How to Get Weed Smells Out of Clothes, Cars, Furniture, and More

Nothing beats the feeling of getting home after a long day, taking a shower, and unwinding with some weed. But cannabis smoke may give off a strong smell that can bother your roommates, neighbors, or family members, especially if they don’t use cannabis themselves. It may even bother you if you don’t want to smell cannabis all the time.

There are numerous methods to eliminate the smell of weed in your home, car, or clothes, including using air fresheners, opening windows, cooking, using baking soda, and more. But before we dive deeper into which of these methods are the most effective, here’s what you should know about weed odor.

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Weed Smell 101

The cannabis plant has various compounds called terpenes that are largely responsible for its strong and distinct smell. These terpenes include myrcene, which gives the plant its musky, herbal scent; limonene, which gives off a citrusy smell; and pinene, which smells much like a pine tree.

Different cannabis strains will have different aroma profiles. The smell in your room or car will depend on the weed strain you smoke. However, many varieties of cannabis carry a similar, distinct cannabis aroma.

When cannabis is burnt, it typically gives off a pungent, herbal odor with skunky notes of diesel and earth. This scent may linger in the room and find its way to your hair and clothes. However, since cannabis smoke is less dense than cigarette smoke, it clears out of the room faster and travels further.

This means that if you’re smoking at home, the scent may be detected by other residents in your building or by nearby neighbors. Don’t worry, though. There are numerous tricks you can use if you need to get rid of the unwanted weed smell (more on that later).

The other reason cannabis smells is because of the volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) in cannabis. All varieties of cannabis contain similar VSCs but in different concentrations. One compound found in most, if not all, types of cannabis is 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol (known as VSC3), which has a particularly skunky smell. VSC3 is similar to the VSCs in garlic or onions. These scents can stick to your skin and clothes.

Why Does Cannabis Smell Skunky After Smoking?

Smoking marijuana causes a skunky smell because it burns off the plant’s thin, wispy hairs. This releases the terpenes and cannabinoids stored in the resin glands, which gives the bud its distinctive skunky smell. The skunkier-smelling strains of cannabis have more THC, so they produce a more pungent odor when smoked.

The Method of Consumption Matters

• Burning cannabis releases more smoke, which adheres to clothes and skin.
• Vaping cannabis tends to leave a less pungent smell, but some faint odor may be detectable.
• Topicals tend to contain other ingredients to mask the smell.
• Tinctures and edibles are less pungent and are not usually easy to detect, except if you’re making them.

Ways to Get Rid of the Weed Smell in Your Home

When you smoke inside your house, the marijuana odor is likely to linger. Curtains, couches, carpets, and other items in your home that may have absorbent fabric will retain this unwanted smell.

Here are a few ways you can eliminate weed odor.

Getting Rid of the Cannabis Smell in the Air

Wondering how to eliminate the weed smell left in your living room after smoking some marijuana? One of the easiest ways to do this is to invest in air fresheners. These include aerosol sprays, gel-based scents, and plug-in fresheners.

Plug-in air fresheners are ideal because they give off a fresh scent all day long, so you don’t have to spray the room every time you smoke cannabis.

Scented candles are also great for masking the weed odor in your room. Consider using a candle with a natural scent, like pine or lavender. Such smells aren’t too overbearing — using a too-strong scent may make it clear that you’re trying to hide something and may even be more off-putting to the people you share the space with.

Cooking may also help mask the smell of cannabis, especially if you use aromatic spices such as garlic, bell pepper, and rosemary.

Lastly, you should ensure all windows are open and that air is circulating inside your home. You could turn on the HVAC unit, air purifier, or fan to aid in ventilation. This will ensure all the smoke is blown out the window.

How To Get Smoke Smell Out of a Couch

When cannabis smoke gets into the fabric of your sofa, ottoman, bedspread, and other similar furnishings, it may be hard to get rid of it. This is because the odor molecules in the smoke adhere more easily to the fiber than they do to the air.

However, you can spray odor remover sprays directly onto your couch to remove the smell of weed. Such sprays combine directly with the odor molecules in the fabric and help neutralize the smell rather than simply mask it.

You can also deep clean the couch using baking soda. Spread a generous amount of baking soda over your couch and cushions before thoroughly vacuuming.

If your throw blankets smell like weed smoke, throw them in the washer and rinse them in sweet-smelling fabric softeners. This should get rid of all the weed odor.

