The TSA-Friendly Item Flight Attendants Recommend To Avoid Bathroom Embarrassment

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Few things about airplane travel are as unpleasant as having to use those teeny, tiny bathrooms. Not only is it a hassle to get out of your seat and potentially have to bother your aisle-mates to move, you might also have to navigate getting around flight attendants and their drinks or snack carts. Once inside, the experience isn't exactly luxury. Airplane bathrooms are notoriously cramped, making it difficult not to accidentally touch those bacteria-laden surfaces (seriously, the lavatory is one of the spots you don't want to touch on an airplane). The next worst thing? Dealing with the smell.

Most of us know the old tricks to trying to minimize post-potty smells from our bathrooms. Turn on the fan. Crack a window. Light a candle, or at the very least, light a match for a short while. There are even all kinds of sprays folks use to try and make their restroom odors a little less offensive. But when you're on an airplane, your options are limited. Plus, it's not like you can totally control your bodily functions. Sure, some people attempt TikTok hacks to try and reduce bathroom trips on long flights. That doesn't mean they always work. Nature calls when it wants to, after all.

Can it be a little embarrassing given the potential, ahem, smells? Undoubtedly. That's why flight attendants want everyone to know that a few spritzes of Poo-Pourri Before-You-Go Pocket Toilet Spray is all anyone needs to keep those minuscule bathrooms fresh after the flush.

Flight attendants highly recommend purchasing some Poo-Pourri spray because it is effective at fighting all those unpleasant leftover odors. There's actually some interesting science behind how it works. Because Poo-Pourri is oil-based, it creates a protective film over everything that goes down the toilet, trapping bad smells until it's flushed away.

Also worth noting is that many Poo-Pourri sprays are TSA-friendly, available in one- to two-ounce sizes (though you're always welcome to buy larger containers for home). The pocket-size toilet sprays are just 1 ounce and fit easily in your pocket once you've gone through security. Thanks to the size, it's also pretty discreet, so no one else on the plane needs to know what you've got planned.

Once you get to the bathroom, spray it a few times (three to five is recommended) directly into the bowl, do your business, and flush it away. Not only will it keep the bathroom smelling decent, but it will also save all the folks who unfortunately bought seats near the lavatories from having to deal with unpleasant odors for the rest of the flight. You'll be the hero of your aircraft for sure.

Let's say you tried to get to the store before your flight and they were sadly all out of Poo-Pourri. What are you to do now? While it might not work quite as well, some folks also recommend using Bath & Body Works room spray. This stuff isn't technically meant for the toilet, but it'll still offer some overall protection against foul odors in a semi-discreet manner.

Another bizarre but helpful tip for keeping the mess and smells to a minimum is to line not only the toilet seat but the inside of the toilet bowl with paper. While it might seem a little dangerous given that it has the potential to clog up the toilet, some people recommend this in order to prevent smears from being left behind. And given that smears smell, it's probably not a bad tip to keep in mind for keeping bad smells at bay, too.

If you're not feeling terribly shy about it, you can also ask the flight attendant for some coffee grounds. These grounds help mitigate icky odors, and the flight staff will likely be amenable to handing some over to a thoughtful passenger. But if that's not your style, you could simply depend on what the airline provided. That is to say, airplane toilets have blue water in order to minimize odors and disinfect the toilet after use as much as possible. So if all else fails, give it a courtesy flush and make a note to buy Poo-Pourri next time.