awwwwwwwwwww...poor things!

I agree that your little one might be on to you. My parents tried telling me that Chippy (who would sit on my shoulder when I rode my bike, and even came to the babysitter's with me) flew away to find a girlfriend (the day after my sister broke his leg, grrrr). Sure enough a couple days later my bestest feathery friend was "back"! And with a girlfriend to boot! Reached right in to grab my buddy and he bit me...bit me HARD. Dad said it's because he has a girlfriend now, and he doesn't want to play with you any more...right...I promptly named him "Chippy 2".

Thanks for the heads up re. glade,

Nat

earthaven, lighten up!!! The poster did what any responsible caring parent would do. I am a pet lover, but i would not upset my child(particularly young child)with the death of a beloved pet. If it meant i had to "fib" and replace the pet, so be it.. And by the way, YES id do wear fur :)
PETA--People Eat Tasty Animals :)

ha! Maybe I have a sick sense of humor (yeah, ok, I know it!) but I enjoyed this post. But I do agree with the canary in a coal mine mention. Yikes, I burn candles and spray that stuff a lot. If it's that bad for birds, what's it doing to us? Hmmmmm.....

I guess, I can be glad, that I don't use those kinds of sprays.

In my case, trying to sell a house, bread baked in the bread machine did a GREAT job.

Moni

hey, i like that bread machine idea, especially since i can set the timer and have the bake cycle coincide with the scheduled time of the showing! thanks for the idea!

:) jiggreen (whose family will probably get so sick of home-baked bread that they'll beg her to buy store bought!)

The poster did what any responsible caring parent would do. I am a pet lover, but i would not upset my child(particularly young child)with the death of a beloved pet.

No, she didn't do what *any* responsible caring parent would do. I have no doubt that she is responsible and loving and made what she felt was the best choice for her daughter.

However, I am a responsible caring parent and I would not have done what she did. I would (and indeed have) upset my child with the death of a beloved pet. I believe that death is part of life and that grief is normal and I would not shield my children from it. I would help them deal with it. I am not saying the OP was wrong to do what she did in her situation. But it goes to far to say that *any* responsible parent would have done the same.

I too must have a sick sense of humor because I enjoyed the post! It's one of those things in life that happens and you deal with it. I think the OP handled the situation in a way that was best for her family.

Birds have a unique and very sensitive respritory systom. You can't use airsol, candles, many cleaning products, etc, around them.
As for the original poster, I'm sure when her daughter is old enough to clean house, and she has a bird, she will point out the risks and let her know what not to do. Right now we talking about a young child and she's not about to bring out the Glade Products!
Does she know the truth? Maybe, maybe not. Only she knows...It's lesson learned by the Mom, and the child can learn the lesson when she's old enough to use the products.

Once I had my bird in patio on a table that had like a lacy pattern cut in top .I had a blanket over part of the cage.It was a pretty warm day.We were putting an in ground pool in next to the patio.well the concrete truck came.The fumes from the truck went up through table.killed my birdie.
They say just using nonstick pans can kill a bird.

My MIL thre a birthday party for a granddaughter,held it in her basement rec room. As soon as I got there, I had difficulty beathing. Another DIL arrived and proceeded to have an asthma attack, had to use her inhaler over and over. The cause of our distress was a room spray MIL had liberally applied just before we got there.

Wow. I agree with some of the other posters. If it's not good for birds, may be it's not good for us. My mom never used that stuff and our parakeets lived for years. I guess that's why.

I am so sorry to hear about the birdies dying from something most people take for granted - room freshener. I am very chemically sensitive and hate solvent odors of any kind, as well as toxic smells like cigarettes, etc. I do not believe humans or animals were meant to inhale any of this, nor should we apply perfumes to our skin (which is absorbed into our bodies and treated as poison)

I agree with everyone who believes that baking a pie or cookies is a better way to freshen up the house - many, many people are like me and despise incense and room fresheners of any kind.

To me, Glade air freshener smells like chemicals. Bad, poisonous chemicals.

I would NOT want to tour a house if just beforehand the owner had run around spraying Glade everywhere. Hearing that it killed birds is sad, but not really all that surprising to me.

I'm another one rooting for natural scents; cooking, baking, or even a window cracked open for a short time to let fresh air in. Really makes a difference in winter, when we're all closed up with heated air recycling through the house.

When we listed our last house, I always brewed a strong pot of cinnamon tea before leaving (boil kettle of water, throw in six or seven bags of cinnamon tea, turn off burner and let tea steep, partially covered). It's inexpensive and really does scent the air well, without resorting to chemicals. And as a bonus, you can re-heat the tea for a drink when you come back home!

I meant my story as humorous, and was chuckling like a weirdo to myself the whole time I wrote it. They couldn't do the same with our cats, dogs, fish (I mean how would they swim away?), grandparents, neighbors, etc., so we were exposed to death plenty. I think it was sweet as heck that they tried to cover up the fact that my sister is a murderer. A horrible, tiny little bird leg breaking murderer. I was just expressing that in my case, because I was so unusually close to this bird (he's in our childhood family photo, on the bookshelf/mantle, because we just couldn't be apart, lol), I knew it wasn't him "back with his new lady friend".

Each parent makes the best decision for there child according to their child's temperament and surrounding circumstances. We're all winging it, and thank goodness kids are pretty understanding in the long run!

Nat

I have birds AND eat meat. However I don't like to think of my pets as "replaceable" or "disposable" even if they are. The original post contained many exclamation marks. Perhaps this is why earthaven considered it insensitive. I lost a beloved pet not long ago. I didn't think it was funny. I wish jiggreen's new birds better luck. Here is a link with other bird hazards for those who care to know. www.parrotparrot.com/birdhealth/alerts.htm#candles

wierd, I have owned finches for at least 10 years and use yankee candles (not near the cage) and have never had a problem because of it. My friends adopted two of my finches once and they had the cage in the dining room and found that they had both died. We suspected it was because they were cooking and burnt a new pan by mistake. they didn't realize tephlon hurt birds, so I was upset but now at them. It wasn't their fault really.
Also my SIL has parakeets and finches in her small house and smokes (ugh) She has had one parakeet for like 6 years and another for maybe 3.
I wonder if certain birds are more sensitive than others??
I don't use any spray room scents. My husband does occasionally use some baking soda rug powder. It doesn't seem to have much of a scent though.

Also jiggreen, if it makes you feel any better one of my birds flew out of the cage when I was feeding them about two months ago and In two seconds flat my newly adopted dog ate him whole. Ugh! I was horrified. However, now I sorta laugh about it. I can't change it so, o well. I feel terrable about it still, but I sorta see how it was kinda like a cartoon in a way. Sad part is that I had to follow my dog around for a week hoping that it would come "out" alright. Never saw evidence of it though. Pretty wierd. I always bury my animals so I was sad I couldn't do that. anyways, I don't think that I am an evil person because of the situation or the fact that after a little time I did see the "humor" in it. I just think it was a sad event that I didn't anticipate. I have learned from it and moved on!

BTW, best to have a friend take the bird when using a self cleaning oven...especially the first few times...as the the burn off can also be fatal to certain birds.

Jiggreen,

I am sorry to hear about the recent death in the family. (besides the birds) I didn't mean to attack you like that, I was just shocked by your approach, I guess.

We obviously just have very different views on things. My interpretation of your post was very light hearted, bordering on humourous -- perhaps it was your choice of words for the subject header... "Oooops..." or, like Dreamgarden pointed out, your use of exclamation points, which gave me the wrong impression. If your intention when you posted was simply to educate and warn others, I'd have expected your heading to be more along the lines of "WARNING, GLAD AIR FRESHENER FATAL FOR PET BIRDS..." or something along those lines.

I guess I just don't look at it like they were "JUST" birds... It's still confusing to me, however, because in your next sentence you say your animals are like family members. Why are some replaceable, and others, not? I'm not saying I love my bird like I love my children, but I do, however, treat them with the same respect. Just as family members can not be replaced, my pets are not replaceable either.

Deejee, I admire your natural approach. It is amazing what is deemed safe to be on the market -- though it may not kill you immediately, as it did these poor birds, the products one uses to clean, purify, heck, even many materials used to build houses, kill us slowly over time, causing cancer, strange chronic illness, etc., etc., etc. Letting fresh air in, and the toxins out by cracking your windows is sooo important!

Oklamoni, the bread machine is a fantastic idea!

Kats meow -- I agree 100%, death is a part of life, and the sooner we accept this, the better off we'll all be!

