Birds make wonderful pets. However to ensure the health for you and your pet bird requires a clean environment. As you probably know, birds have sensitive systems. The bird dander and feather dust that is created can pose issues for everyone.
What is bird dander?The feathers, feather dust and particles that come from birds are referred to as bird dander. A simple flapping of the wings can quickly spread these particles throughout your room. Causing an allergic reaction in your or your other pets.
In addition, some species of parrots create a special type of feather dander called powder or bird powder. This bird dust is a fine sized particle that can easily travel throughout your home.
Can you be allergic to birds?
Yes, as with any pet it’s possible to have an allergic reaction. For people with asthma or compromised respiratory systems like COPD the allergy symptoms can be more severe. The same goes for your pets. They can experience the same allergy symptoms as us. So, clean air is helpful not just for you but for any other pet in your home.
What kind of air filtration systems should I use?Bird dander, dust and feathers are all particulates. The best way to remove them is with a true HEPA filter. The tiniest of these particle are the most dangerous. This is because they are the one’s that can be breathed deep into your lungs. They also stay suspended in the air the longest and are most easily breathed in my you and the birds.
Pet hair and animal dander from a dog or cat tend to be larger and will more easily settle to the ground.
There are other air filtration technologies such as ionic, UV-C light, activated carbon, ozone generators, etc. These will do nothing to help with the removal of bird dander. The carbon can help remove pet odor. For activated carbon to work well in removing smells you will want to make sure it is in granular or pellet form. You will also want at least 3 pounds of carbon if anything other than light pet odors.
It is important to note that if the air purifier has an air ionizer that you have the ability to turn it off. Birds have sensitive systems. You will not want even small amounts of ozone to be present with birds. Ozone is an indoor air pollutant and is dangerous to birds.
There are 3 main criteria you should look for when buying an air purifier for birds. The first is a super efficient true HEPA filter with large size and high quality filter media. This is what is needed to effectively remove fine bird dust. The second is a solid fan and motor. In order to effectively clean the air in your room you need sufficient air flow. The third is to ensure the system is safe for your birds. You do not want ozone produced and should buy a HEPA filtration system. If it has an auxiliary ionizer you must be able to turn this off. All Oransi air purifiers meet these three criteria.
Best air purifiers for bird ownersMost of our customers choose the Max HEPA air purifier. This is because it has a large HEPA filter, is quiet, can clean small to mid-sized rooms under 600 sq ft and costs less than $500. The HEPA filters are rated #1 air purifier by an independent test at Clemson University.
As asthma and allergy sufferers ourselves we design the filters to be highly effective for people like us. And to really clean bird dander you need a better air filter. Even if you do not choose Oransi, please go with a true HEPA air filter.
If you have a large room square footage or want industrial grade HEPA filters then the ERIK650A is the best choice. This air filtration system has the highest efficiency filters of any on the market. It also has a proprietary gas filters to remove a wide range of odors. It works well in the removal of pet odor. In addition, there is no ionizer or any other technology that could potentially cause harm to your birds. Furthermore, there is no ionizer in the OV200 or EJ air purifiers either.
To help you understand how to properly size the air purifier for your room we have this chart. The CADR stands for Clean Air Delivery Rate. This is the amount of air flow through the air filter.
The Air Changes per Hour represents how many times all of the air in your room is cleaned per hour. The numbers below the Air Changes per Hour columns show the square footage for each CADR rating. In addition, we include the corresponding Oransi air purifiers so you can see how they compare.
Sq Ft Coverage Based on CADR and Air Changes
Why not buy a $100 air purifier?
In terms of HEPA filtration you typically get what you pay for. Less expensive filters tend to not filter out the smallest, most dangerous particles and don’t last very long. A more expensive filter like ours will filter better for a pet allergy and last longer. Especially for feather dust. You also get a bonus in that they are the best home air purification system for all airborne particles such as mold spores, dust mites, pet hair and animal dander.
We have written extensively why a HEPA air purifier is better than an ionic.
How effective are they?
To effectively remove the bird dander from the air you need a top notch HEPA filter and a strong motor/fan. We only use the best components in our air purifiers. With the right system you should see very good results.
See what a couple customers had to say.
Jan said this about the Max HEPA air purifier: “purchased this because I watch birds in my home and needed a top of the line air cleaner to help with the feather and dander issue. I am surprised how often it needs cleaning! Imagine all the bad stuff in the air before I bought the Oransi v-hepa Max Air Purifier!!!!! It's great!”
Laurel from CA said this about the ERIK air purifier “I have an extreme allergy to birds and feathers/feather dust. My doctor said it may not help, but it has! There is a huge reduction in dust in my house since installing this product and I am feeling better. I also love that it is made in the U.S.A., with a German motor.”
Are they noisy?
All HEPA air purifiers produce white noise. We recommend setting to a fan speed that is comfortable for you. In general, all tend to be very quiet on the low speed setting and may be too loud for some on high. It’s really a personal choice. Most people are satisfied running HEPA air purifiers on a middle speed setting.
How far from birds do you keep them?
We see good success in having the air purifier a few feet from the birds. The birds are the source of the feather dander so in a larger sized room, it’s better to be closer. If you have a small room it’s doesn’t make as much of a difference. We use this to help reduce germs from our birds.
How often do you have to clean them out?
You will have to clean and/or replace the filters more frequently than for someone who does not have birds due to the dust and dander. We suggest a HEPA vacuum cleaner to lightly clean the pre-filters once per month to ensure they are not getting clogged. Be careful to use a lower level of suction so the air filter is not damaged. In most cases the filters will last a year. For the ERIK filtration system the true HEPA filter will last 3 years or more.
To conclude, the purpose of a HEPA air cleaner is to provide you and your pets with clean, fresh air. It is meant to remove the fine airborne particles to improve the health for all. So, you are not breathing them in. Room air cleaners will definitely improve your indoor air quality and we suggest the use of a good HEPA vacuum to keep the floors and carpeting clean of cat dander and animal fur. This will help you reduce pet dander as it will not get kicked up as you walk around.