REFINISHING HARDWOOD FLOORS NEAR PARROTS. I wanted to share with parrot owners what worked for me.
I used water based products from Bona.com.
PREP: Sealed off bird room - closed door and covered with 4 mil plastic before sanding.
(Be sure to cover EVERYTHING in your house if you don't want to live with fine dust everywhere.)
SEALER -- BonaSeal Satin (no stain used. The Satin is almost clear. They have another sealer that will give an amber hue if you prefer.) My crew used a paint brush to apply. One crew member's work was even, the other's was not, so they had to do some sanding and another coat of BonaSeal using the "ROLLER" this time. The Roller costs $20. Most installers will remove the little white wheels because they're not accustomed to water based products. My advise is leave the wheels on. Also watch the video online and buy the edger, also $20. The Sealer dries in about 4 hours.
THE FINISH -- Product used was Bona Traffic HD. I chose Traffic HD over Traffic because it dries in 2 hours not 4, it has about 40% less VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) and it off gasses 80% in 24 hours, and its surface is stronger. The crew lightly sanded per instructions using palm sanders. I recommend using a buffer if the area is large and to save time. Either way use 180 grit sandpaper. This time I locked (with padlock) my macaws in their cages, took out the windows to increase ventilation, ran the Pure Air filter, placed a small LG A/C unit in one window and set it to 3 and checked the airflow to make sure it wasn't hitting any of the birds, ran weather stripping around the door frame, attached a door sweep to the bottom of the door, closed the door and sealed the door with 6 mil plastic. My crew set a ladder outside the window so I could climb up to the 2nd floor and check on the birds. I had 4 parakeets in the room and figured they would serve like the canary in the coal mind. The odor from the product was faint, kind of like nail polish remover. We took a 2 hour break and then put on the 2nd coat of Traffic HD. The instructions say sand lightly before applying, but the floor was smooth so we skipped sanding. One hour after the floors were finished I was able to tip toe up the stairs and back down once without a trace.
It's three days later and the birds are all doing fine. The door and plastic was all that separated their room from the floors that were being refinished.
AVOID STAINING THE FLOOR: One installer I had consulted said he had an experience in which the parrots became ill ($3,000 medical bills) from the stain he used (I'm not sure if the other products he used were water based or not).
NOTE: The Traffic and Traffic HD have a hardner that comes in a separate bottle which you add to the gallon jug of solution. The warning on the label of the hardner says wear rubber gloves, mask, goggles and not to wear the same clothes away from the area. My crew ignored that and so did I without incident. Seeing that warning was enough to nearly give me a panic attack though. I don't advise disregarding the warning, but there's no need to have a panic attack either.
I found the Bona.com Customer Service Technical Department very helpful. Although they could not advise on the use of the product around parrots, they could tell me who in town carried their products.
Don't take my word for it, do your own research, talk to your avian veterinarian and installers and product suppliers, but I couldn't be more pleased.