Well, again, I'm sorry for your loss, and I wish your family - and the new birds luck.

earthaven, thanks for the condolences on the loss of the birds. it was never my intention to offend anyone. when it happened, i was quite horrified at the death of the birds, and even more horrified at the thought of my daughter petting them and not realizing that something was wrong with them. i made my original post a couple of days after the incident, and i admit by then i had had time to adjust to what had happened. i'm sad about bob and ginger, i'm upset about my stupidity with the glade, but i'm glad that i handled things with my daughter the way i did. i saved her a lot of grief by buying her new birds and there's no way i can be sorry about that. this past summer, our neighbor's dog killed a mother rabbit, and my neighbor brought me the tiny little wild orphan. we took care of the baby for weeks, and had gotten it to the point where it was grazing and was ready to be released (it had gotten to be 6 inches long, which is the size at which they can begin to take care of themselves). the day we were going to release it, our daughter found it dead in it's cage. we had no idea what happened to it, but we suspected that it had hurt itself because it was really starting to jump around. our daughter was devastated. my husband dug a grave, and buried little funnybunny and he even constructed a grave marker. for the next couple of weeks, our (then) 7 year old spent of minimum of 2-3 hours per day sitting out at that grave marker crying. we could not pry her away. the school called me several times during that time period also, to tell me that she was crying about it at school. she also would cry herself to sleep at night and wake up in the middle of the night crying. there was absolutely no way in the world that i could cause her to suffer through that same kind of grief. to top it all off, a month or so after funnybunny's passing, a very close friend of the family passed away and my child had to deal with that. i think as a parent, there are times that we should protect our children from grief. there's plenty of things in life that we can't shield them from. one day her dog, cat, guinea pig, new birds or pet bunny will pass away and she will hopefully deal with it differently than she did the wild baby bunny. i hope that a lot of time goes by until then and she has time to grow up a little. as it is, right now she has just turned 8 and she is still my little baby, and i hate to see my baby's heart broken.

i respect everyone's opinions on this whole situation, even the people who don't agree with my "cover up". actually, that is one of the things i really enjoy about these forums....i sure don't mind hearing someone say "hey, you were wrong, and here's why..........."

i think this thread has been quite useful in spreading the word around about everyday products that we have in our homes that seem safe but really aren't. i know i for sure will think twice about using air fresheners, scented candles, teflon pans, the self-clean feature on my oven and carpet deodorizer.

thanks to everyone who has responded to this thread, and again, if i seemed callous or offended anyone in any way...then i'm sorry.

:) jiggreen

Wow, your poor daughter! I feel really bad. This is a perfect example of one never knowing the whole story behind something! I feel horrible. I'm so sorry...

A friend and I were just talking about how often times, there are so many different conversations going on, and the actual story has so many different meanings, due to one's "History."

I agree, this thread has, been quite useful. I use only natural products because I know of their dangers to humans, pets and the environment, but still, I would have never imagined that glade would could poison something so immediately. That still amazes me, it's horrible.

I truly hope this makes a lot of you think about all the products you have under your sink. They can really hurt you (over time) your kids, your pets and the environment. Check out this link about reading labels -->

As a potential house buyer, it is a big turnoff to me to have the whole house smell of glade and perfumed air freshener. It makes me wonder what kind of stink the seller is trying to hide, and I find them to be generally unpleasant smells even on their own merits.

Of course, bird cages stink too, so I'd basically just have to cross your house off the list.

mfbenson, actually bird cages do not stink. now, if we were talking about the rabbit/guinea pig cage (that's in my daughter's room!) well, yeah that one can get pretty stinky. the key is to make sure it is kept clean. my realtor said that when she walked into my house, she didn't even know we had animals. and that was AFTER the glade had a chance to dissipate. i actually like the scent of the glade, (i think it's called spiced rose and vanilla glade infusion). i liked the glade more for the aromatherapy than for the stinky-disguising factor. of course, i will no longer be purchasing the stuff. I'm sure there are lots of people who will only consider animal-free homes based on the assumption that all animals are stinky. I'd think that it would be pretty limiting to only look at non-animal homes, but then again, there's always new construction. Although, in my house, my 18 year old son tends to be more stinky than all my animals put together!

:) jiggreen

I don't believe this story for a moment. No 8 year old would fall for this. I usually roll my eyes at people who mistake their pets for humans, but I'm appalled at the internal contradictions of your reasoning, Jiggreen. You state, "Our pets are all important members of our family, and we love all of them." That doesn't exactly jibe with your previous statement, "BIRDS ARE REPLACEABLE".

