{"id":595,"date":"2026-07-06T18:27:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T18:27:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/?p=595"},"modified":"2026-07-06T18:27:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T18:27:20","slug":"the-real-deal-on-covering-your-sink-before-vacatio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/?p=595","title":{"rendered":"The Real Deal on Covering Your Sink Before Vacatio"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A viral travel hack suggests covering a sink drain with paper and an upside-down glass before leaving home to stop sewer odors and insects.<\/p>\n

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While the idea is based on a real plumbing principle, experts say the method is unreliable.<\/p>\n

The key is the P-trap, the U-shaped pipe under drains that holds water to create a\u00a0\u201cwater seal\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0blocking sewer gases and pests.<\/p>\n

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If a drain goes unused for weeks, the water can evaporate, especially in hot or dry conditions, allowing odors or insects inside.<\/p>\n

Although covering the drain may seem helpful,\u00a0\u201cUnless the upside-down glass creates a tight seal over the drain opening, it\u2019s unlikely to do much of anything.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The paper can also become damp and fail to seal the drain.<\/p>\n

Instead, before a long trip, run water through every sink, shower, and tub to refill the P-traps, then seal drains with existing stoppers, rubber plugs, silicone drain covers, or plastic wrap.<\/p>\n

For extended vacations, adding a tablespoon of mineral oil can slow evaporation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A viral travel hack suggests covering a sink drain with paper and an upside-down glass before leaving home to stop sewer odors and insects. While the idea is based on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=595"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":596,"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595\/revisions\/596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metropolitantimeshock.pics\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}