Eliminating the Smell of Weed From Your Carpets and Rugs

Carpets and rugs, especially the thick, fluffy kind, retain odor molecules easily. If your home smells like weed, your carpet may be why.

To remove this weed odor, start by vacuuming thoroughly to get rid of all the dust, lint, and ash that’s holding the smell.

After vacuuming, you can use a natural cleaning agent to clean the carpet. White vinegar and baking soda work especially well. Sprinkle it over your carpet and let it sit for a day or two before vacuuming again.

Afterward, top it off with carpet shampoo to ensure no cannabis odor remains.

Getting the Weed Smell Out of Your Car

You may enjoy smoking cannabis in the privacy and comfort of your car while listening to some music. If you live with people who can’t tolerate the smoke or smell of weed, your car may be your next best alternative.

However, as fun as hotboxing is, smoking in the car will leave it smelling like weed. The fabric of your seats will retain the cannabis odor, which may build up and become stronger over time. Also, the smell of cannabis in your car can bring suspicion that you are using cannabis while driving, which is illegal. If you can leave your windows open, do so. Also, it should go without saying that you should not use cannabis when driving.

Here are a few more tips you can use to purge the smell of weed from your car:

• Vacuum your seats.
• Scrub down all the hard surfaces (dashboard, door panels) using a soapy solution.
• Clean leather and vinyl seats using soap or any other cleaning agent.
• Use the baking soda and vacuum method to clean out fabric seats.
• Spray an odor eliminator onto your seats.
• Clean all the carpets in your car.

Eliminating Marijuana Odor From Hair and Clothes

You may brush your teeth, air out the room, and plug in an air freshener yet still reek of marijuana smoke.

Your hair and clothes are adsorbents and thus may retain the smell whenever you’re smoking cannabis. It’s therefore crucial to ensure you get rid of this cannabis odor before going out in public.

To remove the unwanted smell from your hair:

• Let your hair down and shake it loose so fresh air can flow through it.
• Walk in the sun — basking for 30 to 45 minutes will neutralize the odor in your hair.
• Use a deodorizer, hair perfume, or scented moisturizer.
• Wash your hair using a shampoo with a strong scent.

To remove the cannabis smell from your clothes:

• Use some perfume or body spray.
• Hang them out in the sun — the sun’s rays and the air are a magical combo that will quickly neutralize the weed odor.
• Wash them normally, add white vinegar to the rinse cycle, and hang them to dry.
• Soak them in baking soda solution before washing them with your normal detergent and drying them.
• Soak them in water and bleach, then wash and dry them normally.

Now that we’ve gone through how you can remove the smell of weed from your home, let’s look at some of the ways you can prevent the odor from forming in the first place.

How to Hide the Smell of Weed

A great way to get rid of unwanted weed smells in your home is by limiting the amount of odor you produce while smoking. One of the ways you could do this is by switching to vaping.

Vapes allow you to enjoy cannabis without burning cannabis and rolling papers, which contribute to the strong weed odor. Vape pens are often flavored or filled with essential oils instead of flower, but they can still smell somewhat of cannabis. However, it is not as pungent as smoking, making it easier for you to enjoy your cannabis without drawing too much attention.

You could also buy gummies, brownies, and candies (or even make your own edibles). This is the most discreet way of consuming cannabis.

Another way to keep the smell of weed at bay while smoking is using a sploof. Blowing smoke through these handy filters will absorb a fair amount of weed odor and terpenes.

Sploofs are typically made using dryer sheets, activated carbon, or paper towels sprayed with an air freshener or odor eliminator.

If you’re able to, smoking outside — in your yard or on a balcony — will help prevent your hair and clothes from smelling like weed. You can also use glass filter tips to ensure your fingers don’t catch the odor whenever you smoke. We also recommend choosing specific smoking clothes you don’t mind smelling like weed.

If you store your cannabis in your home, placing it in an airtight glass or metal jar will help keep its smell undetectable. Airtight glass jars are also great for maintaining the humidity of your bud and will prevent it from taking on the smell of anything you store near it.

Terpene Deep Dive: The Most Common Cannabis Scents

The most common scents in cannabis can be attributed to the terpenes limonene, myrcene, and pinene. However, a strain’s terpene profile can comprise a complex combination of multiple terpenes. Below, you’ll find some of the most common terpenes found in cannabis, as well as their signature scent or flavor.

