Is Borax hard to find?

[chem geek]

Ditto. Sodium percarbonate is best used for getting rid of Baquacil/biguanide/PHMB if one wants the conversion to go faster and be less colorful than using chlorine alone to do the job. However, it costs more than using chlorine for that purpose.

Basically, sodium percarbonate is equivalent to adding sodium carbonate (i.e. "pH Up") and hydrogen peroxide with the latter being completely incompatible with chlorine (i.e. the two will annihilate each other...gently).

[CarlD]

H2O2--a colleague's brother was a rocket scientist working on H2O2 propulsion systems.... I guess it wasn't the 3% solution!

[hudson.bh]

If you are in Pittsburgh the Walmart in West Mifflin had Borax. I picked up 2 boxes even though my pool has not be installed yet.

[waterbear]

I have found that Borax is available but it often gets sold out in the locations I usually find it (Walmart, Target, Winn Dixie, and Publix) and it often is not restocked for a few weeks so I buy a box or two when I see it to make sure I have enough when I need to bump up the borates in my pool (about once a year) or bring up my pH (which I have never needed to do.) I also have often found many of the store employees are totally clueless when you ask if they have any borax and have better luck just looking through the laundry aisle myself.
There is no problem with 'stockpiling' it since it does not spoil.

[CarlD]

However, it can get rock hard! It still works, tho you have to break it up. Water will dissolve the clumps. But you'll feel them getting much warmer than the water as they dissolve--must be exothermic.