Broken AC. Can the freon hurt the birds?

[Buy A Paper Doll]

Hi,

It's midnight here and I'm dealing with an uncooperative air conditioner. Fun and games. No telling what's wrong with it, I'm on a couple of websites trying to figure that out. In the meantime, I have a question. Let's say this thing is leaking freon. Is it safe for the birds to be in the house? Last year (or was it the year before?) we had a major leak - and the repairman said it wasn't dangerous - but we did not have pets at the time.

[bellarains]

Jennifer,

I did a quick search, and from what I've read, I would say yes, freon is dangerous for the birds. I would move them to a room that can be well vented until the repair man comes and confirms the problem to be on the safe side.

TTYL,

Lori

[Buy A Paper Doll]

To be safe, I shut the whole thing down and moved the bird cages away from the unit and when the repair man comes to work on it I will put the birds outside.

In the meantime it's going to be very very warm in the house, as in over 80 degrees. I had to leave for work, I've got fans running in their room to keep air circulating, and they have fresh water. I know that some folks keep their birds outside in Florida and it does get hot out, but how much heat can a lovebird tolerate? Trying to decide if I should pack them up and take them to the vet's office to board them until this mess is over.

[LauraO]

Jennifer: I live in Ewa Beach, one of the hottest and most humids sides of the island and my birds are doing fine right now. They live in their room with the door shut and the windows open but no AC as of yet. I get worried later in the summer but right now they are fine at 80 and 90 degrees so I'm sure Milo and Melody will be fine.

[mjm8321]

Jennifer,
We had some seriously HOT, muggy weather last summer and we simply made sure there was plenty of air moving for the lovies and offered extra water dishes and also misted them. They all did just fine.
Good luck!
MJ

[Buy A Paper Doll]

Mr. Repair Man just left. I don't have a freon leak. So everybirdy and everybody is safe. Thank goodness! There's cold air coming out of the vents and it never got hotter than 80 degrees in here today. Whew! Mr. Repair Man said I have a bad whoosawhatsit but it's easy enough to replace that I could do it myself if I want. So that's what I'm going to do!

Money saved on AC repair bills is money spent on lovebird toys. :p

Oh, what's funny is he said he and his wife had birds at one time. Cockatiels. He said they were escape artists and they had a bag of wooden clothespins to clamp all the cage doors shut. They had to replace the clothespins every other day or so, otherwise they'd chew through the clothespins and let themselves out.

[BarbieH]

Hey all;

I know from my job that leaking freon is only dangerous if it displaces most of a person's oxygen; it literally causes suffocation. However, when it leaks it usually evaporates immediately, then it gets diluted to a degree that it wouldn't hurt anyone. It's like rubbing alcohol; it evaporates very quickly at room temperature. (Freon actually evaporates at a lower temperature than rubbing alcohol.)

Kids try to get a cheap high from huffing refrigerant, sometimes even stealing it from people's air conditioners. Since the high is only caused by oxygen displacement, it's the same high a person would get from holding their breath too long. These kids put the refrigerant container right up to their mouths and inhale. Stupid. Now *that* can cause death or permanent brain damage because the brain looses oxygen. But the fumes themselves are not toxic.

Severe frostbite can occur if liquid refrigerant comes in contact with bare skin. Again, however, it's very unlikely for the average homeowner. Refrigerant evaporates at a relatively low temperature; when it leaks to a warm room or outdoor temperature, it evaporates before it can contact skin. Once it evaporates, it is diluted by oxygen.

So that's the skinny on refrigerant. Stay cool, you lucky folks whose weather is warm enough to warrant putting on the A/C. :)

[Buy A Paper Doll]

Kids try to get a cheap high from huffing refrigerant, sometimes even stealing it from people's air conditioners.
Wow, Barb. I would have never thought of that! Down here in FL, every summer the news stations do 'whistle blower' reports on AC repair companies that are being accused of taking advantage of their customers' ignorance and charging for repairs or maintenance that is not needed. The big one is people being told they're low on freon when their system doesn't have a leak anywhere. I don't think anyone's ever considered the possibility of someone stealing freon out of their AC unit to get high, they just assume the repairman is lying.

I learn something new on this board every day!

[BarbieH]

Seems like the TV stations do that same story every year, and it gets real stale; like, slow news day, guys?

The best way to find a good air conditioning contractor is to get a referral from a friend or neighbor. You could also check with a national association like www.acca.org. I also like to check out any company (not just A/C) through the BBB. Most tradespeople have had complaints, but it's the ones with unresolved complaints that raise a red flag.

I'm glad your particular problem worked out. Too much refrigerant can cause problems, but too little can also break the system down over time, leading to a much more costly repair.