash) is going to crank up your alkalinity. That's why most folks here use borax for pH control.

Michael