Finally, I must say that I despise the chemical reek of Glade (or any other air "freshener"). If I encountered this stuff in a house I wanted to buy I'd immediately suspect a coverup of mold, vermin, pet urine or - may God forbid! - cigarettes.

kaleberg, to each his own......... believe, don't believe...sadly enough the story is true. yes our animals are all important to us...and we do love them all, that doesn't change the fact that the birds perished, and the situation was dealt with. rightly or wrongly, people are entitled to differing opinions. the fact of the matter is, the birds WERE replaced and my daughter does NOT know the difference. that doesn't mean that we didn't value the old ones or that she didn't love them, it just means that she sees no difference between these two birds and the others. it's not like the others talked or did cool tricks, they sat in their cage and chirped most of the time and so do the new ones.

jiggreen

My mother "replaced" my bird when I was a child also. She thought I never knew it, but I did. I noticed things that just didn't look right (the bird was slightly different in size, and was a little noisier). I always wiched they had just been honest with me. They used to do the same thing with my fish too.

I think children need to learn to deal with death. If your child had that hard of a time dealing with the death of the rabbit, then maybe some counseling is in order. That certainly was not a normal reaction.

Little kids are smarter than many parents think. I bet the child nows what happened but is so smart that she knows to keep it to herself and not "out" what the parent did! (just like the posters that brought it up here when their paretns did similar switchharoos!)

Yikes. Poor creatures, must have been a ghastly way to go.

I'd talk to the little girl. I'm wondering if the reason she was so upset over the rabbit's mysterious death is because she had something to do with it. Maybe she hugged it too hard and was guilt-stricken afterwards. Also - shouldn't an eight year-old know not to try and pet the birds? And know when a bird is dead or dying?

"And by the way, YES id do wear fur :)
PETA--People Eat Tasty Animals :)

I guess the smilies imply that these statements were meant jokingly, but they seem rather passive-aggressive "in your face" to me.

Oh well. I'm just really sorry about the birds, and appreciate the heads up about the Glade being the cause of death. I hope the new Bob and Ginger live long, happy, chirpy little lives.

I was kind of hoping to let this thread die...but I have unfortunate news about the "new" bob...he only lived a week from when i purchased him. i called the store i purchased him from, and they've had several birds from the same batch returned to them (dead) within the last 2-3 days so apparently the birds had some sort of illness. the new ginger (#2) is still doing well, and bob #3 seems to be doing fine. We told our daughter about bob#2's passing, (except she thought he was still bob #1...oh my this is getting confusing!). she handled it remarkably well, and told me that I had to get another bird because ginger would be lonely without a friend. I'm just so thankful it wasn't a repeat of the funnybunny situation. Anyway, I initially tried to do what I thought would be the right thing and ended up having to deal with half the crisis anyway. Hopefully ginger #2 and bob #3 will be very happy together :)

jiggreen

That's so sad. If it's any consolation, birds tend to die very quickly when they get gassed so they probably didn't suffer long. I would guess your daughter didn't notice the bird switch for the same reason she took Bob 2's passing so well: they just weren't pets she was really close to. You know, they weren't that tame and didn't like being handled, so she'd be much more attached to other pets. Just a guess. I had lots of pets and lots of pet deaths throughout my childhood, and some were merely sad while others were devastating. The rat I'd stuff in my shirt and take bike riding was much harder to lose than the hamster who was snarly and I didn't play with much.

I'm sure when you said "replaceable" you just meant that you could get away with it--not that they were disposable pets! As someone trying to sell, I see the humor in your title. It's like, we'll do almost anything to sell because we're so desperate! See what the market has driven us to! You have to look at these bad events with a little humor--it doesn't make the grief any less sincere.

Anyway, glad to hear she's handling it well, and thanks for the reminder on being careful with chemicals.

As someone who considers pets to be family/friends, and definitely NOT "replacable," I find this thread very sad. Birds suffer as much as any living thing, including humans, when they die from toxins, injuries, or other problems. They are susceptible to fumes from nonstick cookware, perfumes, candles, all sorts of things. Those things aren't good for us either, we can just take a higher dose. I can only imagine how many pet birds die needlessly because of staging a house for sale, "the holidays," and so on, when all the toxic scented crap comes out, and people bake cookies and cook a lot. I'm really protective of my pets, and the idea of them dying makes me feel physically ill.

Are you saying that even baking cookies and cooking a meal can kill a bird??? I have an African Grey, cook many meals and eat, but don't bake cookies :), and my bird is still talking up a storm and cooking a meal only makes him yell for "yummies for Sammy".
I totally agree about candles, perfume, cleaners, etc, but cooking and baking? Can you share your info with us?

If you overheat Teflon is can release chemicals that are very specifically poisonous to birds and some fish.

The dose makes the poison.
Potassium Chloride is used for lethal injection. It is also routinely used to adjust electrolytes in patients. If you do not have enough potassium you will have cardiac problems- nerves need it to work.

The lethal dose for a few ounce (or even 1 pound bird) is way below the danger levels for a 100 pound plus person.

Even more than the unsettling thought of aerosols, perfumed candles and cleaning products making the air in my home toxic (to pets and/or people!)....the teflon thing really creeps me out. We cook our food in those pans, and then injest or breathe in whatever noxious particles the pans have emitted. And that's on a daily basis! I'm thinking it might be better to go back to the "good old" days of the cookware that you have to scrub your knuckles off to get clean.

The following is a link to an interesting (yet extremely horrifying) article.

Not all non-stick pans are Teflon. I've heard that the newer materials aren't toxic, or maybe, aren't *as* toxic. But I have no sources to back that up. It's just something I heard/read within the last year.

Maybe someone else has info on this?

"I totally agree about candles, perfume, cleaners, etc, but cooking and baking? Can you share your info with us?"

http://www.plannedparrothood.com/birdtips/birdtips.html

Bar B Q grills can be a hazard if the smoke drifts into a window.

TOXIC FUMES are produced from Teflon or Silverstone coatings that are applied to pots, pans, and new appliances such as cooktop ovens, hair dryers, toasters, etc. This coating must be burned off the new appliances before the birds are exposed to them. Care must be taken not to overheat pots, pans and utensils (even stirring boiling foods with a coated spoon). Many other strong substances should be looked into before using. It doesn't matter how well ventilated your bird's habitat is. The following just came in about carpet deodorizers: "My cockatiel died after I used a carpet deodorizer. The manufacturer of this well known brand product finally admitted it's not recommended for use around birds. They said they didn't need to put a warning on the product. I'm just broken hearted, and her mate is just lost without her".

TRUCK/AUTO EXHAUST FUMES - In the cold winter months, be aware of vehicles (especially trucks) parked near your aviary running their motors if you have vents where the carbon monoxide can seep in. 4 wonderful birds died following a 30 minute warmup of a neighbor's truck as the attic fan pulled in the fumes from the exhaust.

NEW CARPET - emits formaldehyde fumes that could be fatal to birds. Will be waiting for more information from carpet companies and other bird owners on this.

FIREPLACES - If you use a fireplace for heat in the winter and have an airtight home, please be sure to place carbon monoxide alarms in your home. I personally know of a case where a cockatiel became ill and so did the owners of the newer airtight home because of carbon monoxide poisoning. They were fortunate to be alive.

FIREPLACE LOGS - It is rumored that artificial "logs" that are chemically treated to burn and help clear the soot out of your chimney -- will kill birds. Maybe this is true if there is a problem with the flue in the fireplace. Packaged "logs" that are usually provided by motels with fireplaces are also supposed to be harmful. To be on the safe side, it's best to use natural wood. Remove colored comic sections before rolling newspapers into logs. The colored inks contain lead and can produce toxic gases.

CHIMNEY CLEANING - Have it done properly by professionals who know that you have birds in case chemicals need to be applied during the process.

SCENTED CANDLES KILL! - It has been reported that certain scented candles have caused the deaths of birds. Better to not use any and be safe rather than sorry. Many candles also contain lead wicks which emit poisonous fumes.

NEW APPLIANCES DANGEROUS? - One bird reportedly died and others in the same house became ill with respiratory symptoms when a new ceramic stove was first used. Apparently, manufacturers are coating parts of all types of appliances with the deadly non-stick substances. Sometimes they include warnings of human respiratory ailments with the first use. In the above instance, the owner of the birds became ill with a severe headache too. Always check with the manufacturer if there is no warning on any new appliance before it is first used. New ceramic heaters also have this coating inside them and must be burned off outside first.

