Teflon pans

[Chopper]

Last night my son (at his place - not mine) set a teflon pan on fire. So much so that it did damage to the microwave above the stove. He told me that there is no longer any teflon in the pan. He has birds. Some of them were within 10 feet of the stove. Since teflon is deadly I was expecting the worse. As of last night they were alive. Do they die days later or what?

 

[Jeddy]

Wow he is lucky they are still alive. Bad Bad Teflon.

 

[EkkieLuv]

Maybe it wasn't really Teflon?? Lots of reports of bird deaths with Teflon use at much lower temps than is claimed safe by Dupont. He's either very, very lucky or it was some other type of coating that was luckily not harmful.

 

[Chopper]

Well, who knows...right now he won't think it's anything but bad luck that it happened to him.
He and his girlfriend have had a couple of bad weekends and then this.
I hope everything is okay because she isn't responding to my texts.

 

[painesgrey]

Teflon/PTFE tends to cause an acute toxic reaction, which means that the onset of symptoms is usually apparent immediately or very soon after exposure. I wouldn't worry that they're going to die at this point.

That being said, I would say this is less "bad bad Teflon" and more "bad bad son." Overheating/burning anything (Teflon or not) can be extremely harmful to birds. I would urge him to be more careful in the future.

 

[Chopper]

Well, he is 24, and he picked up the pan with bare hands. Ouch! It's sad...the first thing I thought of was the animals...before I thought of either one of them. Yikes!

 

[Barn owl]

Go to his house and throw those pans away, seriously.

 

[rocky'smom]

^I agree^

 

[Chopper]

Our relationship is too rocky for me to do that. Sorry.

 

[Lady Jane]

It's a gas so exposure is fast and deadly. His birds are very lucky to be alive.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

How scary! I'm glad his birds are okay. I hope this doesn't give him a false sense of safety regarding Teflon pans.

 

[Chopper]

No - I'm sure it doesn't. The apartment complex served them with a letter telling them that they had been negligent because they turned their back to the stove while she was heating oil. She was cutting up the veggies on the table. There isn't enough room to do it on a counter. I'm thinking that for Christmas they are getting some new pots and pans.

 

[Hankmacaw]

The T-Fal diamond surface pans are PTFE and PTOF (?) free. They are sold at Walmart at a reasonable price and are just better all around than the Teflon pans.

 

[Chopper]

I have t-fal .... somewhere but it is old. Honestly, I think I need a new set when I move to my new place in January.

 

[Monica]

Be cautious, not all T-Fal products are PTFE-free.


I'm wondering if the pan might be hard anodized aluminum that's PTFE-free or maybe a ceramic coated pan???? Because if it's a nonstick pan that contains PTFE, then the birds would have been dying immediately (as painesgrey mentioned).


Please understand that just because a pan is non-stick doesn't mean it contains PTFE.

 

[Mrcrowley]

Teflon/PTFE tends to cause an acute toxic reaction, which means that the onset of symptoms is usually apparent immediately or very soon after exposure. I wouldn't worry that they're going to die at this point.

That being said, I would say this is less "bad bad Teflon" and more "bad bad son." Overheating/burning anything (Teflon or not) can be extremely harmful to birds. I would urge him to be more careful in the future.

I bet they had a good stove fan to pull everything outside

 

[BirdCatLady]

Wow, that's scary. So glad the birds are okay!!

 

[Pentameter]

Teflon, as others have said, tends to cause acute toxicity. Usually birds are sickened/dead within 24 hours.

You should be on the lookout for respiratory issues, though. Smoke may not cause an acute syndrome but it can lead to secondary infections, irritation, etc. Best keep a sharp eye on their breathing and watch for discharge from the nares (nostrils).

 

[Hankmacaw]

Be cautious, not all T-Fal products are PTFE-free.

That's why I said the DIAMOND SURFACE T-FAL. T-fal also makes a lot of regular Telflon surface pans. FOLKS YOU GOTTA READ THE LABEL ON EVERYTHING!!

 

[Chopper]

Thanks everyone. We aren't sure what the pan was made of. She has since used the oil in other pans and has not had the problem. The birds seem to still be fine.