New Air Conditioner Safe?

[amandacatherine]

It’s gotten really hot the last week (especially in my room where my birds are) and I just bought a new air conditioner. As I took it out of the box, I noticed that strong new appliance smell, and it got me thinking about whether this new appliance is safe for my two budgies. Then I went online and of course there are horror stories...

This is the one I got: https://www.midea.com/us/Air-Condit...onditioner-with-Mechanical-Control-MAW05M1YWT

I plan on calling customer service when they open, but that’s two days from now. Do air conditioners contain Teflon or need to run a while to get rid of chemical fumes? If so, how long until it’s safe to have it near my birds?

 

[SailBoat]

Understanding that there are four very different types of air conditions. Based on your wording, its sounds like this unit is classified as either a Window mounted air conditioner, commonly known as Window Shakers or a floor model that uses flexible hoses to connect it to a plastic window insert.

The traditional window mounted unit places near 90% of the unit outside of the house and the air enters from the room and pass though the cooling coils, the fan and back into a the room. All the heat is on the other side of the a solid metal wall. Long Story Short. There are no compounds that the interior air comes in contact with that are dangerous to your Parrots.

The other unit sits fully within the home with the vast majority of the structure molded with structural plastic. The exchange is with plastic flex pipe that common leak at the attachment points and 'can' present problems.

FYI: Turn the unit on Fan only, high for about an hour prior to switching to air conditioning. NOTE: Turn the temperature to the target temperature for the room. Turning the temperature to 100% cooling will not cool the room any faster! So, set it to the target temperature. Set the fan level to medium as high fan will only pull the air though faster and not allow proper temperature transfer.

NOTE: If you need an extension cord, obtain a heavy gauge extension used for air conditioners. Do not buy one that is to short and do not buy one that longer than your need.

 

[amandacatherine]

Understanding that there are four very different types of air conditions. Based on your wording, its sounds like this unit is classified as either a Window mounted air conditioner, commonly known as Window Shakers or a floor model that uses flexible hoses to connect it to a plastic window insert.

The traditional window mounted unit places near 90% of the unit outside of the house and the air enters from the room and pass though the cooling coils, the fan and back into a the room. All the heat is on the other side of the a solid metal wall. Long Story Short. There are no compounds that the interior air comes in contact with that are dangerous to your Parrots.

The other unit sits fully within the home with the vast majority of the structure molded with structural plastic. The exchange is with plastic flex pipe that common leak at the attachment points and 'can' present problems.

FYI: Turn the unit on Fan only, high for about an hour prior to switching to air conditioning. NOTE: Turn the temperature to the target temperature for the room. Turning the temperature to 100% cooling will not cool the room any faster! So, set it to the target temperature. Set the fan level to medium as high fan will only pull the air though faster and not allow proper temperature transfer.

NOTE: If you need an extension cold, obtain a heavy gauge extension used for air conditioners. Do not buy one that is to short and do not buy one that longer than your need.

Thank you! Yes, mine is the window mounted unit that’s mostly outside.

 

[amandacatherine]

An update for anyone who is wondering:

I emailed customer service, and they said it does not contain Teflon or emit harmful fumes. I’ve been using it with no problems.

 

[noodles123]

An update for anyone who is wondering:

I emailed customer service, and they said it does not contain Teflon or emit harmful fumes. I?ve been using it with no problems.

Just a heads- up (I'm sure you are fine) but if you ever call a company again, don't just say teflon (and don't trust the first person you speak to- as they always say their products are safe and rarely have access (as customer support) to the list of manufacturing contents)). Teflon a brand (not something that their manufacturer would likely list unless it was a DuPont product)


See this thread- if you read my responses, those are what you need to ask about whenever you call a company (for future purposes)
http://www.parrotforums.com/questions-answers/90037-utility-heater-safe-use-parrot.html



I'm sure your window unit is fine-- I have the same style and have no issues-- plus, I don't think these really heat up unless malfunctioning and teflon etc poses the greatest risk when heated. <--EDIT- see Sailboat's reply (apparently they do heat up) <- On my parents' unit, I sometimes see ice on the outside (which I know is not a good thing lol) but that is one reason why assumed they did not heat much. Mine mentions not running it in cold temperatures, due to the risk of coils freezing etc.


Whenever you get a new product, it does tend to off-gass some VOCs (due to factory coatings and plastics etc) so just always keep that in mind -- if this were like an oven or something (even if teflon/ptfe/pfoa/pfc free) you would want to heat it up with your birds totally out of the house for the first few uses.

 

[SailBoat]

Traditional Window style air conditioners do obtain fairly high temperature, but as covered, those bits are located outside!

 

[bill_e]

Traditional Window style air conditioners do obtain fairly high temperature, but as covered, those bits are located outside!

Yep, and for that matter, so does the compressor in your fridge. Enough to exclaim "ouch" if you touch them with some sensitive skin but nothing near the temps that we typically associate with out gassing.

 

[sofonamy]

I think that it's just a simple smell of plastic. For you, it's of course safe, what about your badges, I don't know. I also had two of them and I can say that they are really gentle creatures. Mostly it's just a smell, I think there are no toxic elements in it, it's for sure, but they can be toxic for animals and birds. Just in case really ask the manufacturer, or you can ask specialists in the field of air conditioners, I think they'll answer your question.