I wanted to try mouth-taping, but my sinuses were so blocked that I would probably have suffocated in my sleep. This solution fixed that and allows me to tape my mouth shut every night and wake up feeling refreshed.
Here’s the magic: when your nose is blocked overnight there is zero airflow. The sinuses stay warm, wet, and stagnant, which is the perfect breeding ground for bacteria and fungi. The mucus turns thick and alkaline, and you wake up with that glued-shut, crusty feeling.
It takes 30 seconds and over time will clear out your nose and sinuses to establish normal airflow, it is the normalised airflow that can establish a healthy nasal-biome. It doesn’t make your nose feel dry; it makes it feel right. Not snotty, not dry, not runny, no hard boogers. Just clean, open, normal nasal breathing all day and all night.
I pair nasal douches with lymphatic drainage around my face and neck – check it out.
Ingredients
- 150 ml boiled-then-cooled water (or distilled)
- 1.5 g fine sea salt or Himalayan salt (1 %)
- 3 g xylitol powder (2 %)
- 0.35 g sodium bicarbonate (≈ ⅛ teaspoon – body-neutral pH)
- If you use NAC, add an extra 0.1–0.15 g bicarb to keep pH neutral.
Cost: about 5 cents a day. Zero plastic, zero junk.
Optional Bug-Killers & Mucus-Busters
I suggest that you make the base solution above and get comfortable with the process, don’t force it, just accept where you’re at. If you feel that you need a little more of a push from time to time, then try one (and only one at a time) of the following:
| Add-on | Amount for 150 ml | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Clove bud oil | 1–2 drops | Strong antibacterial, fresh smell |
| Lugol’s 2 % iodine | 1 drop | Nuclear-level pathogen kill |
| Food-grade borax | 0.1 g (tiny pinch) | Antifungal + gentle mineral boost |
| Oregano oil | 1 tiny drop | Extremely potent – test first, can sting |
| NAC powder | 150–300 mg (~⅛–¼ tsp) | Breaks mucus & biofilms, thins everything |
How I make it
- Boil the kettle.
- Weigh salt and xylitol into a clean 150ml glass bottle.
- Pour in ~50 ml boiling water and swirl gently until dissolved.
- Top up to 150 ml with cold water.
- Cool to body temperature (hot water kills bicarb).
- Add sodium bicarbonate and swirl.
- Add your chosen oil/iodine/NAC last, final shake.
- Solution keeps for a week (store out of light)
How I use it
I pour a little into my palm, snort up one nostril, spit it out of my mouth (I don’t swallow), then repeat on the other side. I try to breath out really gently through my nose and then touch with a tissue to dry. I don’t blow my nose as I find that this affects my ears and doesn’t allow the solution to do its work.
That’s it. Mouth tape at night, perfect sleep, zero mouth-breathing.