Sploof is a simple little device you can make with materials in your house right now.
There’s a venomous viper in Africa called the puff adder, which masks its own scent to avoid becoming prey. This unique form of camouflage means it can’t be sniffed out by predators. Now, just how useful an adaptation might this be for people medicating with cannabis in a place where they probably shouldn’t? Quite useful, indeed. But we humans took a different evolutionary route. While we can’t mask our own scent, we can harness a creative workaround. And when it comes to masking the medicinal scent of cannabis, there’s a contraption called a sploof.
What is a Sploof?
A sploof does to cannabis smoke what evolutionary improvements did for the puff adder. Generations of genetically-mutating puff adders gave their lives in the march toward acquiring their present day abilities. Similarly, perhaps, many a 16-year-old gave up their freedom by medicating themselves in their bedrooms, only for mom to get a whiff. Born out of necessity, the sploof is a creative method of masking the smell of cannabis smoke or vapor.
As smoke is exhaled through a sploof, it gets filtered and the associated odor is removed. The workings of it may sound complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. Sploofs can be as simple as a DIY filter that you can put together in just 5 minutes. Alternatively, you can invest in an electronic device with interchangeable filters for an off-the-shelf solution.
How to Make a Sploof
Whether to cover your tracks, to keep the peace, or simply for the hell of it, you can quickly throw a basic sploof together from materials you already have at home.
Sploofs come in many forms, but they are all based on the same principle of an enclosed tube that’s open at both ends. A filter is placed in between both ends to clean the smoke as it passes through. A simple method you can use for a basic sploof only requires some dryer sheets, a toilet paper tube, and an elastic band:
- First stuff the tube of the toilet paper roll with about 3 or 4 dryer sheets. It should be loosely packed.
- Cover one end of the toilet paper tube with another dryer sheet and use an elastic to secure it to the tube.
That’s it.
Alternative Sploof Designs
The modern cannabis industry is all about experimentation, and sploof design is no different. You can construct more durable and advanced versions by using materials like activated charcoal and dryer sheets. They’ll last longer and will perform more effectively.
One unusual yet innovative sploof design involves laundry detergent. To build one, you’ll require a straw and a container of laundry detergent. Start by making two holes in the top cap. Ensure one of them is just big enough for the straw before inserting it into the detergent. (The lower the better)
To use it, simply exhale your smoke through the straw into the detergent. Let the filtered odor escape through the other hole in the cap and fill your room with the smell of fresh linen.
How to Smoke Cannabis Without Leaving a Smell
There’s little point in sparking a joint and then exhaling through your sploof. The burning joint will quickly fill the room with smoke and thus render your sploof useless. For it to be effective, it’s best to use a small chillum pipe or a bong to smoke your cannabis. The idea is that you pack just enough for one hit and make sure you clear it in one go. Doing this ensures that there’s no residual smoke.
Many find it useful to place a coin over the bowl. When applying the flame, corner the bowl and use the coin to cover the rest. Once you’re done, immediately cap the bowl with the coin to prevent any odor from escaping. This technique also helps preserve your cannabis and encourages you to only medicate with what you need, without feeling that you must finish off the bowl.
The sploof may be most effective when it comes to dab use. After inhaling all of the vapor, the sploof will do a wonderful job of removing the scent of those potent terpenes and will leave you with a fresh-smelling vapor that won’t offend anyone.
The Ready-Made Solutions
Cannabis legalization is a paradise of sorts for the entrepreneurially inclined. Several commercial options for sploofs exist. They work a treat, and they’ll likely last a lot longer than your paper towel version. The most well-known on the market today is the Sploofy. Inside there’s a long-lasting and replaceable eco-friendly filter cartridge. It provides instant filtration to absorb the odor as it passes through. With a sturdy protective cover, it includes some impressive hardware that filters smoke, all in a portable design.
Additional Tips to Mask Smell when Smoking Cannabis
Avoid smoking near fabrics. They absorb the odor and over time residual odors will build up and induce a notable stench. Try aiming your sploof out the window or toward a vent to ensure optimal extraction. But if that all sounds like too much work, you don’t have to smoke at all. You can of course just use a tincture or an edible and medicate via some odor-free methods. The puff adder is playing the only game it knows, while we humans can play many!
