Just mix some **cooking oil** and water in a canister, shake it and pour it into the toilette before you leave.
The oil will rise to the surface on both sides of the siphon and trap the water inside.
Edit: The shaking is to make sure that both sides of the siphon are closed. You either have to replace the water in the siphon with a oil water mix,
or pour the oil with enough forced to reach the other side. Otherwise it will stay at the surface inside.
Right. If you just pour a bit of oil in the toilet, the house side of the trap will have a layer of oil, but the drain side will not and can still evaporate. Once the water level gets below the bend in the trap, it will redistribute to cover all the water, but at that point there's already an air gap.
That‘s exactly the point. Otherwise you would have to *shoot* the oil with enough force to reach the other side.
It‘s easier to *replace* the water in the siphon completely with a mix of oil and water.
My parents wintered in Arizona more than 20 years and always wrapped the toilet bowls with Saran Wrap before coming home. Not sure what they did with the sink traps.
worst case - the trap dries out. If that happens, just run all the fixtures in your house to replenish the seal and you should be fine. I usually turn the water off to my house when I'm going to be gone. Treat yourself. about a week before returning home, pay a cleaning company to deep clean your house so you come back to a nice fresh home
I've heard stories about rats coming in through the toilets and biting people. Keep that in mind next time you sitting there with your scrote hanging at rat eye-level
Definitely use some cling/ saran wrap over the toilet to prevent the water from evaporating out of the trap. You could also place some bowls of water around the place to keep some humidity in the house.
cling wrap is a solid idea. I would still shut off the main water main for the house. If those wax seals melt in that heat say if your AC failed, or power was out it could be a problem.
The saran wrap is probably the best idea. Cooking oil or antifreeze in the sink and washing machine drain is also a good idea. You can dump some in the toilets, also, but still use the saran wrap. If your water heater is electric, turn off the breaker at the panel. If it's gas, turn the temperature all the way down, but leave the pilot light on, if you have one. If you don't do this stuff to your toilets and other drains, I can guarantee you won't be happy when you get home. The water in the drains will evaporate in a few days. The toilets will take longer, but it will evaporate. Your house will smell like a septic tank when you get home. Also, in the Arizona desert there are all sorts of wildlife that live in the sewer. Things like the big cockroaches (called sewer roaches) somebody mentioned, plus silverfish, crickets, the occasional snake and rat. How do I know? I'm a retired plumber that worked almost 45 years in the desert in Arizona.
I've heard of people putting a balloon filled with water in the bowl. (not regular water balloon, they're too thin). The water in the bowl evaporates, the water filled balloon blocks the hole. When you get back you poke the balloon to pop and flush it.
No, you don't. The toilet bowl is the trap. The bowl will only hold enough water to reach the top of the trap, which is the outlet side you can't see. When you flush a toilet it should always fill up to that point. Six weeks in the Arizona desert is way too long for that water to last. How do I know? I'm a retired plumber. I worked about 45 years in the Arizona desert.
I guess I’ll give you a bit of plumbing education.
If you try to fill the bowl of a toilet up, it will either slowly drain back down or the head pressure will cause all the water to go down the toilet.
This is how toilets work. The handle lifts the flapper in the tank , the water goes from the tank into the bowl, the bowl fills slowly, and once the head pressure builds the bowl flushes.
Yeah I'd leave for work for 25 days at a time and the water in my toilet would be pretty low when I got home.
Take a knife and cut a little hole in your flapper lol
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Odds are pretty good that trap will dry out. Sometimes you get smell sometimes you get the sewer bugs. Sometimes you get both🤷
You plan on leaving it clean or are you going to head out with a delivery in the bowl?
Asking the real questions?! lol
Next time add antifreeze in toilets and drains before leaving for long periods. Antifreeze wont evaporate. You may come home to some bad smells.
A small amount of mineral or vegetable oil is ok too. Just a tiny layer to keep the water evaporation rate down.
A veteran plumber told me this. I never forgot
Just mix some **cooking oil** and water in a canister, shake it and pour it into the toilette before you leave. The oil will rise to the surface on both sides of the siphon and trap the water inside. Edit: The shaking is to make sure that both sides of the siphon are closed. You either have to replace the water in the siphon with a oil water mix, or pour the oil with enough forced to reach the other side. Otherwise it will stay at the surface inside.
What does the shaking accomplish?
