Even though millions of Americans and almost all Canadian adults are legally allowed to use cannabis, not everyone is comfortable advertising the fact. If you live in a rented property, likely, your landlord isn’t happy to have stoner tenants stinking out their investment! Perhaps you have neighbors who complain about the whiff, or else you don’t want your parents knowing what’s going on in your room.
Whatever the reason, having a method of filtering out the smell of weed as you smoke is invaluable. As it happens, there is such a device! It is called a ‘sploof,’ and those who have made one swear that it is effective.
Why Does Marijuana Smoke Stink?
Before we learn how to make a sploof, let’s take a quick look at why your pot has such a distinctive scent. The age of the marijuana plant when harvested is arguably the most crucial factor. When weed is harvested earlier in its life cycle, it tends to have a less skunky aroma, especially when smoked. If you smoke cannabis that is ‘older’ before being cured and dried, it usually emits a more pungent odor.
There are thousands of strains, some of which have very distinctive scents. However, for the uninitiated, the dried cannabis plant offers a piney skunk aroma when lit and smoked. In the main, you’ll ascertain the difference between strains before combustion. Herb connoisseurs love the fresh scent of marijuana when they first purchase it. At this stage, it can have an array of odors, including lemon, lime, strawberry, diesel, plum, or pine.
Overall, you can thank the hundreds of terpenes contained in cannabis for its overall scent. You will find the terpenes secreted in the same glands that produce cannabinoids such as CBD and THC. These oils help distinguish one strain from another. Repeating isoprene molecules make up terpenes. As a result, they are volatile, easily combustible compounds. The traditional method of smoking cannabis typically results in the combustion of terpenes.
The skunky aroma you get from weed potentially comes from a metabolic product of a precursor to acetyl coenzyme A. This particular fragment has a smell akin to that of appalling sewer gas. If this theory is correct, it helps explain why we get such a strong scent from combusted marijuana. Others claim that myrcene, one of the most predominant terpenes in a large variety of strains, plays a significant role in providing the skunky aroma.
If you have ever smoked marijuana, especially in a room with a few other people, you’ll know that the stink sticks to your skin, clothing, and hair. The odor mixes with the scents of smoke and fire and intensifies the natural odors (such as sweat) that we naturally produce. When you create a sploof, however, you can avoid all of this unwanted drama.
What Is a Sploof?
It is a homemade device that allows you to neutralize the telltale marijuana odor. While you are free to purchase one online, making one is quick, easy, and cheap, as you’ll see a little later on. When you smoke a blunt or joint, you release the smoke into the air. When you blow the smoke into a sploof, the smoke goes through a filtering agent and loses its famous stench.
As for the origins of the term, it is probably a combination of the words ‘spliff’ and ‘spoof.’ In case you were not aware, a spliff is a combination of tobacco and marijuana flower. If this prospect horrifies you, steer clear of Western Europe and the Caribbean because spliffs remain extremely popular in both regions! A spoof is a trick played on someone, although a ‘spoofer’ is an individual who bluffs and generally talks nonsense!
There is no good reason NOT to use a sploof and several reasons why you should:
- A sploof is incredibly easy to make.
- It filters out the smell of marijuana smoke, which makes it harder to detect.
- It gives you a higher chance of enjoying a private session without your mom/landlord/partner/police finding out.
- The smell doesn’t linger, so you don’t leave ‘evidence’ of your activities behind.
How to Make a DIY Sploof
To create a sploof, you need the following:
- Scented dryer sheets
- A paper towel tube or toilet paper roll tube
- Rubber band, tape, or string
- A pair of sharp scissors or a blade
- A filtering agent such as activated carbon – not strictly essential but it makes a HUGE difference
Why do we need these ingredients?
Scented Dryer Sheets
It is highly likely that you have scented dryer sheets in your house. The infused odor helps hide the smell of marijuana smoke. Also, the thick weave of the material traps molecules that result in the well-known weed aroma. If you don’t have sheets at home, spend a few bucks and buy a packet.
Toilet Roll or Paper Towel Tube
We’re going to assume that you have toilet roll or paper towels in your home! Ideally, you’ll wait until you finish the paper. Otherwise, you have to waste it because you need the paper tube. Get rid of any tiny bits of paper that inevitably get stuck to the container before you begin. This tube is what you blow the smoke into.
The tape/rubber band/string is required to ensure the scented dryer sheets remain in place. You can use a plastic bottle as an alternative to the toilet paper tube.
Filtering Agent
Most DIY sploofs don’t bother with a filtering agent because the scented dryer sheet does a good enough job. However, adding something like activated carbon to the mix increases the effectiveness and longevity of your sploof.
The charcoal is extremely porous to the point where a gram has an actual surface area of approximately 3,000 square meters as determined by gas adsorption, despite being tiny! Incidentally, ‘adsorption’ relates to the adhesion of ions, molecules, or atoms from a dissolved solid, liquid, or gas to a solid surface. It means the charcoal has an incredible capacity to trap and hold the odorous molecules. Best of all, activated charcoal is easy to obtain and extremely inexpensive.
Making a Sploof – Step-by-Step
Now that you have the necessary ‘ingredients,’ it is time to create your magical marijuana smoke filtering device!
- Remove the remaining paper from the paper towel or toilet roll tube. If you are using a plastic bottle, cut it in half and keep the top part.
- Fill the inside of the tube or bottle with dryer sheets. As it isn’t necessary to pack them in tightly, you shouldn’t need more than four sheets.
- Take another dryer sheet, fold it, and put it over the end of the sploof. Secure it with string, tape, or a rubber band. At this point, your sploof is ready to go. Blow the smoke into the open end, and marvel at how your device filters the smell.
- If you are using activated charcoal, put it into the sploof after completing step #2. You only need to add a small amount. Then you tie the dryer sheet over the end.
That’s it! Once you have the requisite material, you can create a sploof in a matter of minutes.
Final Thoughts on Making a Sploof At Home
There are plenty of options if your goal is to control the odor emitted when smoking marijuana. Expensive choices include investing in an air filter or purifier. More affordable options include burning incense (although it is often associated with smoking weed), lighting scented candles, opening a window, and spraying everything in the room with Febreze!
However, there is no need to go through any of the above stress if you build a sploof. Among its many benefits is its versatility. As it is a container with holes at both ends, you have a variety of options. Apart from using a paper toilet roll tube or plastic bottle, you could also invest in a PVC pipe which will unquestionably last longer.
As for how long your sploof will last overall, it depends on the materials you use. The ‘classic’ option will lose its neutralizing power eventually. The precise longevity depends on how often you smoke, but you know it is time to change when you notice the odor of cannabis creeping into the room despite using the sploof. You might also see that the dryer sheets change color.
As you are using household items, throw your old sploof away and make a new one!
