Reclaimed wood and 20 mule team Borax help.

[miscjames]

I have reclaimed wood from a old plat board house that was falling apart that i took down last winter. (Think old barn with newspaper insulation about to fall over) i am hoping to use the lumber as trim to put into my house. I heard you can use 20 mule team borax laundry detergent to treat for any bugs that might be in it. (10oz borax to 1 gallon water.) My plan is to remove the rest of the nails, cut away the bad ends etc, pressure wash, spray with borax, then dry in garage. This will be a sizable project as i plan to process all of the wood not just what i will use for trim.

The wood appears to mostly be heart pine or some type of conifer.
I live in hills of East Tennessee.
The house was built around 1908 from what I gather.
I dont have a kiln

Will the 20 mule team borax work for this?

Looking for any and all advice for this project.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/20-Mule-Team-Borax-65-oz-Laundry-Stain-Remover/1000207943

 

[keg99]

Seems there is quite a bit out there about using borax for wood treatment. Within this family of borax, borates, boron and boric acid, they all are toxic to insects. The Hunker website has a good article on how to treat with borax. Pretty much supports what you described.

 

[Have tractor did travel]

Good idea to use boric acid to treat the wood. Those little pin holes in the wood are "dust beetles" Given the size of the project, consider BoraCare, a product made for just your purpose. I looked in to making it myself, and felt BoraCare was priced right, given the amount of labor self brew would have taken.
You will suffer less face damage to the wood if you pull any finishing nails out from pointed end of the nail, rather than hammering them back out FROM the pointed end of the nail. To hammer common nails (or finishing nails that are not surface nailed) back to the face of the wood, look at NailLocker, $60 on Amazon.
Be sure to "sticker" the wood - placing small pieces of wood in between each slab - allow air circulation. And keep the wood off the floor of the garage. Eight inches would be good before you begin your stack.

 

[Smokeydog]

Products like BoraCare helps with insects and kills fungi (rot). A solution of borate in a ethylene glycol carrier to penetrate the wood. Dose rate depends on the volume of wood. If wood is not in contact with ground or rain is considered permanent. Great product made in East Tennessee.

Made my own 75 gallons to help preserve 300 year old log cabins and structures. Shopping carts of 20 mule team borax, 50# bags boric acid and 100 gallons to antifreeze. Had to gently boil in small batches to break waters of hydration to convert into borate. Not a easy or hazard free process to make or apply.