Let’s be real, it’s virtually impossible to keep bathrooms smelling fresh, especially if you’re sharing yours with little ones— i.e. boys and husbands! While we’ve given you plenty of tips on what to do AFTER a particularly pungent restroom trip, we have yet to enlighten you on how to combat the stink altogether.

As it turns out, the secret to keeping an always-pleasant bathroom isn’t by lighting a candle or spraying the room with chemicals, it’s all in the roll—the toilet paper roll, that is.

You see, adding enjoyable scents to your toilet paper roll allows the fragrances to be dispersed every time someone reaches for the TP. When the queen or king of the throne is finished with their “royal business”, they will spin the roll around a few times, thus activating the scent, allowing it to diffuse throughout the room. How smart is that?!

For pleasant abodes, hack that toilet paper roll!

Now that you’re surely on board with this ingenious trick, it’s time for you to try it on your own. All you need to do is grab your favorite brand of toilet paper—it doesn’t matter if this roll is half-used—and some essential oil.

For this use, you can use any oil you’d like, but generally speaking, citrus-based oils, particularly lemon, seem to be the most sought-after. Not only are these fragrances reminiscent of “clean smells”, they are also especially pungent.

On the other hand, if you want to go for something a bit more understated, cinnamon oil is known to pack a real punch, mainly when it comes to covering up unpleasant odors!

Once you’ve located your essential oil of choice, simply add about 5 drops onto the INSIDE of the cardboard toilet paper roll. Allow a minute or so for it to absorb, then simply pop the roll back onto your holder. Easy as pie!

Now, if you have the pleasure of battling against frequently unpleasant odors in your bathroom, we suggest pulling double duty by whipping up a batch of this DIY poop spray, which can be added directly into the toilet. Although we stand behind the essential oil hack, we have to admit that some trips to the bathroom do call for reinforcement!

Be careful where you dab!

It goes without saying that this is not something that should done ON the toilet paper itself. While some natural essential oils may not irritate your most sensitive of areas, others shouldn’t be put anywhere near your back or your front!

Nevertheless, if you follow the above directions (i.e. only adding the oil to the inside of the cardboard roll), you’ll be safe, and soon reaping the benefits of a fresh-smelling bathroom!

Now that you know another unexpected trick for keeping your powder room smelling great, we want to turn the mic over to you. Have you ever tried this essential oil hack before? If so, were you happy with the results? Do you have any unique tips for keeping your restroom smelling nice?