SAFE OVEN CLEANING - Don't risk using that wonderful self-cleaning oven that does it all for you. Try making a baking soda and water paste and applying it to a cool oven. Heat for 30 minutes, let cool, then easily wipe clean! No dangerous fumes and it costs only pennies to clean with very little effort.

ALUMINUM COOKING BAGS - The following is an account from a mailing list of another bad incident with a new product: "A lady in our bird club yesterday brought in a box of the new cooking bags made from aluminum and plastic made to go in the oven at up to 450..She used 2 at 375 for 40 minutes..After 30 minutes she came back in to find her amazon pumping for air and its eyes burnt. A metallic smell filled the air..She knows this bird would have been dead in another 10 minutes or less. Other Amazons suffered eye irritations."

LEATHER PROTECTANTS KILL - *Leather bag and shoe protectants are extremely toxic to birds and should not be used indoors in homes with birds. Even birds in adjacent rooms can be killed by the fumes. - *submitted by Dorinne MacKinnon

That list makes me think it's hardly safe for birds to be kept inside at all. Perhaps a screened patio, off the normal living areas of a house, would be better. Or a small separate structure, like a greenhouse for birds ...

I've only had a parakeet, and that was in the college dorm where we weren't supposed to have any animals. No cooking or anything there. Spike was a nice bird - when I went home for the summer I gave him to a local person, who later told me that she accidentally left the cage door unlatched and Spike flew away.

As for the toxicity of all of these things on we humans, I can attest that some of us are very sensitive to all of those things on Dreamgarden's list. I do not use any aerosol cleaners, no 409, Pinesol, ammonia, or bleach. I use dishwashing liquid and wite vinegar for most of the cleaning I do. We only use the self-cleaning oven when the windows can be open and the central heat/air off. No scented cosmetics or soaps. Nothing burns in my house because every burning thing gives off products of combustion. Candles vaporize some of that wax and other chemicals used to make the candles. I cannot have a gas stove - or go to a home using a gas stove for baking or cooking unless it is vented outside.

As for Teflon, we all do have it in our bloodstreams. Another thing that people do that is very harmful is using plastics in the microwave. Only hard plastics (the brittle ones that can crack if you hit them hard enough) should be used in the microwave. The plasticisers - chemicals that make the plastic bendable - act like estrogens in our systems. I am not so sure you want your little boys - or girls - growing up getting estrogen-like compounds in their meals!

You can now get carpet made for health care settings that have fewer chemicals. Think about all the 400 different chemicals that can be used in carpet - fungicides, pesticides, etc. My first mother-in-law lost her voice for six months after her employer put new carpet in her office. I can't even go into new carpet stores without having asthma symptoms. I have always bought houses with hardwood floors so I could avoid carpet after the current carpet got old. This house we moved into a year ago will get hardwoods when the carpet goes kaput.

So some of us out here think of ourselves as canaries in the coal mines. In the old days, miners supposedly brought birds in cages down into the mines with them because the sensitive birds would keel over dead if methane or other gasses started to build up. When the canary died, the miners made for the exits.

I have a parrot and I have known about the scented candles, but I didn't know about the other products. I will take heed, thank you all.

Nancy, my father was a coal miner, and yes it is true that miners took canaries or parakeets into the mines. He had several throughout his working life. Although we kids cried when he would come home without them, he always explained that because of the bird he and his coworkers were alive.

My secretary used to have a cage of parakeets. She left them alone to go on a weekend trip. When she returned, they were all dead. And her refrigerator didn't work.

Turned out that the fridge had leaked out all its Freon (this was some years back) and that's what killed the birds.

We have a very large parrot (green wing macaw) and she's lived happily with us for 13 years, along with all the cooking, baking and cleaning. We're careful about fumes, of course, but I think people shouldn't be living in "airtight" houses. It's not good for us or our pets. We ventilate regularly and especially when we're cleaning.

Don't feel bad! I did it too! Only it was a Betta Fish. Brett was about 4 and we had gotten a Betta the week before. It died one evening and after I put him to bed I drove to Walmart to buy another one. Turns out the manager felt bad for me that I had driven 20 minutes to replace it that he didn't make me pay for it!

