How to Get Rid of Weed Smell

How to get rid of weed smell can be a tricky thing to figure out. Whether growing, storing, or smoking, Cannabis has a distinctive aroma that not everyone enjoys. Over the years, we’ve learned how to remove these weed smells.

Today, we’re going to share a few of our tried and tested tips and tricks. These methods are effective as you find out how to get the smell of weed out of your environment. 

Though legal in many states, you may have several reasons to want to keep your weed cultivation and use a secret.

From growing to storing to smoking your cannabis, there are things you can do to fix the problem. Join us as we look at the various weed odors and how to take care of them.  We’ll take a look at the different aromas and how to deal with them.  

Let’s explore how you can get rid of the smells associated with growing, smoking, and storing weed now.

Does Growing Weed Smell?

Yes, it does. The plant is engineered for its high oil content, and you can expect a room crowded with them to smell a lot. The most intense aromas occur during the flowering phase, but the whole cultivation process gets pretty stinky. Considering this, it’s best to figure out how to eliminate weed odor.

Why Does Cannabis Smell?

As nature has blessed us with the sweet-smelling fragrance of ornamental roses and lilies, we also have the cannabinoid aroma. The intensity of the smell depends on the plant’s age and when you harvest it.

If you opt to harvest earlier in the life cycle, it’ll have a milder scent and less potency when smoking. 

The plant produces compounds called terpenes which have two main functions–to attract pollinators and repel harmful organisms. These attract pollinators and repel organisms that would otherwise harm the plant.

The Different Cannabis Smells

To the trained nose, each variety has its particular bouquet. Hash made from pollen, outdoor bush, and indoor hybrids each have distinct fragrances. Burning marijuana generates the most potent aromas, but more modern varieties can be surprisingly pungent when stored.

Reasons to Avoid Weed Smells

Not everyone likes the smell of cannabis, and few could stomach the powerful odors inside a full-on grow for more than an hour. The reasons to avoid the smells might seem obvious, but below are a few of the most regular complaints.

Smelling Too Strong

The odor from more potent strains can be overwhelming. More recent hybrids contain elevated levels of super-volatile aromatic oils escaping from grow rooms and storage areas. Once we know how to mitigate the weed smell, we can deal with these problems as required.

Unwanted Attention

Even in areas with legal Cannabis, there can still be a stigma attached to growing it. Some people still regard it as a vice. A crop ready for harvest also has a significant cash value and will be a temptation for criminals. It’s probably not wise for the whole neighborhood to know you’re cultivating.

So what’s the best way to get rid of weed smells?

When the Smell Lingers in the House

This is a tricky one because we grow accustomed to the odors in our own homes. It can be challenging to tell if your house needs deodorizing. It’s best to ask a friend for their honest opinion.

There are several neat tricks for getting weed smells out of your home. The first is, “Don’t panic.” Skin one up or fill a bowl, and consider your options.

When the Smell Lingers on Clothes

This tends to be caused more by smoke particles from burning cannabis. Microscopic solid particles of burnt material get caught in the fibers of your clothes and hang around for ages. It can be challenging to get rid of pot smells from fabrics without washing them.

Fabric fresheners work but often have unpleasant perfumes and can leave chemical residues on your clothes.

The Smells May Annoy Other Members of the Household

If you absolutely can’t swap out your housemates, you’ll need to consider the effects the smell has on them. Living with the ever-present stink of a cannabis farm in full production isn’t for some. Extracting weed odors from a grow room is simple if you know how.

Best Way to Eliminate Weed Smell when Growing

The best ways to eliminate pot smell are:

• Containing them
• Moving them
• Neutralizing them 

Secure the Grow Room

Containing the Smell

Making sure your cultivation spaces are sealed is the first move. Large quantities of volatile terpene oils are released during the flowering phase as plants get buffeted by the circulating air. These vapors are molecular in size and will penetrate any opening they find.

The vapors find ways under, over, and around doors, so you require proper seals on all four edges of any door or window frames. Ziplock grow-tents help to contain the bulk of the smell, but there’ll always be some that escape.

The aim is to make the area as airtight as possible so you can control the ventilation effectively. Your goal is to isolate the problem, then remove it.

