Dabbing has become increasingly popular over the last decade as extracts and concentrates have made it to the mainstream. If you’re new to dabbing, you probably have a lot of questions about the process. Like, do dabs smell? It used to be obvious when someone was toking up inside because of the distinct smell. Dabs are different from fresh flower, however, and do not produce the same effects or smells.
Whether you’re trying to be sneaky and discreet or you’re just a really considerate roommate, let’s get to the bottom of it.
Do Dabs Smell?
Yes. Dabs smell. You’re heating highly potent cannabis extract, inhaling it, and then exhaling it back out into the room. There will be a smell.
However, the smell will not be as strong as if you were to light up a joint or use a pipe to smoke flower indoors. The resulting vapor will still smell like weed, but it won’t be as strong nor will it be likely to stick around as long. If you have access to a window or good ventilation the smell should dissipate quickly.
Of course, there are other factors that may contribute to the smell produced by taking a dab. A huge dab is going to make much more of a stink than a small one, for example. The size of the room you’re in and the concentrates you’re using will also play a part in how much the dabs smell.
What About Dab Pens?
Dab pens also produce a distinct smell. Portable dab pens are much smaller than dab rigs and will not produce as large of clouds, meaning they won’t smell as strong as dabbing from a rig.
Still, many people think weed pens are odorless or completely discreet which is not true. One puff off of a dab pen is probably not going to stink up a room, but the odor will linger for a few minutes.
Best Practices for Reducing Dab Smells
Whether your neighbors aren’t very 420-friendly or you’ve got other reasons to keep your dabbing out of sight and smell, there are a few ways to reduce the smell of dabbing.
Open a Window
If you wanted to discreetly smoke a joint inside a shared space without anyone noticing, you’d have a lot of work to do. Opening the window would be a start, but it wouldn’t come close to eradicating the smell.
Opening a window will go a lot further if you’re dabbing. You just need to get some airflow to help the smell dissipate quickly. Blow the vapor out the window if you’re really worried about the smell lingering.
Light a Candle or Incense
Yes, dabs smell. But not nearly as strong as smoking weed does. If you’re trying to be considerate while dabbing away in your bedroom, lighting an aromatic candle or some incense is a good way to go.
Dabbing produces vapor which will dissipate fairly quickly, but a candle or incense will produce light and good-smelling smoke. This may help cover up some of the lingering dab smell and is especially useful if you have someone around who just doesn’t care for the smell of weed.
Make a Sploof
If you’re serious about covering the dab smell, making a homemade sploof may put your mind at ease. If you already have a window open and some candles burning, the smell will probably disappear shortly on its own without needing to do anything. But if you’re determined to do everything you can to not smell like you’re dabbing, go ahead and make a sploof.
Sploofs are devices primarily made up of toilet paper rolls and dryer sheets to cover the smell of weed. Just crumple up some dryer sheets and place them inside of an empty toilet paper roll.
When you take a dab, you can blow the vapor through the toilet paper roll. This will result in a fragrant poof of air that smells like fresh laundry.
Final Thoughts on Covering Up Dab Smells
If you’re in a situation where you really shouldn’t be using weed inside, dabbing may or may not be a risky choice. The vapor smell tends to dissipate much quicker than that of marijuana smoke, but it can still linger.
There are things you can do to reduce the smell of dabbing, like utilizing ventilation, other smells, or even devices like a sploof. Whether or not you’ll need to go to these lengths to cover up a relatively faint smell will depend on your situation.
Dab pens tend to produce less vapor than dab rigs, so you may have better luck being discreet with a dab pen. Still, dab pens do produce a distinguishable smell.
Overall, the smell produced by dabbing doesn’t come close to the smell of smoking weed. The smell of smoke can linger for a much longer time and is harder to cover up than the smell of dabs.