Using a Sawdust Toilet

I'd dig a septic and drain field. I'd plumb up an outhouse with a real toilet. Then I would use a hand pump from a well I drilled to flush a god damned thing. If it ever came to where I couldn't do that because I was on the move, I'd bring an entrenching tool. I'll dig a hole and crap in it.

originally posted by: JessicaRabbitTx
I wouldn't be opposed to this if it weren't for guests. I'm not sure id want to explain it to them. We're building a house out on 10 acres, though and I have to say, skipping a septic tank sounds tempting.
I wonder what cps would think if they stopped by for some reason. It doesn't take much to get a visit from them.
I'm sure we'll go with a conventional toilet but that's good info. Thanks!

A manufactured composting toilet is pretty much the same thing, and since some of them look pretty much like a regular toilet, it shouldn't be too weird if CPS happens to show up. They are about $1,000 each, but probably worth it if you're wanting to skip putting in a septic tank.

I've only had one experience with this kind of toilet- when we rented a treehouse for a weekend.
I was really impressed with how well it worked. I even was kinda sick when I got there, and used it...uh...extensively.
It was a very small space, and I was sure it would smell up the place. But it didn't at all! I felt it was almost more clean and comfortable than a toilet with water. No worry about back splash, and the wood chips smelled really good.

If I ever get around to doing the work on the house I'd like to do, that is something we would seriously consider!

Sounds better than a chemical toilet, or even a conventional one; I'd use one, easy.

No more 'long drops' and tell-tale spladooshing to worry about.

I'm sure they can hear me drop my guts where I live.

a reply to: AhsoVaniva

Sawdust is excellent in such toilets because it kills the smells and cover the stuff up. Learnt that when I was a kid

I'd been wanting to try this for ages and a recent septic tank problem afforded me the legitimate excuse. After a couple of months, my wife and daughter are both squeamish about it still. I fixed the septic tank and they were thrilled to be able to poop in a porcelain bowl again.

I tended to the dumping (average twice a week for three people). We live in the country, so I never urinate in the house anyway. It's a guy thing.

Ultimately, I plan to have a triple solution. I will build a urine collection toilet in our upstairs bathroom which will drain into a container and be diluted and used as a fertilizer. I will have the bucket (and will probably use that exclusively myself). We will have a functioning toilet on a septic tank.

I am confounded by the way people can convince themselves that a sawdust toilet is disgusting, but flushing their waste into a hole in the ground or a municipal waste treatment facility is somehow sanitary. If you have ever worked on a septic tank or seen the inside of a waste treatment facility, you'd realize that those are disgusting. Collecting and composting is just natural, the way nature was designed to work.

Here's an interesting video to compliment this topic:

I have a off grid cabin and a few acres that I spend a lot of time at and use the small sawdust toilet. It does work quite well but my wife did have a bit of a time adjusting to it. I am trying to save up money for a compost toilet but at the prices they go for it takes some time.

I can see how some people would not understand the process or be offended by it but it really does work well with no smell. I would have preferred to have dug a outhouse but the area is so full of big rocks it just wasn't a option. There is a 55 gallon version of this type of toilet that can been viewed on you tube and there are links there to the construction of one. I have enough barrels and material gathered up to make one of these so I am going to build one in the spring.

While at my house I do enjoy the usual flush toilet but in a off grid cabin there are few choices to be had. I first tried a small chemical toilet but the smell and frustration was terrible and no way was my wife going to deal with that. After a lot of reading and research I decided to try the sawdust toilet and have been happy with the results.

I have to finish the rainwater collection system and a few other things and I will be selling my house hopefully in a year or so and go full time off grid. It has been far easier to switch to this type of living than I though it would be, I wish we would have done this years ago. I would have saved a fortune in utility bills and mortgage payments.

This was a great thread S + F to the OP.

a reply to: jrod


Ummm...This is too cool...I think I'm going to get one for the sailboat...

I'm also going to do a Bus conversion in the spring (think Trailways or Greyhound)...I found a used one...real nice...It has a stainless steel frame and heavy gauge aluminum sides...I'm going to remove all the seating and convert it into an RV...

I'll just replace the chem-toilet with one of these composting jobs and save on weight as well as reekage...




YouSir

Why not just use dirt as a covering?

originally posted by: 3n19m470
Why not just use dirt as a covering?

Sawdust just seems to do a better job of both absorption and occupation, but dirty could work. Mulch could also serve in a pinch.

I have been trying out softwood pellet stove pellets with the cats, covers up odours pretty good.

Not heavy like regular cat litter, is flushable or preferably compostable, dries out poop, absorbs pee really good.
The pellets expand and form sawdust when they get moist.

Next thing is toilet training those pee-poopers.

I feel that you have described a responsible way of dealing with human waste. And as you mentioned ...systems that are clean and comfortable and even stylish/odor free can be created that utilize this principle. The biggest problem that I see is lack of availability of sawdust/shavings. There used to be a lot of "mom and pop" sawmills around that would let you have the stuff for hauling it off. Now BIG mills use all of it as bio-fuel.. which isn't a bad thing. But sawdust/shavings is a very useful commodity to have available. Most of the "mom and pop" stuff now is bandsaw mills and the sawdust that they produce is not nearly as useful as the sawdust from a circular saw. Try putting up an ice house with bandsaw dust.

Harry

I'm lucky where I'm at the sawmill nearby doesn't mind me grabbing a few bags for the year. Very handy for the outhouse.

Why crap in a bucket unless you have to do it?

Good question.

Here's one reason though. Our stable is fairly far from the house, and the nearest bathroom. If you gotta go, it's a pretty good hike. For peeing (as a guy), no big deal of course...but for others, would be nice to have an alternative.

That said, I'd MUCH rather build a basic outhouse than the bucket idea. Same principle, but much nicer.

My idea/plan is similar to the bucket, except that the bucket is down a small shaft (and the bucket can be hauled up via a cranking system. Also has a vent (and vent fan) for the odor dissipation. Would use a regular toilet seat and lid, built onto a wooden seat. I'll even run a water line to it for a small sink (just drain outside).

Really, it would only be for occasional use, so should last a good long time. So far, it's part of next year's summer plan. We're basically putting it right near the main stable.

I think the best way to utilize this concept would be to construct an outhouse that utilizes the composting system and is attached to the house via an enclosed walkway. That way everything else can be kept in where it's warm and the drainage for the gray water waste ( Tub, Sinks and Laundry ) can be "legally"( still have to follow code ) plumbed into a "homemade" dry well type system with a perforated drain line leading away from it just under the ground a foot or so. It's essentially a hole with a bunch of rocks in it.

I think the composting idea is great and if people have a hard time putting it on their vegetable gardens they can use it on the flowers. But really.....think about it. Everything that you expel is something you ingested ...it's just in a different form and once it is fully composted you couldn't tell the difference between it or any other compost.

Harry

Yeah, but at $1000 a pop, compost toilets are a pretty hefty investment.

Vs. digging a hole, putting in a barrel, and using some plywood, 2x4's, and a toilet seat, with a PVC pipe and small electric fan. (especially if you already use bulk sawdust as animal bedding like we do).

if I got to crap in a plastic bucket with sawdust and eat rat-meat-stew (not to mention dodge the bullets) i'd just rather die. . . .

go for it, keep humanity going with your crap bucket, rat stew, and guns.. im checking out you can have whatever I leave behind, but you wont take my pride, or freedom..