Borax, what it does, how to use it safely, substitute for it

I've been learning about borax.  It's the only non food safe cleaning product I use now, but I wondered how safe is it.


here some useful information about borax

Before 2000, borax was a common household item, a popular, effective cleaning product. It disinfects, whitens and fights mold and mildew. It also kills ants.

Many DIY cleaning recipes featured borax as an eco-friendlier option to petroleum-based ingredients in conventional cleaning products.

But the safety of borax (its salts and precursors) has been under review. Health Canada’s science-based screening assessment recommends minimizing exposure.

It also lists substitutions we can use.

I think it still has some uses like but control, but maybe not in daily use.

I found the Health Canada article mentioned:

http://www.healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-sc/2016/59514a-eng.php

We're planning on doing the vinegar/orange peel solution for everything - if/when it doesn't work on something, we'll re-evaluate.

That's a neat article.

Interesting that it's for boric acid.  Borax is an alkali, but for some reason, I think it breaks down into boric acid in water?  Or something?  The more I learn about it the more confused I am.  I really wish they taught chemistry better in school as this would be really useful now.

From the first article:

Borax, or sodium borate, is an alkaline mineral salt.  

Can anyone explain the difference between borax and boric acid?