This Genius Toilet Paper Hack Will Refresh Your Entire Bathroom

Andrey Popov/ShutterstockThere are plenty of suggestions out there for how to prevent less-than-pleasant odors in your bathroom. Poo-Pourri spray is immensely popular, and flight attendants use this brilliant hack to keep airplane bathrooms fresh. However, there’s a way to eliminate icky bathroom smells that doesn’t require a daily spray, or a touch-up every time you go. In fact, you only have to do this as often as you change your toilet paper roll, and it works just as well. And yes, there is a correct way to hang your toilet paper.

All you need is a toilet paper roll—it doesn’t even have to be full—and some essential oil. TipHero recommends citrus scents, which can overpower other odors, plus they have a “clean” smell. Place 5 or so drops of the oil on the inside of the cardboard toilet paper roll, and voilà! Your bathroom will be filled with a pleasant but not over-the-top aura of citrus, or whichever scent you’ve chosen. Here are 7 scents that can be good for your health.

What makes this technique so cool is that, while you don’t actually have to do anything each time you use the toilet, the scent still kicks in whenever you do. Rolling the fragrant toilet paper roll tosses the scent around and “re-activates” it. The nice smell will last you till the end of the roll.

Be careful, though, that the oil doesn’t get on the paper itself. Many essential oils can irritate the skin, especially the sensitive areas that, you know, TP habitually comes into contact with. If the oil does manage to seep through the cardboard, you’re probably best off not using the last couple squares of paper. However, aside from that, you really can’t go wrong with this trick! Here are some ways you are cleaning your bathroom wrong.