How to Hide the Smell of Weed from Neighbors (15 Simple Tricks)

Most cannabis users eventually learn how to hide the smell of weed from parents, teachers, or when they get older — from neighbors or coworkers (yikes).

The unique aroma of cannabis can be very persistent, obvious, and hard to get rid of, especially if it’s in your clothes, hair, or even your furniture.

Here are some tips and tricks on how to get rid of that marijuana smell during and after smoking, with a bonus tip on how to store cannabis without spreading the odor.

Prepare the Smoking Space

Preparing the room before smoking makes it easier to get rid of the smell afterward.

Here are some simple things you can do before lighting up a joint, which will make your life easier when the couch-lock kicks in and you get too lazy to air out your chamber.

Ventilation

If you are growing marijuana indoors, or if you simply often smoke behind closed doors and windows, it’s necessary to have a proper ventilation system installed. It’s important to have constant airflow in order to keep the space fresh and it’s much easier to get rid of the marijuana smell from a well-ventilated room.

Hotboxing is never an option!

Pro tip: check and change the filters of your air conditioning unit regularly.

Let the fresh air in

There is nothing better than enjoying your favorite herb in a fresh room and it’s actually much harder to get the smell of marijuana out afterward if the room is stuffy and dirty.

If you don’t live in a building with a lot of neighbors or in a state/country where weed is illegal, just throw the windows wide open and light up that blunt.

The “Towel Under the Door” trick

This is the old school trick we all tried back in our college days. Marijuana smell can spread rapidly through leaks around doors and windows.

If you don’t want the smoke to spread to other rooms, or just don’t want your neighbors to smell it, nudge a dry or damp towel or blanket directly under your door.

Make sure you press it firmly against the door to close off all the leaks.

Smoking in the bathroom

This is not the best option if you have some company over, but if you’re alone, you can get high in the bathroom. You’ll need to turn on hot water, which will cause the bathroom fan to suck in steam along with the smell of weed.

But if you’re not a fan of hot saunas, you may as well skip this idea.

How to Reduce the Smell of Weed While Smoking

There are a couple of things you can do to cover up the weed smell or prevent it from spreading in the first place.

Incense

If we’ve learned something from “That ‘70s Show” circle scene it is that lighting incense sticks during smoking can mask the smell of weed.

This can be tricky since simply owning incense can make other people suspect your marijuana habit. But, unless weed is illegal where you live, or there’s some other valid reason for hiding the smell of weed, you should only be doing it out of consideration for others people’s well-being, not because of what they’ll think.

Hit up essential oils

When devising strategies on how to hide the smell of weed, a crucial aspect involves understanding the scent of cannabis, allowing for more effective and informed odor mitigation measures.

Essential oils are a great way of camouflaging the cannabis odor. There is a wide range of scents on the market and with the increasing popularity of essential oils over the last few years, there are now many types of essential oil diffusers available.

Make a sploof

A sploof is a simple and easy-to-make filter that supposedly turns the smell of weed into the smell of freshly washed laundry.

Yes, you read that correctly.

If you are a DIY kind of person, you’re going to love this homemade device.

All you need is a toilet paper roll (or a plastic bottle), a paper towel, scented dryer sheets, and an elastic band.

Here is how to make a sploof in four steps:

1. Take a toilet paper roll (or a plastic bottle, and cut the top off with scissors or a knife).
2. Fill the toilet roll tube with three or four scented dryer sheets.
3. Take another dryer sheet or a paper towel and fold over one end of the toilet roll.
4. Secure it with a rubber band or some tape.

And that’s it, you’re good to go.

Do not inhale through the sploof because the fabric dryer sheets contain chemicals that can be unpleasant to breathe in.

When you smoke pot, exhale the smoke into your DIY device and it will smell like you just washed your clothes.

Smoke in a bottle

If you don’t want the smoke to spread through your room, and if you are feeling very, very lazy, exhale the smoke into a big plastic bottle and then simply screw on the cap.

How to Get Rid of Weed Smell After Smoking

Besides opening the windows and turning on the fan, there are a few more tips and tricks to get rid of marijuana odor fast.

