A glass over a drain, a scrap of paper, and the promise that you have sealed your house from sewer smell and bugs looks clever in a video. It is not a real seal. When you leave town, the water sitting in a P-trap can dry out. That water is the barrier between your pipes and the sewer. Once it is gone, odor and insects can travel up the drain. The fear is real. The glass-and-paper fix is not.
An upside-down glass almost never sits airtight on a sink. Paper soaks, warps, and lets air move. Heat, a fan, or a few extra days away finishes the job the video pretended to prevent. You board a plane thinking the drain is closed. The trap is still open to whatever is in the line.
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