Ask Lafeber

Pool chemicals and parrots

Hi,
I have a 16 year old Quaker. I’m looking at buying a home with an indoor bromine pool. I’ve done lots of searching, but can’t find any information on pool chemicals and parrots. The pool room is separately ventilated from the house, but I still noticed a slight pool smell in the main house. The health of my parrot is my priority, so if the bromine is dangerous it would be a deal breaker on purchasing the house. Appreciate any information you can provide.

Regards,
Shona

Hi Shona,

Pool chemicals or anything with strong fumes can be deadly to birds. Birds have a very complicated respiratory system consisting of lungs and air sac, which makes them more susceptible to fumes of any kind. These fumes really are not good for humans to be exposed to for very long either. I would look into natural, non-chemical types of filtering for the pool as there are other “green” ways to keep the water clean. Many will say pet safe, but that does not necessarily mean bird safe.  Also, a pool should not have a strong odor unless it is dirty, which activates the chemicals and causes the strong fumes. If this pool has not been used in a while, that may be the cause of the smells. I can’t imagine anyone living in a house where pool fumes are prevalent all of the time.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda