Chicken Mummifiers--can I use Borax?

[~Kirsten~]

I seem to have sodium borate rather than sodium carbonate. (sigh) I know that the AG calls for just salt, baking powder, and baking soda. But someone here mentioned using sodium carbonate in a recipe for mummies and that she only needed one box of salt and one box of...um...now I can't remember (maybe baking soda?).

 

Anyway, I had this brilliant plan that I wouldn't write this down because I'd remember. You can see how well this worked. I have the wrong thing. But, in Google searches, there is speculation that sodium borate may have been found in Egyptian mummies. So, now I'm wondering if I can actually use it and rectify my mistake. I have no experience with Borax, though, so I'm not even sure if I'd create some chemical disaster or forever damage my children and their friends by using it to mummify a cornish hen.

 

Any opinions or experience? I really can just go with SWB's recipe, or I can go on the hunt for soda ash. Yes, I do realize I'm probably overthinking this, too. :D

 

Can I also mention I'm so, SOOOOO excited to be at the mummy stage? :lol:

[Crimson Wife]

Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate.

 

I don't know if Borax would work.

[~Kirsten~]

Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate.

 

I don't know if Borax would work.

Thanks! I don't know, either! Darn.

 

Apparently, the crazy thing is there's a difference between the bicarbonate and carbonate. It's baking soda vs. baking ash. This amazing woman found a recipe (and I need to stop being so lazy and find her name to give her credit) that used sodium ash in addition to salt, and she only had to change it out once. That appealed to me! :lol: Thank you, though!

 

ETA: It's matroyshka and the recipe for Natron! She used one box of washing soda (sodium carbonate), one large box of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), and a small box of salt total for her mummification.

Edited July 10, 2010 by ~Kirsten~
stopped being lazy

[Matryoshka]

Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate.

 

Well, yes, but sodium bicarbonate is not sodium carbonate, any more than carbon dioxide is the same as carbon monoxide. :) Sodium carbonate's "street" name is Washing soda, or soda ash. Here's a Wikipedia article that gives the chemical breakdown of what was in Egyptian Natron, as well a chemical differences between sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate - which are more different even than their names imply.

 

I don't know if Borax would work.

 

I have no idea either, but even if trace amounts of sodium borate was found in mummies, the main ingredient (like 50% or more) was sodium carbonate.

 

I am able to find Arm & Hammer brand washing soda very easily on the laundry aisle in the regular grocery store. It's usually right next to the... Borax. :tongue_smilie: Here, I just googled it so you could see a picture of the box... looks like Ace hardware sells it too. :)

 

Natron recipe:

2 parts washing soda

2 parts baking soda

1 part salt

 

Yes, this is still not as high in the washing soda as the Wikipedia article would suggest, but I got the recipe from the museum of science, and it worked really well. For the Cornish hen, I used 1 cup as a part - so 1c. salt to two cups each of the baking and washing soda. I had to change it and refill just once. I used a tupperware container rather than a plastic bag - much easier.

 

Our little hen is now wrapped in gauze in the basement - not sure what to do with it next. :tongue_smilie:

[Farrar]

It's not like you have actual natron, so everything's a substitute. I used something more like 2 parts salt and one part baking soda. I did this three times with different classes. The third time, I forgot the baking soda for one of the clean outs and the results were less favorable. Don't know if it was a direct relationship - a number of things went wrong with the 3rd class I did this "experiment" with. I also recommend the cornish hen and good grief, get a serious, airtight container. The more regularly you clean it out, the better it works. Prepare yourself for the smell in the early stages. It's... intense.

[Matryoshka]

It's not like you have actual natron, so everything's a substitute. I used something more like 2 parts salt and one part baking soda. I did this three times with different classes. The third time, I forgot the baking soda for one of the clean outs and the results were less favorable. Don't know if it was a direct relationship - a number of things went wrong with the 3rd class I did this "experiment" with. I also recommend the cornish hen and good grief, get a serious, airtight container. The more regularly you clean it out, the better it works. Prepare yourself for the smell in the early stages. It's... intense.

 

Well, if you only use baking soda and salt, no, you don't have actual natron, since those were only trace elements in natron. If you add the sodium carbonate, you have something pretty close, as sodium carbonate was the main ingredient in natron. And it's not very smelly if you use the right stuff. Entirely odor-free, no. But I had it on my kitchen counter for a good week before I felt the need to move it to the basement (and even then I'd have to put my nose up to it to smell it) and when I switched it out, it really wasn't very smelly.