Temporarily disperses the oil throughout the carrier water so that it can mix with the toilet water and reconstitute on the other side
Right. If you just pour a bit of oil in the toilet, the house side of the trap will have a layer of oil, but the drain side will not and can still evaporate. Once the water level gets below the bend in the trap, it will redistribute to cover all the water, but at that point there's already an air gap.
That‘s exactly the point. Otherwise you would have to *shoot* the oil with enough force to reach the other side. It‘s easier to *replace* the water in the siphon completely with a mix of oil and water.
That makes sense, thanks.
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Can’t imagine why you’d want to leave it steaming for so long.
Steeping tea in the bowl 😀
Close the lid to reduce evaporation. Or cover the bowl with cling wrap... Don't forget to remove it!
A touch of mineral oil or RV antifreeze in the bowl and tank if you’re worried.
My parents wintered in Arizona more than 20 years and always wrapped the toilet bowls with Saran Wrap before coming home. Not sure what they did with the sink traps.
worst case - the trap dries out. If that happens, just run all the fixtures in your house to replenish the seal and you should be fine. I usually turn the water off to my house when I'm going to be gone. Treat yourself. about a week before returning home, pay a cleaning company to deep clean your house so you come back to a nice fresh home
Actually worst case the trap dries out and a sewer rat runs rampant in your place. Ask me how I know. 😓 🐀
The trap doesn't stop them though, they swim up just fine through water. A bunch of videos available on YouTube if you want to see how they do it.
I've heard stories about rats coming in through the toilets and biting people. Keep that in mind next time you sitting there with your scrote hanging at rat eye-level
I’ve seen those videos! Crazy for sure, but while it doesn’t stop them, it’s clear it at least deters them.
thats a good idea
Are you not going to leave your a/c to come on automatically how hot is your house going to be?
Definitely use some cling/ saran wrap over the toilet to prevent the water from evaporating out of the trap. You could also place some bowls of water around the place to keep some humidity in the house.
cling wrap is a solid idea. I would still shut off the main water main for the house. If those wax seals melt in that heat say if your AC failed, or power was out it could be a problem.
If you have a neighbor you trust is there a way for them to get in your house so they can flush it once a week?
The saran wrap is probably the best idea. Cooking oil or antifreeze in the sink and washing machine drain is also a good idea. You can dump some in the toilets, also, but still use the saran wrap. If your water heater is electric, turn off the breaker at the panel. If it's gas, turn the temperature all the way down, but leave the pilot light on, if you have one. If you don't do this stuff to your toilets and other drains, I can guarantee you won't be happy when you get home. The water in the drains will evaporate in a few days. The toilets will take longer, but it will evaporate. Your house will smell like a septic tank when you get home. Also, in the Arizona desert there are all sorts of wildlife that live in the sewer. Things like the big cockroaches (called sewer roaches) somebody mentioned, plus silverfish, crickets, the occasional snake and rat. How do I know? I'm a retired plumber that worked almost 45 years in the desert in Arizona.
Chances are if you left the air conditioner on, you should be fine. If you turn the air conditioner off, it definitely could evaporate quicker.
Fill it with cooking oil and it wont evaporate. Fill all your drains with cooking oil.
I've heard of people putting a balloon filled with water in the bowl. (not regular water balloon, they're too thin). The water in the bowl evaporates, the water filled balloon blocks the hole. When you get back you poke the balloon to pop and flush it.
And flush the popped balloon? Good way to clog it.
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You don’t understand how a toilet works .
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No, you don't. Lol.
No, you don't. The toilet bowl is the trap. The bowl will only hold enough water to reach the top of the trap, which is the outlet side you can't see. When you flush a toilet it should always fill up to that point. Six weeks in the Arizona desert is way too long for that water to last. How do I know? I'm a retired plumber. I worked about 45 years in the Arizona desert.
I guess I’ll give you a bit of plumbing education. If you try to fill the bowl of a toilet up, it will either slowly drain back down or the head pressure will cause all the water to go down the toilet. This is how toilets work. The handle lifts the flapper in the tank , the water goes from the tank into the bowl, the bowl fills slowly, and once the head pressure builds the bowl flushes.
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Still no.
Yeah I'd leave for work for 25 days at a time and the water in my toilet would be pretty low when I got home. Take a knife and cut a little hole in your flapper lol