How To Minimize The Smell Of An Indoor Grow

Cannabis is a plant with a distinctive and most unique smell among the natures green variety. The unmistakable scent of fresh flowering cannabis is something that adds up to a seductive character of the plant. The terpenes in cannabis are responsible for producing the whole spectrum of amazing aromas ranging from sweet, citrusy fresh smell to an incredibly pungent diesel-like and "skunk" odours, depending on the strain variety. Even though it has such an intense smell it is surely a trait cherished by many cannabis lovers but that same beloved smell can be bitter-sweet for a cannabis grower.

Cannabis cultivation is still very much illegal in many countries across the world and growers are investing a lot in masking their operations. Indoor grow room provides cover from curious eyes but controlling the distinctive marijuana smell, especially while in flowering, can be tricky. The effectiveness of controlling odour largely depends on growing capacity. Eliminating smell produced by few plants is easily achieved while large grow operations require good air scrubbing. Luckily there are few practical solutions in reducing grow room smell that will help keep your noisy neighbours and by passers clueless.

CARBON FILTER:

Possibly one of the best and affordable method of minimizing indoor grow smell is by using Carbon Filters. It is a proven and tested method that works well in most of the closed indoor systems.

They come in different size and shapes depending on the capacity of your grow room and can be bought in any hydroponic or indoor gardening store.

The carbon filter is a non-electronic device that works on active carbon principle pulling odor and impurities from the air that is pushed through the filter by an exhaust fan in your grow room or tent.

It is important to ensure that all marijuana fragrance goes through carbon filter exhausting nothing but odourless air through ducting and into the neighbourhood. For that reason, they are most effective in tightly closed grow tents and sealed rooms where there's little chance for smell leak.

Installing carbon filter into your ventilation system is fairly easy and requires no special tools. In most cases, a carbon filter is connected via ducting to a fitting air cooled hood or cooltube and onto an exhaust fan. The hot and fragrant air is sucked up and scrubbed by carbon filter on the way out. The size and capacity of carbon filter largely depend on the power of exhaust fan and it is important to match “CFM” rating of carbon filter and fan. The number is provided by the manufacturer and it measures how much air can fan produce. For example, the 425 Cfm filter can’t effectively scrub air produced by 600 Cfm air and it should require a 425 Cfm filter or slightly less.

Another important thing is to find a fitting diameter of ducting which connects carbon filter and other components in ventilation system as it can maximize the volume of pulled air.

ODOUR NEUTRALISERS:

Another practical solution in covering up the smell is using odour neutralisers. Odour neutralisers usually come in the form of gel and active chemicals inside binds the marijuana smell neutralizing it. They are not as effective as carbon filters but when used together or in a small-scale grow operation they can do the trick. In order to maximize the potential of odour neutralisers keep them active constantly and place them where the air is exhausted out of grow tent or room or simply put them anywhere where you suspect the smell leak.

There are few precautions using odour neutralisers since they work on the chemical level. You might be tempted to put the neutralisers in close proximity of the plants to neutralize smell better but there is a high risk of altering the taste and smell of the buds. Never put these products in a close grow tents. The neutraliser will work just as good on a safe distance and it is recommended to put them in other rooms around the grow room creating a fragrance-free buffer zone.

The odour neutralisers often come with added fragrance to help cover up the smell. The downside of these products is that they have a short effective period and need to be changed frequently.

One of the more popular ones is Ona products that are engineered to be environmentally safe and they come in a variety of beautiful fragrances.

STRAIN SELECTION:

Despite the fact that many of us love the pungent smell of sticky buds, you can add to your grow operation stealthiness by choosing low odour strains. Some of the known ones are Northern Lights XL and Blueberry. Remember that these strains will also smell but with reduced intensity and terpene profile that doesn’t resemble of classic weed.

WHAT TO AVOID:

Avoid spending money on costly machines such as air purifiers and ozone generators.

An air purifier is a device that can be used as simple air purifier removing contaminants from the air but it will hardly reduce any smell, therefore it is useless in marijuana garden.

Ozone generators are something more recently introduced in cannabis gardening and they claim to be an effective way to eliminate odour, impurities and even pathogen bacteria from the room. Despite the high cost of the device, it comes with the huge downside being harmful to environment and humans causing lung irritation. Ozone generators are even banned as a product in some countries.