DIY PooPourri Spray Makes Sure You Always Leave a Fragrance

I have something really fun to share with you today about fragrance and PooPourri spray. But first a story. About my friend, Herta. It’s been quite a few years now since she and Al came to visit. In their graciously kind manner, they brought gifts. 

I thought I’d heard of everything, but one of these gifts left me wide-eyed and sputtering to find a good response, which I am not sure I did.

Privately, I concluded that this small, supremely elegant spray bottle that Herta was visibly excited about must be something special in their country—to me it was oddly foreign.

The name on the bottle left me stuttering: Poo-Pourri Before-You-Go Toilet Spray. Herta took me into the powder room to demonstrate. “Look, you just spritz the surface of the toilet water before you go. It stops bathroom odors before they ever begin!” Herta was so excited to show me this fabulous new product. Me? I was like … whaaat?

Does PooPourri work?

I have to admit that I couldn’t wait to try it, and I did. You know what? It really worked. The product is oily. When you spray Poo-Pourri into the toilet (before … not during or after), it sits on the surface of the water and creates a kind of sealant against, well …let’s just say it—fumes. It traps the odors, sending them down the drain, not out into the room. Get it?

I’m not sure if Herta was the first to introduce Poo-Pourri to America or not, but I like to think so. What I know is that it’s here now, and has become wildly popular.

I see Poo-Pourri in the finest powder rooms. Not long ago, I noticed a discreet supply of PooPourri in the ladies’ room at church.

The car wash has this clever product on a prominent display in the waiting area, right next to the funniest greeting cards. Herta would be so pleased.

• MORE: My Top 5 Favorite Homemade Cleaning Products

All in the name

I do wonder about a couple of things: First, who came up with this? The idea itself is great but the person who came up with the name PooPourri? Brilliant!

Second, why is it so expensive? At $5 an ounce, that’s north of $600 a gallon! Don’t laugh. I think about these things and I’m sure there are households, gas stations, dormitories, frat houses—to name just a few—that could use it by the gallon.

I have good news for them (and you): You can make it yourself. You can replicate the same kind of discreet preventive product and even dispense it in little spray bottles, with all of the same benefits—for a whole lot less!

PooPourri DIY Toilet Spray

• 3 tablespoons vegetable glycerin*
• 2 tablespoons rubbing alcohol, 70%
• 40 drops any essential oil like lavender
• 1/2 cup water

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Using a small funnel pour into  2-oz. spray bottles (or your choice). Recipe multiplies well.

*The difference between glycerin and vegetable glycerin is that glycerin can be plant-based or animal-based, whereas vegetable glycerin is always plant-based. The two terms are often used interchangeably, and glycerin is usually plant-based in the modern era.

To Use

Shake well right before each use. Spritz about 10 times to cover the surface of the toilet bowl water. Proceed.

 

Odor or fragrance?

My friend, the late Rich Buhler, taught me a very useful life principle to rely upon when dealing with challenging situations and difficult people. “No matter how difficult that person or the situation may be,” he would say, “make sure you always leave behind a fragrance, never an odor.”

Thanks to Herta, Al, and Rich, I’m leaving fewer odors behind than I may have, were it not for their friendship.

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