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20 Mule Team Borax

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20 Mule Team Borax
Product type
Laundry aid, household cleaner, mold cleaner, insecticide
OwnerHenkel
CountryHarmony Borax Works, Death Valley, California
Introduced1891; 133 years ago (1891)
Related brands
Boraxo hand soap (discontinued)
MarketsUnited States, Canada
Previous ownersPacific Coast Borax Company (1891–1956), U.S. Borax, Inc. (1956–1988)
Websitewww.20muleteamlaundry.com
20 Mule Team brand Borax white laundry soap

20 Mule Team Borax is a brand of cleaner manufactured in the United States by The Dial Corporation, a subsidiary of Henkel.[1] The product primarily consists of borax, also known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate, and is named after the 20-mule teams that were used by William Tell Coleman's company to move borax out of Death Valley, California, to the nearest rail spur between 1883 and 1889.

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Borateem Bleach, Borateem Plus bleach substitute and 20 Mule Team Borax were all once manufactured by United States Borax & Chemical Corporation (n.k.a. US Borax, Inc.). Borateem products originally contained over 98% borax. Borateem, now manufactured by Dial Corporation, is a chlorine-free, color safe bleach powder but it has no borax content.

Boraxo, also originally a 20 Mule Team product, was a borax-based powdered hand soap manufactured in the past by Pacific Coast Borax Company, then by US Borax via merger, and finally acquired by Dial.[2] The Boraxo line expanded to include powdered and liquid hand cleaners but was discontinued by Dial in 2021 or 2022.

History

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20-mule teams were first used by Francis Marion Smith to move borax out of the desert.[1][3] Smith subsequently acquired Coleman's holdings in 1890 and consolidated them with his own to form the Pacific Coast Borax Company. After the 20-mule teams were replaced by a new rail spur, the name 20 Mule Team Borax was established and aggressively promoted by Pacific Coast Borax to increase sales.

Stephen Mather, son of J. W. Mather, the administrator of the company's New York office, persuaded Smith to add the name 20 Mule Team Borax to accompany the sketch of the mule team already on the box. The 20-mule team symbol was first used in 1891 and registered in 1894. In 1988, just over 20 years after the acquisition of U.S. Borax by Rio Tinto Group, the Boraxo, Borateem and 20-Mule Team product lines were sold to Dial Corporation by U.S. Borax.[4]

Dial is now an American consumer products unit of Henkel.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b Hildebrand, G. H. (1982) "Borax Pioneer: Francis Marion Smith." San Diego: Howell-North Books. ISBN 0-8310-7148-6
  2. ^ a b "General Consumer Questions". U.S. Borax. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  3. ^ "American Borax Production". Scientific American. Vol. 37, no. 12. September 22, 1877. pp. 184–185. JSTOR 26062263.. The article states that the distance between Columbus, Nevada and Wadsworth, Nevada is "about 360 miles" whereas today the distance on modern roads is about 160 miles.
  4. ^ Rio Tinto Borax: About Borax : History Archived March 17, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
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