“You are what you eat.” “What goes in, must come out.” “Time to drop the kids off at the pool!” OK, that third saying is a bit more graphic, but that’s, namely feces, what I’m writing about today. It’s not exactly the kind of subject you have with your others, unless you’re the type of person who likes to photograph your daily bowel movements and share.  

What’s more, I don’t think anyone wants to smell what your body has been storing either. I have a hard time admitting that I even use the bathroom, let alone do it in a public place!  

At my house we tend to have a lot of company, and unfortunately not everyone can smell like roses. I found myself buying way too many air fresheners; most of the time they failed to work because they don’t mask odors, they just enhance them. Gross!  

So I decided to do some research on products that help deodorize the bathroom effectively and discreetly. These new “spray before you go” products are designed to either squeeze or spray into the toilet bowl before you go, with the liquid acting as sort of a liquid vacuum to trap odors.

The first product was “As Seen on TV” called One Drop. The promise was this tiny bottle could banish the smell of elimination with just a squeeze.  =It worked OK for a while, but the smell was a bit off to me. It had a faint mint aroma and did not seem very natural or discreet at all. It kind of gave off a chemical smell that wasn’t very pleasing. But at $5, the price is very reasonable.

I really liked Just a Drop Personal Odor Reducer ($8) due to the more natural eucalyptus scent. Though it was just as distinct as the One Drop, it just seemed more pleasant and acceptable. I don’t think anyone could tell you’ve just been to the bathroom after using it.

But then I stumbled upon PooPouri (poopouri.com), which is probably the best out of all three. Not only were the two sprays I tried cleverly named, Deja Poo and Trap-A-Crap, but they are organic and biodegradable. Some of the ingredients include white flowers and essential oils, leaving a fresh scent of lemongrass and grapefruit. These products are on the expensive side ($10-$20), but they definitely have helped my bathroom stay fresh.  

And there you have it, a brief, comprehensive guide to keeping odors where they belong … in the toilet.