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Moving into an apartment for the first time, any advice?

Kackington

Meeting neighbors
Joined
7/29/17
Messages
26
Real Name
Katherine
Hi!! Sorry if there's a better place to post this-- I've been browsing this forum for years now but this is my first time posting.
So yeah, hi! I'm moving out of my parent's home for the first time and my sweet green cheek conure, Bento, is coming with me. I've been caring for birds for almost a decade now but I've never had to care for a bird outside of this house, so I'm kind of worried. I've done plenty of searches for "bird in apartment" but it seems the majority of the results are always asking what kind of bird would be good for an apartment. I'm not worried about that though! I'm worried about a few things, actually-- and I was hoping that maybe anyone living in an apartment could help me worry a little less. I think I've gotten to the point where I've done so much research that I've scared myself.

So anyway, here at home my birds have always lived in my room, far away from the kitchen and laundry room. But in my new apartment, it seems that Bento's (my) room and the vent in the room is directly connected to the living room below, which is connected to the kitchen and has the laundry room in it. So, what do you guys do for ventilation? I did a lot of research on HEPA air purifiers and I'm thinking about getting a Honeywell HPA300. What kind of air purifiers do you guys use? I don't do much cooking, so I'm not too overly worried about that. The stove has drip pans and I don't know if they have teflon or not, so I'm going to be using the microwave and I'm considering getting a rice cooker. A stainless steel rice cooker should be fine, right? And speaking of teflon, I've known about the dangers of using it for years, but since I'm moving I thought I'd brush up on my knowledge of it, and after reading tons of articles on it, one of the last ones I read mentioned dryers as a hazard. Again, the laundry room is in the room below Bento's room. Was this article wrong, and did they mean hair dryers? Or do dryers use teflon too?

My friend who currently lives in the apartment (and let me preface this by saying I love her, and I understand that she's not a bird person so she probably doesn't think twice when she tells me this stuff haha) freaks me out with some things she says about the place-- like the fact that the water isn't always clean, or the time she told me that, on multiple occasions, the neighbors burn their food. Bento and I once stayed over before and I did notice that I smelled something burnt. Again, would a HEPA purifier help this situation? And as for the water, what kind of water filter would you guys recommend? Here at home the water is clean and the ventilation is great, but now that I'm moving out I'm having to consider all these things I haven't put too much thought into before.
I'm going to be adopting a second greenie soon as well, so I want to make sure that both my babies are safe. I apologize for the long post, but thank you in advance for any advice or recommendations. Thanks guys!
 

camelotshadow

Joyriding the Neighborhood
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Joined
11/9/11
Messages
21,494
Location
S California
Real Name
Christine
Don't think a vent from laundry could be same vent in your apartment.
Generally each one should have there own vent but don't know how old the building is & what the code was when it was built.

Laundry soaps & dryer sheets can generate alot of perfume smell.

Air is air though & it does not need a vent to get into your apt.
My ex neighbor smoked & I could smell it in my hallway & when I turned on light/fan in bathroom as vents go up to the roof & air mixes up there & can come back down another vent. Had to be exposed to that for over 10 years.

Austin has a special chemical filter for hazardous things like that. They are $$$ but depending how much nastys they capture they can last for up to 5 years.

Some hair dryers can have teflon & alot of common household appliances.

Are the dryers in the basement gas or electric? Not sure if some can have teflon.
 

Kackington

Meeting neighbors
Joined
7/29/17
Messages
26
Real Name
Katherine
Don't think a vent from laundry could be same vent in your apartment.
Generally each one should have there own vent but don't know how old the building is & what the code was when it was built.

Laundry soaps & dryer sheets can generate alot of perfume smell.
I was just there checking the other day, I didn't even think to look! The complex was built in 1975 but I know that my apartment has had renovations. And thankfully my mom has always used really sensitive detergent and dryer sheets for me, so I've never noticed any smell.

Air is air though & it does not need a vent to get into your apt.
My ex neighbor smoked & I could smell it in my hallway & when I turned on light/fan in bathroom as vents go up to the roof & air mixes up there & can come back down another vent. Had to be exposed to that for over 10 years.

Austin has a special chemical filter for hazardous things like that. They are $$$ but depending how much nastys they capture they can last for up to 5 years.


Ugh that's the worst!! I'm grateful that I haven't seen anyone at the complex smoking. Yeah, I saw Austin come up a lot in my research, and with my budget a Honeywell is definitely more in my range. Did you use an air purifier when neighbor smoked?

Some hair dryers can have teflon & alot of common household appliances.

Are the dryers in the basement gas or electric? Not sure if some can have teflon.


Yeah, I know most of the offenders but seeing "dryer" on a list was definitely new to me. I actually have no idea if it's gas or electric... I would guess electric? I know for sure that the stove is electric, so I would assume that the washer/dryer are electric as well.
 

Kackington

Meeting neighbors
Joined
7/29/17
Messages
26
Real Name
Katherine
Sorry, just want to bump this. I probably shouldn't have posted this thread at 3am haha.
 
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