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How to Stop Weed Smell From Going Through Vents

weed vents

The pungent smell of weed can sometimes give you away long before anyone notices the joint between your lips. Fortunately, there are a few different options if you’re wondering how to stop weed smell from going through vents. You might have to put your bong down real quick, though. Because some of these tips require moving around a bit.

Photo: Pexels

Does Weed Smell Go Through Vents?

Stoner girl
On the down low (Source: Unsplash)

To put it bluntly, weed smell can absolutely go through vents. It will also, linger within your smoking space. The scent will stick to your furniture, clothes, upholstery, your dog’s fur, the judgment of your elders – literally, everything.

But beyond lingering, weed smell also travels. Far and wide. And it will go through vents, riding the wind like in Pocahontas.

Alas, the herb comes with a pretty strong and telltale scent. And it’s a pretty difficult one to mask completely, try as you might.

That said, there are ways to limit or reduce the potency of the smell. With a bit of trickery, you can fool your neighbors into thinking you’re just an experimental cook with a penchant for rare herbs, and nothing more.

How to Get Weed Smell Out of Vents

When trying to work out how to stop weed smell from going through vents, you’ll soon learn there are several options. Some of these are relatively more effective but might require more time or cost more money. Others may not be quite as successful for your goals but are way more accessible. As such, you’ll have to pick one or more options that work best for your unique situation.

Store it Right

Kush jar
Neatly packed (Source: Unsplash)

While each person might store their weed differently, some people find vents the safest place to keep theirs. As the subject of this article shows, however, that is a terrible option if your weed smell is going through vents.

Opt instead to store your stash in airtight containers, such as mason jars.

Exhale Using Dryer Sheets

This might sound like an odd choice but it’s a pretty effective solution. Using a contraption made from a cardboard tube (such as the ones at the center of toilet rolls) and dryer sheets stuffed into the middle, you can create an on-the-spot filtration system that reduces how strong of a scent your weed leaves in its wake. You can learn how to make a sploof here.

Use a Filter

Perhaps the most important and quickest fix is to invest in a filter for your vents. The more common options are HEPA and Ionic air filters. HEPAs limit the transmission of small particles such as pollen, dust mites, and smoke from going through filters.

Ionic filters. however, release negatively charged ions which latch onto positively charged ions, weighing them down. Essentially, they make small particles too heavy to remain airborne.

Hit it With Some Charcoal

Charcoal
The magic deodorizer (Source: Unsplash)

Another addition you can make to your vents is a charcoal filter. These are exceptionally effective against odors. Charcoal is, in fact, so effective against odors they’ve become a popular do-it-yourself project for many people. This makes it a pretty solid and accessible option for anyone trying to figure out how to stop weed smell from going through vents.

Invest in a Dehumidifier

Strong smells don’t just ride the wind, they specifically prefer humid air. So if you live in an area with a higher percentage of humidity, you might find a standard humidifier helps reduce how strong the weed smell in your space is. And by extension, how far it travels.

Get Icy with an AC

If you have an air conditioner, this is a decent enough alternative to dehumidifying to keep your space on the drier side.

Another great option is to use a fan. On its own, a fan will circulate air in the room and prevent the weed smell from stagnating, something that often makes the smell worse. But if you happen to close all doors and windows and leave just a tiny crack open at one end of the room and turn the fan up, you create a sort of vacuum that drags the air toward the hole and out.

Switch Strains

Seedlings in a nursery
Try something new (Source: Unsplash)

It might not be the most ideal, but switching to a strain that does not carry as strong a smell might be helpful if the issue persists.

Stoners are certainly in luck on this front, though. New strains are dropping all the time. And there currently exists some that are almost odorless, such as the Indica-dominant Blueberry, Northern Lights, and Skunk hybrid called Blue Mystic.

That said, any strain with a lower THC percentage will be a safer bet. At least till you find what other methods work to mask the smell going through your vents.

Try Vaping

Vaping also reduces the weed smell considerably. This makes it a great option if you happen to live in shared spaces with ducts and vents.

Apartment Smells Like Weed From Vents

Smoking up
Getting cozy (Source: Unsplash)

The weed smell may not always be coming from your premium stash. Sometimes, it could be your neighbors’ weed smell coming through vents and stanking up your crib. That said, your own toking could be just as likely to cause the lingering weed scent.

So if your apartment smells like weed from vents or from your own stash, there are plenty of ways to deal with the issue.

Deodorizing Your Space

Being a stoner means sometimes, you’ll have to figure out the best way to deodorize your space. This could just be because you’re not a fan of the lingering pungent smell of weed. Or it could be because your landlord is dropping by and you need to hide the evidence.

Or, it could be because the smell keeps escaping its designated hot box and you’re starting to get paranoid about the weird looks your neighbor keeps shooting your way.

Whatever the case, you can avoid most troubles by making deodorizing a regular part of your toking routine.

Cleaning
Keep it clean (Source: Pexels)

Both during and after each sesh, try one or more of these tricks:

  • Ventilate your space, taking care to turn on exhaust fans such as the ones above your stove or in your bathrooms. This is a generally helpful practice, even when you’re not actively smoking, since free-flowing air helps clear up a space of scents a lot quicker. This way, it won’t end up sticking as firmly to things in your home.
  • Try a few different home cleaning methods to get the smell out of things like clothes, furniture, and carpets.
  • If possible, invest in a home cleaning service, especially if your home tends to cling desperately to the scent of the night before. If not, try sticking to a cleaning schedule so the scents don’t have enough time to bake into your space.

Invest in a Scent

Deodorizing
Keep it fresh (Source: Pexels)

Deodorizing is half the trick. The second step involves introducing a strong scent to cover up as much of the weed smell as possible.

  • When cleaning, try using products that are lemon-scented or similar. They help with cleaning and deodorizing, but also have a strong enough scent to offer some cover.
  • Light a strongly-scented candle or incense stick. Alternatively, use a diffuser with a really strong essential oil scent to mask the weed smell. Some options include peppermint, rosemary, eucalyptus, sage, lavender, and citrus scents like lemongrass or orange.
  • Dabble in a lean, mean, steak-heavy cuisine. That’s right, strong scents don’t have to be of the floral or ocean-scented variety. You can also use cooking to mask weed, particularly with strong-smelling dishes like buttery garlic bread or herbed meat. Not only does this replace one strong scent with another, but it’s also a great excuse to say you were just tossing a few herbs around.

Sometimes, You Just Need to Vent

While these methods will certainly reduce the intensity of the weed smell in your space and reduce how far it travels, they can’t completely eliminate it. Nor can they entirely remove the risk of a crabby neighbor getting in your face about your toking. They can, however, help you minimize these issues and risks.

So if you’re wondering how to stop weed smell from going through vents, the answer is to ventilate, clean, deodorize, and pray the neighbors are cool.