Do you have a bathroom right off the kitchen like I do? Do you entertain guests a lot? Do you live in a house with stinky teen boys and men who pride themselves on going No. 2 multiple times a day? Are you embarrassed to poop at work because you don’t want to be the talk of the office after lunch? Fear no more!
You can make your own toilet spray to mask the smell! I’m a big fan of the popular name brand toilet spray, but it certainly is expensive for what it is. Using only a few inexpensive ingredients, you can save loads of money and your nose.
Air Freshener vs. Toilet Spray
Last year, my sister gifted me a little bottle of homemade Lemon Mint scented spray and I loved it. I don’t know about you, but personally, I prefer “before you go” toilet spray to the aerosol air “freshening” sprays. They seem to just mix the foul odor with whatever scent is in the can. Toilet spray is just that, a spray that goes in the toilet, not in the air for you to breathe in. It traps the odors where they belong!
Putrid Pie & Foul Floral
There’s nothing worse than the scent of poo combined with apple pie or flowers wafting down the hallway. No thank you! Besides, you’re not fooling anyone. Aside from the smell, everyone knows you’ve just pooped when they hear the loud SHHHHHHHH of the aerosol before you leave the bathroom. Listen, everybody poops. That’s undeniable. We don’t have to turn it into a group experience, though. My half bathroom is practically IN my kitchen, so odor control is key!
When my little gifted bottle of Lemon Mint toilet spray ran out, I impulsively thought to just buy some of the name brand spray and have it delivered right to my home. Then I remembered my sustainable living principles and personal goal to spend less money and consume less stuff. It was at that moment when I decided to make my own Lemon Mint refill (plus a couple other scents). It helped that I’m a DIY supply hoarder, because I happened to have all the ingredients on hand already. Don’t worry, though.
If you don’t have the simple ingredients on hand, most can be purchased locally and would be enough to make several bottles worth of poo spray for your family and your friends! There are endless recipes for DIY poo spray online and I’m willing to bet all of them work just fine. The below recipe is simple, yet very effective.
For this project, I made three different scents: Lemon Mint, Citrus Fresh, and Spring Ahead. I made one bottle for each of my bathrooms, and one extra that I can either gift, take to work with me, or use as a backup. I re-used the bottle my sister gave me and the other glass bottles were left over from a previous project.
Please, for the love of sustainability, do not go and order a bunch of these amber glass bottles. They’re pretty, but totally unnecessary. Like I said, these were all left over from an earlier project and I didn’t need most of them so they sat around for years. Any small spray bottle will work, plastic or glass. You could also repurpose an empty hairspray bottle destined for the recycling bin. If you do have to purchase a spray bottle, you don’t have to spend a lot. The dollar store has little travel sizes ones that would be perfect.
Also, if you don’t have distilled water, no worries, just use tap or spring. Plain vodka can be substituted for rubbing alcohol. The dish soap is optional because I’ve seen plenty of recipes without that ingredient.
Now, let’s get to the fun part! The full step by step tutorial is below. Also, read on and you’ll find a short video after the post, so you can watch me make it.
Step by Step Tutorial
Tools
- measuring spoons
- small funnel (optional – I made a mess anyway!)
- towels for cleanup
Materials
- 2 oz. spray bottle (plastic or glass work fine)
- rubbing alcohol (or vodka)
- essential oils (does not need to be a high end brand)
- liquid soap (any brand)
- distilled water (or witch hazel)
- labels of any kind (blue painters tape works well)
- marker
- Measure about 2 Tablespoons of rubbing alcohol or vodka and pour it into your spray bottle
- Add 10 drops of each essential oil that you choose. I made three different recipes:
- Citrus Fresh: 10 grapefruit, 10 lemongrass, 10 lime or bergamot (a citrus fruit that looks like a lime)
- Lemon Mint: 10 lemon, 10 peppermint
- Spring Ahead: 10 lavender, 10 Clary sage (perennial shrub in the Salvia family), 10 geranium
- Put the cap back on the spray bottle and shake vigorously to mix the oils with the alcohol
- Open the bottle back up and squeeze in about 2 drops of liquid dish soap. This is not necessary, but helps keep the oils distributed throughout the mixture.
- Fill the rest of your spray bottle with either water or witch hazel.
- Put the cap back on the spray bottle and shake it vigorously again to mix it all together well.
- Use a sharpie marker to write a label and stick it on the spray bottle. You may want to clean off the spray bottle with the alcohol to remove any leftover oils so the label sticks.
I hope you learned how easy it is to save money and make your very own poo spray! Your nose will thank me and your wallet will too. Comment down below if you have a favorite recipe for toilet spray or if you used my tutorial to make your own! What’s your favorite essential oil combo?
As Always, Stay Cozy
Mandy