Limonene

Limonene is a terpene responsible for the citrusy smell of some cannabis strains, and it is also found in other plants, such as orange and lemon trees. Limonene is thought to have therapeutic benefits and may reduce stress and anxiety and aid sleep.

Pinene

Pinene is a terpene responsible for making some strains of cannabis smell like pine trees, and it is also found in other plants, such as rosemary. Pinene has therapeutic benefits, one of which is helping relieve allergy symptoms.

Linalool

Linalool is a terpene that causes the floral smell of some strains of cannabis and can be found in lavender and chamomile. Linalool is thought to have health benefits, such as helping relieve anxiety and chronic pain.

Myrcene

Myrcene typically gives cannabis a musky or earthy smell and is also found in lemongrass, thyme, and mango. Myrcene may aid in reducing inflammation, anxiety, and pain.

Beta-Caryophyllene

Beta-caryophyllene, also known as the pepper terpene, gives cannabis a spicy, woodsy scent. It may aid in relieving epilepsy, anxiety, depression, and inflammation.

Other common terpenes and their associated scents:

• Humulene: Spicy, earthy, and woody
• Terpineol: Pine, floral, or peach
• Alpha-Bisabolol: Citrus, sweet, and floral
• Pulegone: Minty

More About Volatile Sulfur Compounds (VSCs)

While it’s commonly believed that terpenes, terpenoids, and flavonoids solely contribute to the smell of marijuana, we now know that’s only half of the equation. Current research suggests that volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) also contribute to cannabis’s signature bouquet, particularly VSC3, VSC5, VSC7, and VSC8.

VSCs have only recently been discovered, and there are similar cannabis VSCs found in garlic and hops. Cannabis VSCs 3, 4, 6, and 7 are chemically identical to garlic VSCs allyl thiol, allyl methyl thiol, diallyl sulfide, and diallyl disulfide.

Potential Health Benefits of VSCs

The similarities between cannabis and garlic VSCs can give us clues about the therapeutic potential the smell compounds have. The sulfur compounds in garlic have several health and medical benefits. These include:

• Antiviral and antibiotic properties, with garlic being able to combat flu and the common cold.
• Reducing oxidative stress and high blood pressure.
• Improvement of cholesterol levels, which may lower the risk of heart disease.
• Antioxidants that can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
• The ability to detoxify the body and protect against organ damage induced by heavy metal toxicity.
• Minimization of bone loss.
• Anticancer compounds.

Are VSCs Related to Cannabinoids?

No, VSCs are not chemically similar to cannabinoids and are considered secondary metabolites. They do, however, contribute to the entourage effect.

What Do Other Cannabis Products Smell Like?

CBD

CBD oil is extracted from the cannabis plant and doesn’t have the same distinct smell as marijuana. It has a more earthy scent that is slightly woodsy. Some say it smells a bit like cucumber, while others describe it as having a floral aroma. This is because full-spectrum CBD products contain different flavonoids.

Hemp

Hemp smells dank and sweet. Different strains of hemp will smell differently depending on their distinct flavonoid and terpene makeup. Some might smell fruity, while others smell spicy.

Delta-8 THC

In its pure form, Delta-8 THC typically does not have a scent. However, when infused into other products, it can have a sweet or herbal smell.

Synthetic Marijuana

Synthetic marijuana is a blend of herbs, spices, or shredded plant material sprayed with chemicals that mimic the effects of THC. It has a strong pungent smell that can be unpleasant, and the odor is often compared to skunk spray, cat urine, or dirty socks.

Concentrates

Concentrates such as hashish are made from the resin of the cannabis plant. This resin is extracted and then processed to create a variety of concentrates, such as hashish, wax, shatter, and oil.

Hashish is often compressed into a block or ball-shaped form and smells like marijuana smoke. Hashish is usually smoked or eaten.

Wax is often melted down and used to dab on a heated surface, which then creates a vapor that is inhaled. Wax has a herby, natural smell that can be easy to conceal.

The Bottom Line

Smoking weed and that distinct marijuana smell go hand-in-hand. However, there are things you can do to remove that musky, pungent odor from your home, clothing, car, and hair.

Similarly, you can also hide the smell by following some of the tips above.

Whatever smoking method you choose, medical cannabis cardholders can save significant money on sales taxes. Consider obtaining an MMJ card through Leafwell. Your next smoke session may smell the same, but it’ll likely be cheaper.

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Originally Published: November 2022

Last Updated: March 2024