How to keep parrot lungs healthy

[MasterObli]

Hello! I've made a couple other posts about my Meyer's parrot Trinity (who is displeased that I stopped scratching her to type this) and it seems like as soon as I get one issue dealt with, another pops up.

The air quality in my city has tanked. Google Alberta wildfires for more information. My neighbourhood has been mostly spared from the smoke but the wind shifted and now it's gotten bad. Here's a picture from the river:
So I'm understandably worried about Trinity's health and looking for tips on how to keep the indoor air quality as good as I can. So far I'm keeping the windows shut and just running the AC but my place is always at least 15°C hotter than outside so this will get expensive quickly. My condo doesn't have an HVAC system and I don't own a portable air filter (I'm also not sure that that would help in this situation). The humidifier I use in the bedroom broke and the money for a new one ended up having to go to improving my home's security. A friend recommended using a wet sheet in front of the fan to help with cooling the place down and adding humidity and as soon as I think of a way to set that up, I will be doing it.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for what I can do? I don't have much in the way of money but if it's important, I can borrow from my dad, I just have to convince him it is. Which isn't too hard but having evidence to back me up helps.

Here's a picture of my little turd enjoying the fresh air before the quality dropped. I set up one of those magnetic bug screens between the doors so the dog can go in and out but the bird cannot. It worked great when the air quality was good. I'm also working on ways to get her to stop chewing on the door frame since I know that that is not good for her

 

[flyzipper]

I don't own a portable air filter

This is the next best action to take in your situation.

Good indoor air quality is achieved through:

• - reduction
  ... there's nothing you can do to reduce the source of the smoke.
• - ventilation
  ... usually this is achieved by exhausting stale indoor air outside, and bringing fresh outdoor air inside because it's usually cleaner, but in your case keeping the windows closed is the right choice.
• - filtration
  .... removal of particles from the air by filtering is the only step available to you.

 

[MasterObli]

So I'm buying an air filter?

 

[flyzipper]

I would recommend one for all bird environments during normal times, and I'd suggest it's especially important until Alberta returns to normal.

 

[FiatLux]

I don’t know that this is an appropriate point of comparison but we were impacted by the infamous fires in Sonoma (we are quite far from there but the smoke, as im sure you know,travelled) and could not open windows nor spend time outside, we relied on air filters. And by we I mean both the birds and our kids. As @flyzipper noted, there is really no other way to mitigate the harm in your situation and I also feel that it is a requirement for enclosed spaces with birds. There is a wide range of air filters (quality and price) and in some ways it’s worth investing the most you can in a high quality air purifier that can provide coverage for your whole condo and last you a long time. Be sure to account for the cost of replacement filters (less frequent but higher price point for the higher end units such as Oransi). @flyzipper has an article or research about the different types of air filters that I used to decide but you can also do a search by terms of the forum and find a number of threads about the various kinds. I hope this helps. You have my empathy —as grateful as I was to only be impacted by the smoke and not by the fires themselves, air quality issues really impact quality of life for people and pets.