Toilet Deodorizer on Shabbat

The Aish Rabbi Replies

The issue is a matter of debate. The basic reason to forbid it is because of the forbidden labor known as dyeing (tzovei’a). The Torah prohibition of dyeing only applies when the color will last for at least all of Shabbat. Thus, giving a color to toilet water, which is expected to last only a short time, is only rabbinically prohibited. Even so, it should still be forbidden. There are, however, a few possible reasons for further leniency here:

(1) The coloring is not intended to remain for any amount of time, but might be flushed away at any moment.

(2) Many such coloring agents dissipate on their own after time.

(3) When a person uses a deodorizer, he has no interest at all in giving the water a color. He merely wants to eliminate germs and bad odors. Therefore, the coloring can be considered an unnecessary side-effect of his action (p’sik reisha d’lo ichpas leih). (A counterargument to this might be that the person does want the color – to serve as an indicator if his deodorizer has run out of fluid.)

(4) The forbidden labor of dyeing classically applies to dyeing solid materials such as cloth. One possible reason dyeing applies to water as well is because by mixing water and a coloring agent you produce a dye – concentrated enough to dye a material. But the amount of color added by deodorizers is not enough to turn the water into a dye. Although the water itself becomes colored, it is not dark enough to dye another material.

(5) The coloring of the water is done indirectly (b’derech grama) – not immediately after the toilet is flushed but only when the toilet refills. And a person is less culpable for actions he performs indirectly. (This clearly depends on precisely how the toilet and deodorizer work.)

(6) Since water is technically a form of food, the principle that dyeing does not apply to food might be applicable.

It should be noted that not all the above reasons would permit using a deodorizer outright – such as reasons #3 and #5. They are merely additional considerations which may permit it in combination with other reasons.

In spite of the above arguments, most authorities do not permit using a toilet deodorizer on Shabbat. However, if you find yourself on Shabbat in a place which does have one, you can rely on the lenient authorities and flush the toilet.

Finally, I should note that the above discussion addressed the concern of coloring the water alone. What about placing a nice smell in the water? In general, it is rabbinically prohibited to apply fragrant solutions to surfaces, “creating” a new smell (molid reicha). However, that generally does not apply when the primary concern is removing a bad odor as opposed to creating a nice one.

(Sources: Shemirat Shabbat K’Hilchata I:23:14; Michat Shlomo II:14; Shevet HaLevi XIII:167; Mishna Halachot XV:97; The Shabbos Home, Vol. 2, pp. 336-337; Shulchan Aruch O.C. 328:36.)