If slime recipes are your thing, like they are ours, you’re always on the lookout for new ways to make slime! This time, we wanted to know what would happen if we added soap to regular borax slime! Show
The slime that came out was a fun variation on classic borax slime and the kids had a lot of fun playing with this version. Learn how to make slime with borax and soap right here! The Easy Way to Make Slime with Borax and SoapThis tutorial for borax and soap slime is so, so easy! Scroll to the end of the post to get the step-by-step directions but first, learn a little bit about what soap does to slime! What Detergent Works for Slime?You can also try using Tide detergent to thicken your slime. Tide contains a bit of Borax, which means it will help create stretchy slime without having to mix up the borax powder liquid. What Does Soap Do to Slime?If you add soap to slime, it makes it spongier. Soap can also help soften slime that is too thick and crumbly from adding too much borax. Make It a Slime Science Activity!If you love slime. grab the slime science lab and learn a little bit about the science behind slime with these slime worksheets! It’s a fun way to bring a taste of science to your slime activities! Borax Slime VariationsIf you love borax slime, here are some fun variations to try. Borax is found in many common detergents like Tide, in liquid laundry starch, and it’s found in contact lens solution!
What You Need to Make Soap SlimeShop these Amazon affiliate links for your slime supplies. Everything you need to make this borax and soap slime can be found here!
Ingredients to Make SlimeDirections to Make Slime with Borax and SoapMaking slime with borax and soap is easy! Here’s how to do it: First make a borax solution. Add one teaspoon of borax powder to 1 cup of water and stir. Next, mix 1/2 a cup of glue, a tablespoon of soap, and your food coloring in a bowl. Once that is mixed, drop in a bit of the borax liquid (about a tablespoon). The slime will start to form instantly. Keep stirring the slime and if it is still sticky, you can add a little more borax liquid. Be careful, though, because you can easily add too much borax liquid and the slime will become stiffer than is usual for slime and it will be more like our homemade bouncy balls. The soap will help prevent this from happening as much, however. Borax slime will stay stretchy for several days if stored in an airtight container. You can add a bit more borax liquid to the slime if it starts to get runny again. To make slime with borax, start by mixing together 1 teaspoon of borax powder and 1 cup of hot water to make the borax solution. Next, pour 4 ounces of glue into a bowl, and add 1 to 2 drops of food coloring if desired. Then, add the borax solution to the glue a few teaspoons at a time until the mixture begins to clump and pull away from the bowl. At that point, take the slime out of the bowl and knead it with your hands to help make it less sticky. To learn more, including how to make fluffy slime and clear slime, scroll down. Did this summary help you?YesNo Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 138,234 times. Possibly the best science project you can do using chemistry is making slime. It's gooey, stretchy, fun, and easy to make. It takes only a few ingredients and a few minutes to make a batch. Follow these step-by-step instructions or watch the video to see how to make slime: Gather Your Slime MaterialsTo make slime, all you need is borax, white glue, water, and food coloring. Gary S Chapman, Getty ImagesTo get started, you will need:
Instead of using white glue, you can make slime using clear glue, which will produce a translucent slime. If you don't have borax, you can use contact lens saline solution, which contains sodium borate. Prepare the Slime SolutionsSlime has two components: a borax and water solution and a glue, water, and food coloring solution. Prepare them separately:
You also can mix in other ingredients, such as glitter, colored foam beads, or glow powder. If you use contact lens solution instead of borax, you don't need to add water to dissolve it. Just substitute one cup of contact solution for the borax and water. The first time you make slime, it's a good idea to measure the ingredients so that you know what to expect. Once you have a bit of experience, feel free to vary the amounts of borax, glue, and water. You might even want to conduct an experiment to see which ingredient controls how stiff the slime is and which affects how fluid it is. Mix the Slime SolutionsAnne HelmenstineAfter you have dissolved the borax and diluted the glue, you are ready to combine the two solutions. Stir one solution into the other. Your slime will begin to polymerize immediately. Finish the SlimeAnne HelmenstineThe slime will become hard to stir after you mix the borax and glue solutions. Try to mix it up as much as you can, then remove it from the bowl and finish mixing it by hand. It's OK if some colored water remains in the bowl. Things to Do With SlimeThe slime will start out as a highly flexible polymer. You can stretch it and watch it flow. As you work it more, the slime will become stiffer and more like putty. Then you can shape it and mold it, though it will lose its shape over time. Don't eat your slime and don't leave it on surfaces that could be stained by the food coloring. Clean up any slime residue with warm, soapy water. Bleach can remove food coloring but may damage surfaces. Storing Your SlimeAnne Helmenstine Keep your slime in a sealable plastic bag, preferably in the refrigerator. Insects will leave slime alone because borax is a natural pesticide, but you'll want to chill the slime to prevent mold growth if you live in an area with high mold count. The main danger to your slime is evaporation, so keep it sealed when you're not using it. How Slime WorksSlime is an example of a polymer, made by cross-linking small molecules (subunits or mer units) to form flexible chains. Much of the space between the chains is filled by water, producing a substance that has more structure than liquid water yet less organization than a solid. Many types of slime are non-Newtonian fluids, which means that the ability to flow, or viscosity, is not a constant. Viscosity changes according to certain conditions. Oobleck is a good example of a non-Newtonian slime. Oobleck flows like a thick liquid yet resists flowing when squeezed or punched. You can change the properties of borax and glue slime by playing with the ratio between the ingredients. Try adding more borax or more glue to see the effect it has on how stretchy or thick the slime is. In a polymer, molecules form cross links at specific (not random) points. This means some of one ingredient or another usually is left over from a recipe. Usually, the excess ingredient is water, which is normal when making slime. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicagoYour Citation Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "How to Make Slime with Borax and White Glue." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/step-by-step-slime-instructions-604173 (accessed January 7, 2023). Is borax the same as slime activator?Slime is made when a polymer interacts with a gelling agent. Typical slime recipes call for clear or white PVA glue (the polymer) and an activator (gelling agent). The activator is usually powdered borax dissolved in water, liquid starch, eye drops, or contact lens solution.
What borax to use for slime?Add 1⁄4 cup of liquid Sodium Tetraborate (Borax) Solution (find recipe below) to the glue and water mixture and stir slowly. The slime will begin to form immediately.
Should you use borax for slime?"Borax can cause burns, especially when you touch it multiple times," she says. "When you're mixing it up, Borax can get in the air and irritate your airways. If kids put their hands in their mouths by mistake, it could be toxic."
|