The Ultimate Guide to Making a Sploof

The signature scent of cannabis is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the aromatic terpenes that underpin this smell delight the olfactory system and give every strain its unique flavor and effect. On the other hand, these pungent molecules will alert anyone within a 100-metre radius outdoors, and in every other room indoors, that you’re partaking in the herb.

No other plant smells quite as strong as cannabis. In an attempt to conceal their activities, smokers of decades past harnessed their ingenuity to create a DIY device that does a pretty good job of eliminating cannabis odours: the sploof.

Simple, effective, and almost underwhelming to the eye, sploofs help to capture terpenes and limit the spread of obvious smells. These devices are crafted from cheap, everyday household items that are accessible to everyone. If you want to minimise the smell during your smoking sessions, find out everything you need to know about sploofs below, including how to make them.

What Is a Sploof?

Sploofs are filters that work to trap terpenes. After hitting a bong or pipe, exhaling the smoke through a sploof will absorb a good amount of these molecules, meaning less smelly smoke emerges from the other end. As the cannabis industry continues to blossom, more companies are starting to offer commercial sploofs that use replaceable filter systems and eco-friendly cartridges to really trap the smell.

However, sploofs are nothing new. They started out as simple devices made from toilet paper roll tubes, elastic bands, and paper towels, largely engineered by teenagers attempting to conceal their cannabis use from their parents. In this article, we will focus on this archaic—but surprisingly effective—design, which will help you cover up the smell of terpenes at no extra cost.

• How Long Does a Sploof Last?

After assembling a sploof, you can expect all of the individual parts to hold out for at least 2–3 smoking sessions. After this point, the filter will become saturated, smelly, and less effective. However, the other core components will last much longer. The body of a sploof, usually crafted from a cardboard tube or plastic bottle, will last weeks or months, along with the elastic band used to attach the filter to the body.

Fortunately, filters are often made from paper towels or dryer sheets, which makes them easy and extremely cheap to replace on a regular basis. A single sploof will provide you with weeks of use, provided you change the filter regularly.

How to Make a Sploof With Dryer Sheets

Now you’re aware of the benefits of sploofs; they’re cheap, easy to make, and relatively effective. Next, we’re going to teach you how to make one. We’ll guide you through the step-by-step process of making a sploof with dryer sheets, but first we’ll cover another, potentially better method.

• Sploof With Activated Carbon

Let’s quickly touch upon activated carbon. This substance makes for a highly effective, but completely optional, addition to a DIY sploof. Activated carbon often shows up in filtration systems and does a particularly good job of capturing volatile organic compounds (such as terpenes) from the air.

The material derives from an industrial process that involves burning wood, which removes all of the volatile compounds and leaves behind chunks of carbon. Manufacturers then process the carbon by injecting it with hot air and carbon dioxide. This step forms a matrix of tiny pores that vastly increases the surface area of the material, creating more spaces for terpenes to become trapped. Adding activated charcoal to your sploof will remove many more terpenes compared to dryer sheets alone.

What You Need to Make a Sploof

Homemade sploofs are simple; you only need a few household products and a couple of minutes to create your own. Before we get to constructing it, you need to gather these items:

• Toilet paper tube/plastic bottle (one with a wide mouth is better)
• Dryer sheets
• Elastic band
• Scissors
• Activated carbon (for the second method)

How to Make a Sploof With Dryer Sheets: Step by Step

1. If using a plastic bottle, cut the bottom off.

2. Fill the tube or bottle with around 5 dryer sheets. Do not compact them too much, as the smoke needs to be able to pass through all of them.

3. Place a dryer sheet over one end of your toilet paper tube or plastic bottle. Make sure it is taut, and secure it with an elastic band.

4. Using scissors, trim off any excess dryer sheet material hanging outside of the grip of the elastic band for a neat and tidy look.

5. Now you’re ready to use your sploof.

How to Make a Sploof With Activated Carbon: Step by Step

When using activated carbon, the process is slightly different. First, you’re best off with a plastic bottle rather than a toilet paper tube for this method. Second, you’ll need activated carbon—which you can find in pet stores or online. You do not need dryer sheets.

1. Activate the carbon by soaking it in water.
2. Poke 5–10 holes in the bottom of the bottle.
3. Fill the bottle with the activated carbon. You may wrap it in a wet paper towel or not; the choice is yours.

How to Make a Sploof Without Dryer Sheets

Are you missing some of the core components of the sploof designs above? No worries! There are a few ways to make these handy devices. Next, we’ll show you a method that doesn’t call for dryer sheets, toilet paper tubes, or activated carbon.

What You Need to Make a Sploof Without Dryer Sheets

• Plastic bottle with a wide mouth
• Air freshener
• Paper towel
• Elastic bands
• Scissors

Making a Sploof Without Dryer Sheets: Step by Step

1. Use a sharp pair of scissors to make several holes in the bottom of your plastic bottle.
2. Cover the bottom end of your bottle with 2–3 sheets of paper towel and secure in place with an elastic band.
3. Trim away excess paper towel hanging outside of the grip of the elastic band for a more uniform look.
4. Unscrew the cap of the bottle; we recommend using one with a wide mouth if possible, as this will prevent smoke from spilling out and entering the air unfiltered.
5. Apply a spray of air freshener into the air in between hits to make up for the lack of activated carbon.

How Well Does a Sploof Work?

Sploofs are effective, but they aren’t flawless. But what they lack in efficacy, they make up for in cost-effectiveness and simplicity. You can make a homemade sploof from scratch using everyday household materials in a matter of minutes. The efficacy of a sploof also depends on the material you use.

The method that utilises activated carbon is the most efficient and the longest lasting. It is, however, also the most expensive and complex. The other options won’t filter the smoke as well, but serve as cheap alternatives.

The bottom line: You shouldn’t rely on a sploof for complete odour control, especially if you face dire consequences if your actions are discovered. However, it’s ultimately better to blaze with a sploof than without if you’re worried about suspicious aromas.