I think I may have mentioned at some point that I will add the occasional hack to my site. So, here's hack #1

This is about your poo room. We've probably all tried various deodorizer approaches. If, like us, they are marginally successful, you might try this one.

We've tried various products advertised for this purpose and have generally been disappointed. Our last effort was using Fabreeze, that persistent ad we all see on TV. It does fill the air with droplets of odorous joy, but those droplets fall to the floor, and on the counter, and everywhere else you spray the stuff, leaving a sticky coating over everything.

I looked for a deodorizer that didn't have a bunch of chemicals and crap in it, and came up with one that was “plant based” — called Fresh Wave. I chose one that is flowers and lemon smells. The bottle makes the point that it is only water and oils of, well, probably a meadow of flowers. I'm thinking, that might be okay.

It comes in a bottle with a trigger to make the spray, not countless aerosol chemicals. Score one for that. But, then, as I thought about using it, I realized all those wonderful smelling flower oils would fall to the floor, and we'd have oily floors and countertops. Then, there was a flash of light and the crash of thunder as my mind kicked in.

I'd seen these products you spray into the toilet that claim to prevent or at least reduce the pungent odors of one's excrement. My critical thinking brain felt like a Ninja blender on high as I put #2 and #2 together and realized that oil floats on water.

Voilà! As the French tend to say. I pulled the trigger about three times with the toilet seat up onto the water surface. I got my book, sat back, and said adios to last nights' chicken burrito. On completion, I did my usual decontamination routine, and before I flushed, I sprayed another few clouds of nicer smelling stuff on the remains of the day, and flushed.

The idea behind this is that as those torpedoes drop, they slide beneath the pleasant smelling oil slick. After you're done, and before you flush, the second spray helps seal up the nasty mess and prevent the flushing action of the water from sending up a plume of not so plum smelling particles.

It works pretty damn well. No sticky stuff all over the bathroom, and it does tend to seal in the those tiny particles in the air called odorants. Or at least the good odorants from the spray are battling the bad odorants from your nether regions.

You can use any old spray you want that isn't full of chemicals and smells like whatever you like to smell. Make sure the smell comes from oils and not some manufactured crap. Pick up whatever is on sale and enjoy your book without holding your nose.