[kalanamak]

We mummified a very big fish. I used only baking soda (as laundry soda I could not find). I bought the big bags at Costco. Worked fine. When it was "done", I oiled it, stuffed it with rosemary, wrapped it in Kerlex and buried it. One year later, in our rainy clime, it was PERfect. I was so proud.

[kitten18]

I have no experience with the chicken, but when I made laundry detergent, I couldn't find washing soda (sodium carbonate) but I bought a big container of sodium carbonate (98% sodium carbonate, 2% inert ingredients) in the pool chemical section of WalMart (called Ph+). It worked great for the laundry detergent.

 

Good luck with your chicken.:001_smile:

[Crimson Wife]

I am able to find Arm & Hammer brand washing soda very easily on the laundry aisle in the regular grocery store. It's usually right next to the... Borax. :tongue_smilie: Here, I just googled it so you could see a picture of the box... looks like Ace hardware sells it too. :)

 

Never heard of "washing soda" before, learn something new every day. :) I've only ever seen Borax, OxyClean, and Clorox 2 at my grocery store as laundry boosters.

[Matryoshka]

Never heard of "washing soda" before, learn something new every day. :) I've only ever seen Borax, OxyClean, and Clorox 2 at my grocery store as laundry boosters.

 

I used to always use washing soda to pre-wash my kids' cloth diapers. :D I was kinda excited to find a new use for it! :tongue_smilie:

[ChicoryChick]

I have used Washing Soda and Borax along with Fels Naptha (brown bar soap) to make my own laundry detergent. (you can google homemade laundry detergent for the recipe). You may have to check several stores for the Washing soda, some sell it and some don't.

[KayT]

We didn't have to change ours out either and we only used salt...a 25 pd bag of salt in a 5 gallon bucket. The bag of salt was a little over $3 at Sams at the time. We run across them out in the storage every year digging for christmas ornaments.

[~Kirsten~]

I am able to find Arm & Hammer brand washing soda very easily on the laundry aisle in the regular grocery store. It's usually right next to the... Borax. :tongue_smilie: Here, I just googled it so you could see a picture of the box... looks like Ace hardware sells it too. :)

 

Tee hee! Yep, I knew enough to look in the laundry aisle. :lol: A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, it seems. Thanks for the tip about Ace Hardware.

 

Natron recipe:

2 parts washing soda

2 parts baking soda

1 part salt

 

Yes, this is still not as high in the washing soda as the Wikipedia article would suggest, but I got the recipe from the museum of science, and it worked really well. For the Cornish hen, I used 1 cup as a part - so 1c. salt to two cups each of the baking and washing soda. I had to change it and refill just once. I used a tupperware container rather than a plastic bag - much easier.

 

Our little hen is now wrapped in gauze in the basement - not sure what to do with it next.

Thank you so much for chiming in here and for mentioning that you used 1 c. as a part. The tupperware sounds like a good idea, too. I'm avoiding any thoughts of what we'll do with our chick later, so I can imagine your dilemma. :001_huh:

 

Thanks, everyone! No to the Borax, then. Now, any ideas for what to clean with Borax, now that I have a whole box? :lol:

[naturegirl7]

Wow how cool! What curriculum are you using that involves a mummification activity?! My son is obsessed with all thing egyptian at the moment - and would LOVE this! I am totally subscribing to this thread :)

[~Kirsten~]

Wow how cool! What curriculum are you using that involves a mummification activity?! My son is obsessed with all thing egyptian at the moment - and would LOVE this! I am totally subscribing to this thread :)

Hi, Michelle! Welcome to the homeschooling world! :001_smile:

 

We're using Story of the World I along with the Activity Guide, and it covers ancient civilizations. The mummification of a chicken is one of the activities in the guide, though with your son's interest, it may be great fun to do it now alongside some library books.

 

By the way, these boards are sponsored by the writers of The Well-Trained Mind, one of whom wrote the Story of the World series to use for elementary history. We're definitely enjoying it!

[Matryoshka]

Wow how cool! What curriculum are you using that involves a mummification activity?! My son is obsessed with all thing egyptian at the moment - and would LOVE this! I am totally subscribing to this thread :)

 

Heh heh... I think mummifying a chicken is some kind of homeschooling rite of passage. :D Most people seem to do it in early elementary with SOTW, but we're doing it all out of order and are just getting to Ancient Egypt now... I've been dying to get to this activity for years! :tongue_smilie: