Are these bird safe?

[msminnamouse]

I found some NON-aerosol air fresheners that they say are bird safe but I want to see what you guys think. Here are the ingredients:

Citrus - Water, Coconut-derived Surfactants, Ethanol, and Citrus Oil.
Vanilla - Water, biodegradable surfactants (derived from coconut), ethanol (dervied from corn) and vanilla.
Cinnamon - Water, biodegradable surfactants (derived from coconut), ethanol (dervied from corn) and cinnamon oil.
Lavender - Water, biodegradable surfactants (derived from coconut), ethanol (dervied from corn) and N.O.P. certfied organic lavender oil.
Parsley - Water, Parsley oil, clove leaf oil,biodegradable surfactants (derived from coconut), ethanol (dervied from corn).

And surface fresheners:

Lavender Mint - Purified water, ethanol (derived from corn), odor eliminator (derived from corn), grapefruit seed extract, lavender and mint oils, and 100% natural anionic coconut kernel oil-based surfactant.
Lemongrass - Purified water, ethanol (derived from corn), odor eliminator (derived from corn), grapefruit seed extract, N.O.P. certified organic lemongrass essential oil, and 100% natural anionic coconut kernel oil-based surfactant.
Citrus - Purified water, ethanol (derived from corn), odor eliminator (derived from corn), grapefruit seed extract, natural citrus blend, and 100% natural anionic coconut kernel oil-based surfactant.

What do you guys think? Bird safe?

[pixibubbles]

it would be the ethanol that would give me cause to hesitate. It's there to make it evaporate into the air and spread scent further... possibly into delicate airways?

Who is it who's saying they're bird safe? Anything to back up the claim?

[boomer girl]

I would worry about the Ethanol as well and find it strange they say its bird safe.

[Marrie]

Indeed. Why not make some home made air fresheners you know for sure are bird safe? You can bake them out of cinnamon, anise seed and apple sauce into whatever shape you like and hang them around for decoration. I posted some recipes a few months ago under general.. on my tablet atm so cant find the thread easily but will link it for you tomorrow. There are many scents available and they are all natural made from cooking ingredients, can also find recipes on google.

[msminnamouse]

I'd love for you to post the recipes, thanks.

It's ECOS. I've used their bird cage cleaner in the past with good results (I just noticed it also has ethanol in it http://www.ecos.com/petaviary.html#spec) and they make the only bird safe carpet shampoo I've been able to find. No ethanol in that.

[Marrie]

http://www.tailfeathersnetwork.com/c...shener-recipes

There is the post I made with a few. You can add whatever spices you like the smell of really. You can also make a natural air freshener spray, if that is what you prefer, out of essential oils and water. Or even something like boil lemon/orange zest and cinnamon into water, then let it cool and add to a spray bottle. A few other methods are you can either make your own or buy rose oil or lavender oil and put it in a little water, then let the water get hot enough to steam either through either boiling, or even something like a steamer, makes the smell of flowers go wherever the steam reaches. Or, add about 20 drops of oil to a spray bottle for a quick and easy spray freshener. Or, add some oils to something absorbent like cloth or cardboard and place around your home to let the smells linger.

You want SAFE oils, so get the natural kind if you use those. Or, make your own (pretty easy to do) http://homecooking.about.com/od/allh.../r/blherb1.htm - I use organic lavender oils for my bath water and the citrus/cinnamon if I want a quick get the smell out around the bird.

[msminnamouse]

Thanks! I really appreciate the recipes.

Not to sound smart or anything but I'm generally confused about something. Those scents will disperse into the air as well when sprayed, even without alcohol, and would enter their airways. What makes some fragrance essential oils safe and not others, when the same kinds are used in the recipes?

[jamesCalvin]

it contains ethanol in it part of the process for making ethanol is to add gasoline or other such kinds of fuel in the process to make sure it isnt drinkable and such and when they ferment it the then proof it down so there is still some fuel in it to help it evaporate. and Marries' stuff seems much more fun the spraying a can anyways

[Marrie]

I prefer the non-spray versions for my own home - the first recipe you bake into an air freshener you can hang, it's like baking a pie. Safest imo. The essential oils though are simply boiled flowers etc to get the oils out of them. There are no chemicals. Perfumes and other things use chemical products that are dangerous, such as ethanol, alcohol, etc. So it is nearly as safe as having a very yummy smelling flower in your home, since the smell comes from the oils held in the flower releasing into the air. It is more concentrated though, so I prefer not to use them in the same room as my bird anyway. I much prefer the bake cinnamon/orange in water or bake a nice smelling air freshener to hang, or a potpurri pot of natural scents. But for a spray air freshener, essential oils are the safest you can get.

[DesertDweller]

I know I'm gonna get really criticized for this, but I'm gonna say it anyway, since some people will want store-bought stuff: I found that Febreze works really well around my animals. I make sure to spray it AWAY from the birds, and NEVER spray up toward the ceiling. When I spray in my bird's room (aka: my office, LOL), I just give a short quick spurt toward the floor, and that's it.

I am highly allergic to lots of sprays and other stuff, and Febreze is the first store-bought product I can use. I would NOT use the plug-in Febreze around birds, however. Too much constant emitting of chemicals.

[Marrie]

Febreze gives me AWFUL headaches (like, migraine strength), so I wouldn't use it around myself, let alone animals, as if it bothers me that much I can't imagine what it could do to them ... but it's up to each owner to decide what is best for their animals. Won't criticize.