Cook an aromatic meal

If you have to get rid of the smell very quickly, cooking a nice meal in your home is actually not a bad idea.

Choose a recipe with fragrant herbs and spices and be sure to add some garlic or onions into the pan. Those aromatic ingredients will mask the smell of weed almost instantly.

Safety tip: It’s fun to cook while high, but please be extra cautious, and double-check to make sure you turned the stove off when you’re done.

Vinegar

Vinegar can do wonders when it comes to cleaning your house, but also it’s very useful for eliminating odors. The smell of vinegar is not as pleasant as you might expect, but it wears off after an hour or so, taking the marijuana smell with it. Plus, it’s cheap, available in your local store, and you can use it afterward for cooking and cleaning.

To use, boil a cup of vinegar in a saucepan on your stove until the smell spreads throughout the room and masks the weed odor.

Fragrant furniture

The smell of cannabis can be very persistent, especially if you smoke often in one particular room. Fortunately, there are a few ways to get rid of the weed smell from carpets and fabrics.

Baking soda can do wonders when it comes to absorbing smells, plus it’s not harmful. You can simply add a few inches of baking soda into a shallow, wide box or dish and leave it in the room for a few days. It will take some time to absorb any odors, so it’s not a bad idea to just keep a dish in the room before, during, and after smoking.

Activated charcoal has been used for years as a smell neutralizer, especially in industries using gases and liquids. It binds to the odor molecules and attaches them to the surface. You can buy room deodorizer bags that contain activated charcoal or you can buy activated charcoal powder and use it in much the same way as baking soda.

The faster way to get the smell out of your furniture is by spraying odor removers or neutralizers onto it. Don’t forget to read the instructions first, since some of these products are not suitable for all types of fabrics or materials.

Clean yourself up

It’s good practice to at least wash your face and hands after smoking, but it’s best if you can take a shower and wash your hair as well because the hair will probably absorb most of the weed smell.

If you don’t have time for a shower, use odor-neutralizing sprays and at least change your wardrobe. And make sure you wash the clothes you wore while smoking as soon as possible.

Also, we recommend brushing your teeth or chewing gum.

Get some sun

If you’ve smoked on a sunny day, you can use UV rays to clean up. Sunlight neutralizes odors, so a relaxing walk in the sun for 30-45 minutes might do the trick.

Other Consumption Methods Instead of Smoking

To make sure you really use weed in stealth mode, your best bet is to use vape pens, bongs, or pipes. Depending on the actual accessory, they can significantly soften the smell of cannabis.

Edibles are also an option, but not if you’re home-cooking. In that case, you’ll again need some odor-masking tricks (strong spices, covering the pot, etc.).

How to Hide the Smell of Your Stash?

Dried cannabis flowers have a very intense smell. Most of us like it, but some people can’t really stand it.

Whether you are hiding your stash from someone or just don’t want your room to smell like fresh weed, it’s handy to keep these tricks in mind.

Also, you can try combining some of them. Experiment to see which trick works best for your stash.

Plastic bags

Storing your stash in plastic zipper bags or vacuum bags will minimize the smell and will also keep your pot fresh a little bit longer. Freezer bags tend to be thicker and stronger than other types of bags.

Glass or ceramic containers and Mason Jars

Depending on the material itself, cannabis can leave a strong odor on the container you keep it in. That’s why a ceramic or a glass jar with a good rubber seal is a must-have for every pot smoker.

Bonus Tip (Triple Protection Strategy)

Although I live alone and I have pretty cool neighbors, I don’t like my apartment smelling of weed. You never know who might show up unannounced. So to avoid awkward situations, I tend to follow almost all of the rules I lined out above, plus a little trick of my own.

My secret is that I use “triple protection”. It’s not stupid if it works.

This is how I store my stash:

First, I put the weed in a little plastic bag and then wrap that in an aluminum foil. Next, I put it all in an odor-resistant bag, and then I put the whole bundle in a glass jar.

Try this method and you’ll see that there is no way the smell is getting out.