While it may be hard to believe for some, not everyone can bask in the smell of freshly smoked cannabis. Whether you just don’t like the smell or you’re not sure how cool your neighbors are, a sploof is every experienced stoner’s secret weapon.

A sploof is a special apparatus that is designed to eliminate, and sometimes cover-up, unwanted odors from smoking cannabis. If you are someone who is looking to smoke weed under the radar, take notes from the smokers before you who have invented and used their very own sploofs.

What Is A Sploof?

Technically speaking, a sploof is an open-ended cylindrical object that filters cannabis vapors through breathable materials. As you exhale smoke, you place your mouth on one end and exhale through the tube in order to filter out smoke and odor particles. This eliminates the vast majority of the aroma and the air is left smelling fresh.

Many homemade sploofs use dryer sheets to freshen and filter the smoke, while commercially made versions often use HEPA filters. If you want a long-lasting filtration method, buying a sploof at your local headshop may be the move for you. On the other hand, if you do not want to spend the money or you would like something disposable, a homemade sploof is always a great option.

When to Use a Sploof

There are many obvious, and some not-so-obvious, occasions where having a sploof handy is a great idea.  Perhaps the most common reason is to simply not get caught. Whether you live in a place where cannabis is legal or not, there is still often a stigma that surrounds smoking. The last thing you want while enjoying your weed is to be paranoid about the eyes (and noses) that may be lurking down the hallway.

Another reason might be that you are a courteous smoker. For example, you may be traveling in hotels or staying at a friend’s house who doesn’t smoke and want to be considerate of your surroundings. Or maybe you’re having guests and you want your home to smell fresh as a daisy!

Whatever the occasion, having a sploof at the ready is an effective way to smoke unnoticed. Stay prepared by making your own sploof at home: it’s incredibly easy to do and you probably have everything you need right in your home.

DIY Sploof Supplies

You can create a sploof by using a variety of household materials. What materials you decide to use depends on your budget, filtration requirements, and desired lifetime of your sploof.

All sploofs function using essentially the same method: stuff a solid open-ended tube stuffed with perforated materials. The filtering material is the MVP of the sploof, as this is what traps and freshens the cannabis aromas. Dryer sheets are the most commonly used filtration method, but if you want a more durable option, consider hunting down some activated charcoal or an air filter. The bonus of using dryer sheets is that they are usually scented for an added touch of freshness.

Then comes the tube. For a sturdy sploof foundation, a plastic bottle is a convenient option. However, toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls are a popular choice as well. No matter what materials you ultimately decide to use, all DIY sploofs need the following materials:

• Cardboard toilet paper roll, paper towel roll, or plastic bottle
• Scissors or a sharp knife
• A rubber band, string, or tape
• Scented dryer sheets, activated charcoal, or filter of choice

How To Make A Sploof

Once you’ve gathered your desired sploof materials, all you need to do is put it together.

If you’re using a plastic bottle, cut off the top half of the bottle with a pair of scissors and toss the bottom half. If you are using a cardboard roll, you’re good to go!

Next, take your desired filtering materials and pack it into the hollow tube. Stuff your tube loosely enough so that there is still plenty of room for air to easily pass through.

Then, wrap a scented dryer sheet over one end of the toilet paper roll or the wide end of the bottle (you want the mouthpiece of the bottle to function like an actual mouthpiece).

Fasten the dryer sheet to the tube using string, tape, or an elastic band — and there you have it!  While you can use the tube for as long as you’d like, be sure to change the filter as needed for maximum freshness. 

Other Types Of Sploofs

Alternatively, you can do a variation of these sploofs by using a plastic bottle with the bottom cut off. The same method of crumpling or attaching a dryer sheet filter will keep the smoke from smelling like smoke. 

The key concern here is preventing smoke from coming out the other end without being filtered. Attaching a dryer sheet across the end of the tube with a rubber band or paper towel is the best way to ensure that any smoke passing through the tube will smell like dryer sheets.

And then there are the commercially-produced sploofs which probably do a better job of concealing the smell of smoke. There are lots of personal filters or devices meant for users to blow their smoke through first to prevent the smell of marijuana from escaping.

Preventing Sploof Disasters

So, you’ve resorted to smoking through toilet paper tubes and dryer sheets. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s a pretty clear indication that you’re trying to not get caught smoking weed. While smoking through a sploof will be monumental in preventing the smell from escaping, there are some more precautions to take.

No Joints

The whole point of smoking through a sploof is to have total control over the smoke that gets released. That means lighting the weed, inhaling fully, and blowing it through the sploof. That does not mean allowing a joint to continuously burn between puffs, or trying to hold the joint through the tube to prevent any smell in between hits. Just use a different device.

Control The Smoke

Even when smoking out of a bong or pipe, you might experience some extra smoke beyond what you can hit. You can either use a one-hitter pipe or just load a single hit in each time you take a puff to make sure it gets fully burned each time. Alternatively, you can use a quarter to cover the bowl between hits and keep the smoke inside the piece.

Change The Dryer Sheets

If you’re using the sploof a lot, don’t forget to change the dryer sheets every so often. You’ll be able to tell they need a spruce up when the scent of fresh flowers no longer emits each time you exhale, or if they begin to turn discolored.

Assemble With Care

Sometimes getting a little overzealous before a smoke session happens and trying to rush your way into it is not the way to go. Especially in a situation where you’ll be using a sploof, because the top priority is to not get caught.

Be sure your dryer sheet filter is attached well, and test it for any potential slips or movements that could cause it to disassemble. The last thing you want is to hand off the sploof to your pal and see it crumble in their hands as smoke fills the room.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking to keep your cannabis consumption under wraps, sploofs have everything you need. Not only can you buy these handy filtration tubes, but you can even make them at home for an affordable and effective alternative. With so many options at your disposal, why not give the sploof life a try?