The reason you will hear objections to the safety of "odorless mineral spirits" is because of the nature of avian resperatory systems. Birds fly, and all their physiology is evolved to support that. This means the efficient delivery of oxygen and removal of waste products from the muscles used in flight. So they don't have lungs like ours, which only make incomplete exchanges of air. They have long structures of air sacs, with much more surface area exposed to the air than ours, which allows them to wring all possible oxygen from the air. It means they also absorb contaminants and toxins from the air. Contaminants which are not at all harmful to us will kill a bird. I know someone whose bird died when the family used nontoxic latex paint to paint a room, and another member on this forum who's parrot died when they ran the self cleaning cycle on their oven - though they had run that cycle several times without incident.
Things are as they are, whether or not we like what they are. None of the suggestions here have been directed towards you or critical of you personally. Many, many people here had their parrots attacked and killed by pets they had lived safely with for years. People have lost parrots to very minor and seemingly harmless environmental factors. Parrots have died from flying into washing machines when the owner's back was turned for an instant, when someone else opened a door at the same time the bird was spooked, have flown into pots of boiling water, eaten medicine/drugs dropped on the floor....it's like having a two year old child for fifty years.
I'm something of a loner myself. When you say that you don't have many human friends and don't want any, it sounds like you're looking for an intelligent parrot to be a decent substitute, interaction without human expectations or demands. The thing is, you don't know how the parrot will be. They are individuals. They have their own personalities from birth. They might have fearful natures, and never lose that timidity. They might have any quirk, and unlike a human they may never outgrow it. You have to take them as they are. If you buy a baby grey, and it grows up to be a neurotic fearful bird no matter how well you treat it, you are responsible for caring for this neurotic fearful creature for all its life, fifty years maybe. It would cause even more harm to the bird if you decide you don't want a neurotic fearful bird for fifty years and decide to sell it, return it, or give it away.
That's one good reason to adopt a rescue parrot. They are older, and their personalities are known. Sure, maybe they have baggage, but don't you? Don't we all? Maybe their baggage and your baggage are a perfect fit.
Maybe there's an easier way. Buying a baby bird and hoping things are perfect is like rolling the dice. There's a way to stack the odds in your favor. Find a local rescue operation and help take care of the birds. This might mean changing cage paper, cleaning poop, fixing food, etc. it's like having your own personal harem of birds. You can see them all, interact with them all, see their personalities- and give the birds a chance to check YOU out. One may fall in love with you, and you may be just as thunderstruck by them. Love at first sight. There's no better chance of long term happiness than to let the bird choose you.
The more pressure you feel to do something NOW, to get a bird right away, the more important it is that the choice go well. Taking a little bit of time to get to know some parrots means putting off, for a little while, the pleasure of having one as a companion. But it makes it much more likely that when you do bring your companion home, you have a chance to find the love and companionship that you desire.
It's not half as bad as febreezing a room that a bird lives in or cooking with teflon.
I can only ask that they be more gentle and sensitive or please do not reply to me at all. Thank you for maybe trying to understand....
