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HUMIDITY--IMPORTANT TO YOUR GREY"S HEALTH


danmcq

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I've read several places that it's very toxic to birds, which is why I got rid of all of my Teflon pans.

 

 

 

MDs usually suggest humidifiers to people who have breathing problems---Copd--bronchitis asthyma etc.

 

Using humidifiers in a bird's area has to do with how dry the room is, not their breathing. Greys and other parrots live in humid areas. Dry areas may cause dry, itchy skin which sometimes cause a bird to pluck the feathers in order to get to the dry skin.

 

There are no humidifiers that are harmful to birds. Their only problem is that they don't do the job because of their power or lack of power.

 

ADD ON----the switch for the Ozone must be shut off

Edited by Dave007
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  • 2 months later...

So, to follow up on ZivaDiva's question...

 

I am also concerned about whether any of the heated humidifiers use Teflon on the heating elements or in the "well" where the water comes in contact with the heating elements. Has anyone looked into this?

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So, to follow up on ZivaDiva's question...

 

I am also concerned about whether any of the heated humidifiers use Teflon on the heating elements or in the "well" where the water comes in contact with the heating elements. Has anyone looked into this?

.

 

Humidifiers contain no Teflon. The warming feature in humifiers works on the same principle that's used on electric ranges or heating pads etc. Humidifiers are also used in babies rooms or with people who have serious breathing problems.

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.

 

Humidifiers contain no Teflon. The warming feature in humifiers works on the same principle that's used on electric ranges or heating pads etc. Humidifiers are also used in babies rooms or with people who have serious breathing problems.

 

As a blanket statement, that is patently false.

 

Swizz Fred Humidifiers: To humidify the air, the Teflon-coated plate heats up water to generate clean steam which is free of minerals, germs, and bacteria.

 

Holmes Humidifiers: Other features included in some Holmes humidifiers are Teflon-coated heating elements for easier cleaning, medicine cups, auto shutoff and remote-control operation.

 

So obviously teflon-coated heating plates are used in SOME humidifiers.

 

The big question is which ones.

 

A person in another forum mentioned that at least one Vicks model had a teflon-coated heating plate.

 

The reasoning is the same for every other application using Teflon: easy cleaning surface that is heat resistant. That is a feature for humidifiers because of hard water.

 

So, are you SURE your humidifier is Teflon free? Yeah, it should be easy to see the heating element when you break it down to clean it. BUT the stores don't seem to appreciate it when you open all of the boxes... And ordering over the internet? Pshaw...

Edited by Doug
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Okay, I checked with Kaz, makers of Vicks and Honeywell brands of humidifiers (as well as the Kaz brand, of course).

 

This is the response that I received:

 

Unfortunately,
all of our warm mist humidifiers do have some form of PTFE on the heating elements
, thus I can't recommend using one for your birds. However, our vaporizers do not use this material and do produce a warm steam.

 

That, my dear friends, is how you do a definitive statement.

 

So, we have the following from Kaz:

 

  • Warm Moisture Humidifier - incudes PTFE (Teflon)
  • Warm Steam Vaporizer - no PTFE
  • Cool Moisture Humidifier - no PTFE

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  • 3 weeks later...

Oh my god, I'm so stupid... I saw a lot of dust from my grey, and preening, as well, I did a bath once in a month or even less, she's very young, less than a year, but still, I've failed seriously on her care without having enough experience. :-(

 

Thank you for this great thread, I've already bought Humidifier and humidistat, and will start to bath her once a week as soon as I get home.

 

Thanks a lot!

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I still don't know what I should buy. I'm guessing that the risk is low for the teflon-coated heating elements (since it is unlikely that they will be scratched or abraided), but... BUT!!!

 

I haven't found a product that meets all of the "requirements".

 

Sigh. Who knew that a pet could be so complicated...

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It is my understanding....please correct me if I am wrong.....that the danger with teflon arises when the teflon is heated over 500 degrees, producing toxic fumes. I have eliminated all teflon that could "accidently" overheat. Like pots, tea kettles, crock pots, etc. But would the heating element in a humidifier cause such a risk? Just wondering as I am learning as I go.....

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It is my understanding....please correct me if I am wrong.....that the danger with teflon arises when the teflon is heated over 500 degrees, producing toxic fumes. I have eliminated all teflon that could "accidently" overheat. Like pots, tea kettles, crock pots, etc. But would the heating element in a humidifier cause such a risk? Just wondering as I am learning as I go.....

 

I can see a posibility that the water level switch gets jammed (especially with hard water) and the element is on with no water. Can that get hot enough to cause issues? I don't know.

