If you have pet birds, you are doing the right thing by looking for a room air purifier that will keep the air as fresh and clean as possible. Studies have shown that birds whose air passages are kept clear have fewer infections which more often than not increase their life spans. Here are 5 features that will make your purifier effective and good for your birds.
24 Hour Coverage – Maintaining clean air means being able to stay ahead of the pollutants that can clog air passages. A cleaner with a split capacitor motor is designed to run safely and effectively whether you are home or not. Having it operate all the time means the birds are never forced to breathe air that is clogged with dander, feathers, and other household pollutants such as dust, dust mites, pollen, bacteria, and viruses.
Easy Placement – You want your bird room to be about the birds, not about the purifier. This means choosing a unit that can be placed anywhere and does not need to be placed in the middle of the room to be effective. Six inches clearance from any surface is all it should require. It should also be able to operate effectively up on a shelf or sitting on the floor.
HEPA Filter – Any cleaner that is to be effective against the huge number of particles that birds generate should have a high efficiency particle arresting (or HEPA) filter. By definition this type of filter is able to remove particles as small as .3 microns with 99.97% efficiency. And since bird dander is sub micron in size and invisible to the human eye, a HEPA filter is the most effective filter choice.
Filter for Gases – We all remember hearing the stories of Canaries being taken in to the mines as living indicators of the air quality. If the Canaries died, the miners knew that the air was no longer safe and would leave before it became fatal for them. This is a heart breaking reminder of how sensitive birds are to gases and odors.
And even though birds are no longer used in that way today, they remain extremely sensitive to gaseous pollutants. Carbon based filters are the very best at absorbing gases, odors, and airborne chemicals. Opting for a purifier that can also remove gases means one unit can remove both types of airborne pollutants before they have a chance to cause problems. This saves money, time, and space in your room because can rely on one unit rather than needing two.
Easy Maintenance – Providing excellent care for your bird is no small feat; and it’s a constant one. The last thing you want or need is something that will add to your list of daily chores. A purifier with little or no maintenance and infrequent filter changes every five years or so means it’s designed to take care of your and your bird, not the other way around. Avoid those units that require washing, spraying, recharging, and frequent changing of the filter.
Avoid any cleaner that requires you to routinely do anything inside the unit. This allows the pollutants that you have worked so hard to trap to go back into your bird’s air. It also takes a huge amount of your time away from enjoying your bird, and doing other things that you enjoy.