D.I.Y. “Poo-Potpourri” Spray for $0.89

Oddly enough, all the rage right now is a toilet spray called Poo-Pourri. It works by creating a film of essential oils and other ingredients on the toilet water that “imprison” the offending odors.

This company make a very popular product (and rightfully so), but if you are budget conscious it can be a little expensive. Over the years I’ve received several emails with requests for instructions on how to make a spray similar to Poo-Pourri, but on the cheap.

I’ve seen several recipes on the internet, but they are all missing ONE crucial ingredient that keeps the solution from separating. It is the same ingredient that makes the real thing milky white, while all the recipes you see on the internet are clear. So, every other recipe online requires shaking before use. How annoying! If it separates in the bottle what makes you think it won’t separate once you spray it on the toilet water?

I will cover the “secret” ingredient and more in this recipe so you can learn how to make a toilet spray that actually works without shaking before use. All for under $0.99!

Here is the ingredient list for DIY toilet mist spray:

• 30-50 drops of your favorite essential oils (depending on strength of oils)
• 4 oz distilled water
• 1 oz alcohol
• 1   oz vegetable glycerin
• A few drops of   soy lecithin (secret ingredient – any liquid lecithin will work)
• 5 oz. spray bottle

The recipe is relatively simple. I use a Vitamix to blend all the ingredients together, but any powerful blender or mixing device should work just fine

Step 1: Combine all the ingredients except the soy lecithin into a  a measuring cup or directly into the blender. Start blending at a low speed where nothing will splash out.

Step 2: While the mixture is blending,  slowly add  a few drops (seriously) of soy lecithin bit by bit to make sure it fully mixes.  Just remember, don’t use too much. Just get it the consistency you’d like. If it gets too thick it won’t spray.  I usually just pour straight from the bottle to save from making a mess. If you use a teaspoon like I am here, don’t worry about scraping off the last bit. A full teaspoon is too much for this batch size.

The reason that you add it at this step is because soy lecithin is VERY STICKY and will adhere to your blender. If you slowly add  it while the blender is mixing you can avoid this sticking and clumping. After the mix is relatively homogenized crank that baby full speed (just be sure to cover it).

Step 3: Pour your liquids into a spray bottle and voila – you’re done!

How do the ingredients work?

Essential oils give your toilet spray your desired scent. I personally like using citrus, lemongrass and a bit of eucalyptus, but you can really do any blend which you would use in other aromatherapy situation. The popular blend according to other essential oil blogs is bergamot, grapefruit and lemongrass.

Alcohol acts as a carrier and helps release and expand the scent because it evaporates more quickly than water (this is why alcohol is used in perfume). It also helps stop microbial growth and keeps the solution to be in a forced mixed state. I use vodka sometimes and increase to 2 oz and use 3 oz of water instead since the vodka is only 40% alcohol by volume – you can do the same. Denatured alcohol works as well, but is hard to come by. You can use rubbing alcohol, but it does have a stronger scent.

Vegetable glycerin helps act as a thickening agent and also helps the liquid to sit atop the water without dispersing.

Distilled water is used instead of tap water as to make sure minerals or chemicals in the water don’t alter the scent profile or organic chemistry of the other ingredients.

Soy lecithin (the secret ingredient) is what gives Poo-Pourri and other similar toilet sprays its milky color. While I’m not 100% certain this is the ingredient they use, it is one of the most common food and natural product additives user for this purpose. It has many uses, but in this application it acts as an emulsifier and surface repellent (both a lubricant and surfactant). So it helps create a barrier against the water and also keeps all the ingredients homogenized (or mixed). This is why you use a blender for this recipe, because to fully emulsify your mixture, you need to really give it a rigorous stirring.

Notice in the closeup picture below the mixture is not separating like in all the other recipes you will see in DIY blogs. It also has that creamy color. Secret ingredient to the rescue!

All the ingredients came out be about 89 cents for me, with the most expensive ingredient being the essential oils. You of course still have the upfront cost of buying the materials if you don’t already own them. If you don’t, it’s still a smart purchase because they will last you ages and you can always make tons more for gifts!