How to Control the Smell of Cannabis

When growing cannabis, there are many things we have in mind: Are our plants healthy? Is the amount of fertilization dialed in correctly? What are the final yields going to be like? Especially for novice growers, and people who want to try indoor growing for the first time, it’s crucial to understand that there are a few basic things that should get our full attention, before thinking about heavy yields and high-quality buds.

By far one of the most important thing when growing cannabis indoors is odor control, meaning the reduction of the delightful but risky smell that mature cannabis blossoms emit during flowering.

WHY IS ODOR CONTROL SO IMPORTANT?

In many countries, it’s still necessary for hobby growers to keep their plants a well-hidden secret. A house or apartment that constantly smells like a large plantation right before harvest draws a lot of attention to it. Here are three main reasons why it’s necessary to control the smell of your plants:

1. In some countries law enforcement might enforce the local cannabis laws.

2. You might get confronted with Neighbors who feel disturbed by the smell.

3. People you don’t know could potentially smell your plants, and have the bright idea to steal them.

USING THE BIG ADVANTAGE OF PRIVACY

Indoor Growers have one major advantage they can use to minimize the risks of someone discovering their plants - the advantage of being in their private homes. Home privacy is actually a basic human right that is embedded in European Law. Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the right to respect for private and family life, is pretty clear on that:

1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.

2. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

When considering the fact that some authorities and lawmakers may consider indoor growing a crime that needs to be prevented, and might take the necessary steps to interfere with our basic right of privacy, the main goal for us would be, to not provide any indication or evidence for cannabis plants being in our private walls. Public authorities can’t just enter our homes without having a well-founded suspicion concerning illegal activities. This is why odor control is extremely important to grow cannabis successfully.

WHAT COMPONENTS DO I NEED TO BUY?

There is no way around a carbon air filter, in combination with a powerful tube vent. All these products that promise to “cover up” the smell, are more or less useless and should be avoided. Here are some basic tips when trying to find the right pieces of equipment for your growing tent:

• Carbon filter (sizes are reflected in m³/h and diameters in mm; carbon filters have to match the lighting solution and tent size; standard sizes are >300m³/h, 125mm and 150mm)

• Tube vent (“air extraction power” is measured in m³/h and standard diameters are also 125 and 150mm)

• Aluminum tubing (or special tubing with noise reduction)

• Duct tape (or cuffs from the grow shop) to directly attach your carbon filter to the tube vent

• More duct tape (or large cable ties, cuffs etc.) to attach tubing to the tube vent

• A solution to mount this construction to the ceiling of our grow room or tent. (use elastic materials like old bicycle tubes to minimize vibrations)

In general, it’s better to oversize the air system and the corresponding components. As time progresses, you will not regret the investments in reliable, high-quality components that do their job effectively, and rather silent. Bigger air systems can react to different climates and keep in control of both temperatures, and smell. Installing a potentiometer that reduces the voltage that goes into your “oversized” tube vent is a good idea. This way, you will get a rather silent grow room, and you will be able to run your vent on lower velocities, causing much less noise.

Hopefully novice growers got a rough idea about what counts when controlling the smell of an indoor grow room – it’s pretty straightforward and there are not many options. There is no way around a quality-made carbon filter, and a powerful extracting tube vent. Be stealth, be careful, and keep this hobby to yourself. It’s the best thing to do.