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  • 11 months later...

hey ya'll :) I gotta say, I took out the humidfier that I had bought before bringing Marco home and plugged it in a day n half ago and i cant believe the HUGE difference huge huge difference it has made. I do not see her itching HALF as much if at ALL anymore theres half of the little feathers and particals of fluff floating in my air .... I am just shocked at the difference and I hope its also making her feel much better too!

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Any thoughts on something like this that gives you both options, it's using the ultrasonic method but can also heat the air. Is that the worst of both worlds or the best?

http://www.amazon.com/Air-O-Swiss-AOS-7147-Ultrasonic-Humidifier/dp/B004FO9P8U/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1353898911&sr=1-2

 

This Digital Ultrasonic humidifier uses high-frequency vibrations to generate a micro-fine mist when blown into a room immediately evaporates. Choose the pre-heating function and mist exits the appliance at a pleasant 104 °F. «ITC» technology (Intelligent Temperature Compensation) monitors the temperature and automatically adjusts the output when conditions change. A replaceable demineralization cartridge ensures a water mist without lime scale or mineral residues. The included Hydro Stick keeps the humidifier clean and fresh longer.
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Any thoughts on something like this that gives you both options, it's using the ultrasonic method but can also heat the air. Is that the worst of both worlds or the best?

http://www.amazon.com/Air-O-Swiss-AOS-7147-Ultrasonic-Humidifier/dp/B004FO9P8U/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1353898911&sr=1-2

 

The model you're pointing out doesn't heat the room. No humidifier heats rooms. Humidifiers, depending upon their features, can humidify an area with cool air, warm air or both. The temp of the cool and warm mist appllies to the water in the machine. Room temp has to be set by a person but a humifier doesn't change that room temp. There's loads of humidifiers that have the warm mist feature and they're inexpensive.

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The model you're pointing out doesn't heat the room. No humidifier heats rooms. Humidifiers, depending upon their features, can humidify an area with cool air, warm air or both. The temp of the cool and warm mist appllies to the water in the machine. Room temp has to be set by a person but a humifier doesn't change that room temp. There's loads of humidifiers that have the warm mist feature and they're inexpensive.

 

I'm not really concerned with any of that. Mainly, whether the warming feature will help ward off any micro organisms, and if that heating element will be teflon coated.

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I'm not really concerned with any of that. Mainly, whether the warming feature will help ward off any micro organisms, and if that heating element will be teflon coated.

 

Warm humidity or cool humidity doesn't ward off micro organisms. Humdifiers are used in bedrooms that infants live. The main reason they're used for infants is because the room is very dry. Even if there was any Teflon in any humidier, the temperature would never get never get hot enough to make the teflon active. Many products in a house have teflon in them but none are harmful unless heated to 350 degrees or more such as what happens when cooking with it. The main conversation about teflon always has to do with cooking with the pots and pans. Humidifiers have to do with dry areas and dry skin and ease of breathing. Nothing more, nothing less.

Edited by Dave007
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  • 1 month later...
  • 1 year later...
Does anyone use citricidal in their humidifiers?

 

Why would you wanna put chemicals in your humidifier? The whole idea of using a humidifier is to simply eliminate very dry air and replace it with different levels of wet air depending on the controls of the machine. The humidity in the surroundings of their natural/wild habitat has no chemicals in it. Citricidal is a product that's made for internal use by people and certain animals but that doesn't include birds and doesn't include humidifiers. Grapefruit extract does nothing for birds.

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Hi Beth,

 

The first time I ran it, I had to refill it completely within 24 hours.

 

Since then, It uses one removable tank full a day approximately. It has a reservoir that when you first fill the thank, it empties completely filling the reservoir, then fill it again and your good to go.

 

It is very simple to clean because the fillable tank and the motor assembly both lift off easily. The wick/filter needs to be replaced approximately once a month, depending on how much it is used and it displays a message automatically every 720 hours of cumulative running time on the fan so you know to check the wick/filer.

 

I also use a bactericide in the water to ensure no mold or bacteria build-up has any chance of beginning.

 

Why would you wanna put chemicals in your humidifier? The whole idea of using a humidifier is to simply eliminate very dry air and replace it with different levels of wet air depending on the controls of the machine. The humidity in the surroundings of their natural/wild habitat has no chemicals in it. Citricidal is a product that's made for internal use by people and certain animals but that doesn't include birds and doesn't include humidifiers. Grapefruit extract does nothing for birds.

I wasn't thinking of using it as a breathing treatment for Felony! Early in this thread danmcq stated he uses a bactericide in his humidifier...and I read somewhere(not necessarily on this forum) that citricidal can be used for that purpose.

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