7 Tips to Smell-Proof Your Grow Tent

When you’re an indoor cannabis grower, it’s common to worry about odors coming from your grow tent or grow room. After all, even if growing is legal, that doesn’t mean you want the smell to permeate every part of your home. Plus, if you’re like me, you probably want to keep your growing activities discrete, so finding a way to eliminate the odor molecules is a must.

Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to keep odor under control. I’ve taken a deep dive into the topic and have tested a wide variety of odor neutralizers and solutions. If you want to smell-proof your grow tent or grow room, here are some answers to common questions on the topic and a list of seven tips to smell-proof your grow tent or grow space.

Common Questions About Managing Grow Tent Odor

Are Grow Tents Smell-Proof?

Many people believe that using a grow tent instead of leaving plants out in a larger grow space is enough to combat odors. Often, that’s because many grow tent manufacturers claim that their designs are excellent at preventing odors from escaping.

In reality, no tent is 100 percent smell-proof. Over time, odor molecules will seep into materials and escape the enclosure. There are plenty of small spots that don’t completely seal. The zippers and duct ports are both examples, but they aren’t the only areas where smells may escape.

Plus, some odor will waft out whenever you open the door to your grow tent. That’s essentially unavoidable.

However, some grow tents do a better job than others. As a result, one might reduce the odor enough to make it feel manageable or tolerable. But if you want to get rid of the smell as much as possible, a grow tent alone usually isn’t enough.

What Strengthens Odor in a Marijuana Grow Room?

When you’re growing cannabis, the strong odor typically occurs during the flowering stage due to the terpenes present as buds form. Comparatively, the vegetative phase doesn’t come with high levels of terpenes, so you may not have an odor beyond what you’d expect with any other plant. As a result, the growth stage plays a role in how much odor you experience.

Higher temperatures and humidity levels also lead to a more pungent smell. When the temperature is high, it can transition odor-causing molecules from a liquid to a gas. As that occurs, the scent is increasingly noticeable.

Humidity can trap odor molecules, causing them to linger in the air. Plus, it can promote the additional spread of the odor molecules, functionally extending the area where they’re present. In turn, you experience more of the smell.

Should I Use an Ozone Generator to Mask the Smell in a Weed Grow Space?

Ozone generators are an option for masking the smell of weed in a grow space. They’re effective at tackling odor molecules from weed plants, leaving the air smelling fresher. Plus, they can address mold and a variety of harmful pathogens, as well as sterilize equipment.

The problem is that ozone isn’t necessarily safe to use in all conditions. Breathing ozone can damage the lungs and lead to symptoms like shortness of breath, coughing, or chest pains. Plus, individuals with breathing conditions like asthma are even less tolerant of ozone, and it could be incredibly dangerous to expose themselves to it.

Ozone also isn’t safe for pets to breathe. Additionally, if the ozone levels are too high, it can actually harm your marijuana plants.

Since that’s the case, whether you should use an ozone generator depends on your situation. If the grow space has good ventilation and the ozone generator is designed to handle your room size, that makes it more manageable.

Additionally, you need to be able to turn the generator on and hold your breath as you exit the space to prevent exposure and ensure no one enters the area while it’s running and before it’s vented. Being able to seal off the room completely is also a must to ensure the ozone doesn’t drift through cracks around the doors during the process.

Finally, venting the room after the cycle completes is critical before using the space. As a result, you might have to hold your breath again to create avenues for the ozone to dissipate.

Overall, using an ozone generator isn’t easy, and it’s dangerous in many situations. With that in mind, it isn’t something most growers should use if the odor is their only concern, particularly since there are so many safer alternatives.

What Makes a Grow Room Smell Better?

Generally, if you want to reduce odors coming from grow rooms or tents, you need to find ways to dissipate, trap, or limit odor molecules. By finding ways to eliminate them from the air or prevent them from lingering in a space, the amount of smell diminishes.

Ultimately, there are many ways to make a grow room smell better. Specific types of air filters, ensuring proper circulation, controlling temperature and humidity, and many other strategies are reasonably effective. Similarly, using grow tents in your grow room can help, as those create a physical barrier, even if they aren’t smell-proof.