Alicia

eileenlamp, I also cook but am very careful what kind of pans i use. Thank you to those folks who posted links and info on the dangers to birds. Many people buy birds in pet stores with no warning of these things, and one can only imagine the numbers of these little sweeties that die from toxic products.

Jiggreen, thank you for sharing your sad story. I had no idea that birds were so sensitive to fumes, and I am so glad to know it. I'm a realtor, and will keep this in mind for sellers who have pet birds.

I also have a friend in his late teens who has adopted several birds. My next action today is to place a call to him and give him a heads up in case he doesn't know.

thanks again, cocooner

I have a friend who recommends a dilute of water and fabric softener to make your house smell fresh but not perfumey. In that I use fabric softener and water to remove wallpaper, the house did smell particularly fresh for a time. Still, birds are very sensitive and regardless, I would take care using any chemicals around them. I like to open the windows before showing the house, weill I like to open the windows anyway - in the wintah, it can get a little chilly.

Hospitals use a weak mixture of bleach and water to disinfect, might smell a little better than vinegar.

I have a question though about the baking bread or boiling cinnamon - when you leave the house you are leaving the pot on the stove, or the bread still baking in the oven or bread machine? Isn't leaving a pot of now cooling tea on the stove burner sort of obvious? And aren't we all supposed to hide our clutter. Frankly what you have left is a dirty pot on the stove or your bread machine out on the kitchen counter. How do you hide the tea boiling and bread baking?

Hello, I am Monica Sudds.
I would like to respond to this string of messages.

Quote: "Monica spoke with Lee Langsly in the medical issues department of SC Johnson Wax, the maker of Glade Air Products. He was quite helpful and showed concern. He also cautioned that there are warning labels about pets on some of their products."

This statement is NOT my words. This part of this article is completely incorrect.
Do Not use this information above as a quote from me.
He never said anything at all about pet warnings on products!
Yes he tried to absolve the company of wrongdoing.

It was I who requested testing. Lee Langsly, not only, did not say there were proper warnings on the products, he said they would NOT PUT THEM on the products due to extensive costs and having to fight organizations like PETA for animal rights testing. I've always felt that warning should be on the products so that our companion animals, mostly of the avian species, were not put into jeopardy. But, it appeared at that time that the cost of warnings & changing labels was not worth a concern about their consumers pets.

I did continue my "crusade" to save our parrots, small animals, elderly parents and infants. He threatened me with a lawsuit. I was ready, but obviously this did not happen. I told him if he could prove his product safe or put a warning label on then I would stop requesting it and warning people.

I still have the original article that I wrote on this subject, that first appeared in newspapers, and parrot/bird organization newsletters and magazines around the US and overseas.

It almost seems daily, more and more products that are dangerous to our birds, small pets, elderly family and small children are being produced. I say now. Find my original article on the internet. Do NOT believe that I thought at any time that the company was helpful or showed any concern. Do not read bastardized articles of what I originally wrote on this subject.

Thanks for you help on these issues, Monica. It's a ridiculous position some of these companies take on this issue. How "caring" of Dupont to have a bird link, buried in their web site, on how we should be careful with birds in our kitchen, and they try to equate the outgassing of Teflon (registered trademark) as being no more dangerous than overheated cooking oil or butter. For the benefit of others, overheated Teflon swiftly causes catastrophic pulmonary hemorrhage in birds. So I would say it's much worse than just overheated oil or butter. Dupont should put warning signs on their products.
http://www.teflon.com/NASApp/Teflon/TeflonPageServlet?pageId=/consumer/na/eng/housewares/keyword/teflon_keyword_birds.html

It took years, maybe decades, for it to finally be accepted science that non stick coatings, (not just one brand), can emit toxic gasses. For years bird owners were told this was nonsense. Now it's know that it's not only dangerous for birds, but other animals, and humans too. It's incidents like this that make me unable to trust anything that comes from corporate mouths. And if you have noticed, since a recent study did prove this material emits toxic gas came out, these coatings have been put on nearly everything including clothing. (Stain resistance I guess.) It's like they're trying to use up tanks of the stuff before it's banned, LOL! BTW, if clothing has this coating on it and you put it in the dryer on high, I have to wonder if it's dangerous. Therefore I don't knowingly buy anything that has a non stick coating of any kind. My pet birds are far too important to risk it.

HuXXXX you might want to look at how old the post is before commenting. The OP in 2006 felt bad enough without you blasting them 12 years later.