Provide Adequate Air Circulation

Moving the Smell

Evacuating the putrid air from your grow room is the most effective way to solve the problem. Extraction fans coupled with conduit will carry the odor out of the room into the open air. You might have to knock holes in walls if you can’t find a convenient outlet.

It doesn’t have to be an elaborate system, but take care to wire it up correctly. Fires are a severe hazard when cultivating cannabis. Remember that the extraction system will need to run for 24 hours per day and be left unattended. You don’t want to return to your growing operation to find the emergency services asking awkward questions.

Depending on your local area, you may still be concerned about neighbors noticing the giveaway stench emanating from your house. In this instance, you can pass the extracted air through a series of carbon filters. This will deal with the worst of the problem.

How to Make Weed Smell go Away when Stored

Once your cannabis is grown and cured, it needs to be stored correctly. You must preserve its freshness while containing the smell. Storage is best in glass mason jars, or ceramic pots, in a cool, dark place, but even these can leak odors through the seals over time.

Smell-proof storage containers

Some generic Tupperware-style containers are made from porous plastics, and vapors from potent weed can permeate these easily. Our best tip is to use microwave cooking bags which are excellent for containing weed smell.

How to get rid of Weed Smoke Smell

Smoke is very different from the fragrant oils of fresh cannabis. It’s made from microscopic solid particles that linger for longer in the air, surfaces, and fabrics. We can either mask the smell, or we can contain it before it becomes a problem.

The problems that come with how to get rid of weed smell when smoked can be mitigated quite easily.

Use a Sploof

You can make an effective sploof by stretching napkins over one end of a toilet roll tube and securing them with rubber bands. Some prefer to buy custom-made activated charcoal smoke erasers. It’s the same principle. You are trying to filter the problem odors from your smoke as you exhale.

Vape Instead of Smoke

There are no solid particles that come from a vape. Almost all of the vapor is absorbed by the lungs, making it the most efficient way to consume marijuana. What little we exhale has practically no smell and will dissipate quickly.

How Do You Get Rid of Weed Smell in the House?

The smell of marijuana can spread quickly through your how house so it’s imperative to figure out a way how to get rid of weed smell effectively.

There are several tactics, depending on whether you have an emergency, or can plan ahead. Whatever happens, make sure you always have a large can of Febreeze on hand for that unexpected knock at the door.

Use Incense

Incense will mask the smell of your weed smoke by overpowering it. The drawback is that when people smell incense in a house, they sometimes assume it’s being burned to hide the smell of cannabis. We’ve even seen cannabis scented incense being used as a double bluff. It worked.

Light Some Candles

We were amazed the first time someone showed us this. With a few tea-lights spread around the room, there’s a massive reduction in the pungency of lingering weed smoke. The flames ionize the air causing any particles to stick together and fall out of the atmosphere much quicker.

Always remember that leaving naked flames unattended is dangerous. The smell of your house burning down is so much worse than the smell of a well-bogarted blunt.

Install a Smoke Filter

If you’re going to do something, you may as well do it right. Smoke filter products range from electrostatic smoke removal systems to powerful fans that force air through multiple activated carbon filters. You can clean and recirculate the entire air volume in a typical room in just a few minutes.

These air-scrubbers can be expensive to run and are only effective if you clean them and change the filters. If you can afford it, these devices are the ultimate solution.

Final Thoughts on how to Get Rid of Weed Smell

There’s an answer for how to get rid of weed smell in every situation.

Prevention is better than cure, so try to prevent the smell from escaping. When you grow, seal your cultivation areas and use a growing tent to reduce the pong’s intensity. Smokers can exhale into a sploof, which can range from an old sock to a custom-built device.

Combustion-free vaping is the best approach as it’s the smoke from burning the weed that causes the worst problems. 

If possible, move the foul air outside, but be careful not to advertise to the neighbors what you’re doing. Filtering the expelled air or directing it up a chimney works best. Getting rid of the smell out of your home could be as simple as opening a couple of windows. Even better is to go and smoke outside in the fresh air.

Deodorizing and masking the smell is the last resort. Incense, air-freshener, and electronic air-purifiers can all work depending on the size of the space. 

The final consideration is personal hygiene. Don’t wear clothes that smell like you’ve just got back from Woodstock. Keep your breath fresh with mints or mouthwash, and wash your hands after handling large quantities of bud.

If you’re ever wondering how to get rid of weed smell, hopefully this guide can help you out!