If you’re looking for ways to prevent unnecessary cannabis odor too, continue reading for my seven tips to smell-proof your grow tent or room.

7 Tips to Smell Proof Your Grow Tent

1. Prioritize Proper Airflow

Air circulation makes a significant difference when you’re battling marijuana odors coming from grow tent or grow room. When there’s proper airflow, it keeps marijuana odor and molecules from simply lingering. Essentially, it ensures the air doesn’t get stale and helps smells dissipate since they aren’t stagnant in the room.

In some cases, simple solutions like fans can make a difference. Having air movement into and out of a space prevents stagnation. Plus, it can help keep humidity and temperature levels under control.

Making sure the plants aren’t crammed too close together also helps. Again, this allows airflow between them, ensuring air doesn’t get trapped and end up stale.

2. Use Exhaust Systems with Inline Fans

Having an exhaust system running out of your grow tent or grow room that includes inline fans does help limit odors in your grow space. Along with supporting good airflow, it allows you to steer that odor-filled air into another area that provides enough room for it to dissipate.

In many cases, people prefer to vent outside when possible. Some people vent out a window, while others may use an exhaust port through the roof.

Venting into spaces like attics can lead to humidity issues in that space, so that isn’t ideal in most cases unless your attic is very well-vented. The same is true for walls and crawl spaces, as they don’t usually provide enough air circulation to avoid humidity issues.

However, some people worry about venting outside if that means the odor is detectable to neighbors. Fortunately, some additional odor control tips on this list can help with that.

3. Install Carbon Filters

If you’re worried about odors coming from vent systems, adding a carbon filter makes a significant difference. Carbon can trap odor molecules, preventing as much of the scent from making it out of the vent.

Additionally, it’s wise to add carbon filters to your HVAC system, including if you use central heat and air or have a winder air conditioner. Those systems can incidentally bring cannabis odors to other parts of your home, depending on the location of the intakes and how air is moving through the ducts. By using a good carbon filter, you’re able to eliminate odors instead of spreading them.

4. Use Activated Charcoal

If you want to further battle odor molecules from your grow tent, you can get some activated carbon or charcoal bags or containers that help combat smells. These work similarly to carbon filters, as the charcoal can trap odors; they just don’t rely on an air-circulating system.

You can place a few activated charcoal bags directly in your grow tent. Then, have some extras around the room. Just be aware that the charcoal will absorb moisture, too. Since that’s the case, make sure to monitor your humidity level closely to keep it within the required range.

5. Try Smoke or Odor Absorbing Gel

Smoke or odor-absorbing gels are another option for combatting smells coming from a grow tent. However, it’s critical to note that many of these don’t actually absorb odors. Instead, they use scents to neutralize the smell, making it less detectable.

In most cases, you don’t want to use anything with a scent directly in your grow tent or room, as your plants may absorb the smell. Instead, place them nearby to prevent odors from escaping into other parts of your house.

6. Get Surface and Air Purifiers

While odor molecules are commonly considered an air quality issue, the materials causing the smell can also settle on surfaces. By using surface cleaners that are safe to use in grow tents and rooms – such as hydrogen peroxide – you can clean up your grow space without harming your plants.

Bringing an air purifier into your grow space is another solid option. Typically, these use carbon filters and other technologies to remove impurities, including molecules that have unpleasant smells. Plus, they assist with air circulation. As a result, this is a solid alternative if you want something more robust than hanging activated charcoal bags.

7. Get Air Fresheners

As with odor-absorbing gels, using air fresheners that neutralize – instead of just cover up – odors can help. You want to select options that are safe to use near plants. Additionally, don’t use them in grow tents or too close to the plants.

In most cases, sprays aren’t ideal, as the particles could potentially make their way onto your plants and into your grow tent. Additionally, look for natural options whenever possible, as chemical-based air fresheners might harm your grow or could drift onto cannabis plants while in open grow rooms, which can be dangerous if you later use the cannabis.

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