How to build your own inexpensive odour neutraliser
Bad smells, stink and hefty weed odours is something every indoor cultivator needs like another hole in the head.
Because the problem arises as a result of growing activities, it is logical to take preventative measures. Many weed growers use carbon filters to get rid of weed smells and that can often be expensive, depending on the size of your space, of course.
For those starter growers and other interested parties, investing in ventilation and filters can be a big step and it’s great if there are cheaper methods that are still effective. One of these methods is to build an odour neutralizer.
These work excellently and are easy to build and cheap to run and you can easily make and use more than one. Plus it has the advantage of being useful anywhere, even in the toilet and is efficient enough to drive off the smell left by a baby’s bad nappy. Anything that smells bad can be exorcised by this gizmo.
What you will need to construct the odour neutraliser is:
Either a computer driven ventilation fan or a normal rotating fan.
Air freshener product such as Ona or Febreeze
Hydrogel (polymer crystals)
10-20L plastic bucket with lid
You can use either a computer generated ventilation fan or a regular one. On the first photo you can see all the things you require for this project so let’s make a start. For practical purposes I use a large bucket but you can use either a smaller or larger one with no problem.
Cut a hole in the lid large enough to fit your ventilation fan and then secure it to the lid. There are many ways to achieve this so choose one that is suitable for your lid and your fan. If you look at the photos you will clearly see how I mounted my fan.
Once that is done, you need to cut large holes into the sides of the plastic bucket. That is all the heavy work done and now you can fill up the bucket with the other ingredients.
To nine cups of water, you add one cup of smell neutralizer product such as Febreeze or Ona and add a half-cup of polymer crystals.
Place the lid on, turn on the ventilator and within 5 minutes the whole place should be smelling good and clean and fresh…..
The workings of this method are simplicity itself. The foul air is sucked into the bucket where it comes into contact with the air freshener and so becomes clean as it is once more blown through.
The neutralised product absorbs all the bad smells and the polymer crystals serve to suck up the moisture which ensures that the air freshener lasts longer so that you only need to add a little more occasionally. The crystals themselves work well for many years and can swell up to fifty times their original size.
The only maintenance necessary for this odor neutralizer is to top up the water and air freshener now and then. Normally it needs no extra attention for about four weeks at a time. There are about five different kinds of smell neutralizer that you can use, be aware that other similar products will not work. Other smell absorbers will also work, even the soluble variety and these come in different colors and perfumes. So dare to change your Cannabis fumes into a vanilla flavored fragrance.
All in all this is a very efficient and inexpensive alternative to carbon filtered exhausts. A combination of the two is the best way to be absolutely sure that you are not pervading the atmosphere with a bad pong. A smaller version of this odor neutralizer can be used in the bathroom or living room where it can efficiently eradicate even cigarette stink. Its a good idea to keep one in your communal space just in case any whiffs from your grow space invade while you have visitors.
Often one does not notice the smell of one’s own hole and in this way you can be sure that you stay sweet. Prevention is always better than the cure and you’ll be amazed at how much the smell in your grow room can be changed. The only problem here is that you might end up with such a nice smelling place, that all your friends would want to be there all the time.
Have good clean fun!
