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In a helpful comment on another QA, community member RedSonja wrote:

In [the] future, if you are going to leave the toilets unused for a long time, a spot of cooking oil on the water surface will stop it evaporating as quickly.

I've never heard this tip before, and sounds like a simple solution to a common problem.

Can one simply add a bit of cooking oil on the surface of toilet water to reduce the rate of evaporation? Will this work for sink and shower drains too?

About how much is a "spot" of cooking oil?

Are there any problems with doing this?

Amazon Dies In Darkness
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2 Answers2

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I've heard this a few times and have never tried it because grease down a drain is not a good thing. I grew up in a house with a grease trap and guess who had to clean it before I was in the first grade.

A much better solution that I have used when leaving my house or months at a time was to stretch some clingy Glad wrap around the top of the bowl. Never had an evaporation problem. Just remember to remove it before doing any business.

JACK
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Yes this is because oil doesn't evaporate into volatile vapors nearly as fast as water at room temperature and it blocks access between water and the air.

Yes, this works for other traps as well.

Enough to cover the entire surface of the water exposed to air.

You will end up flushing that oil down the drain when you start using those toilets/sinks/showers again, this can cause contribute to grease buildup in your drains and related clogs.

The drainline might not have humid enough air to prevent evaporation, so over a long enough period of time it may still evaporate and lead to a smelly trap anyways.

ratchet freak
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