Caution: Sh*t’s about to get real! (And, if you’re into drinking games get out your glass, you’re probably going to hear that word a lot) 😉
It isn’t a topic that we consider socially acceptable to discuss in polite company, but everybody poops. And do any of us really consider ourselves “polite” company anyway? We’re all friends here, right? Most of us are blissfully ignorant of what happens to poop because we have had access to flushing toilets our whole lives. This enables us to pretend that we don’t poop and that poop isn’t a big deal. However, that is a lie. Much of the rest of the world face reality every day; s%#t IS a big deal.
After some comments and questions regarding our composting toilet, I thought somebody out there might want more info. For those folks, I give you, But Seriously: Can we talk about poop (and composting toilets)? Some of you might not be interested. Some of you might find this topic offensive or the indelicate way in which I discuss it here. That is ok; please feel free to sit this one out. But be warned, you will miss out on some punny stuff. There are no poop photos to accompany this post. You’re welcome to those who are relieved. I apologize to those of you nuts who would have enjoyed that. 😁
We chose to replace the regular RV type toilet with a composting toilet for a couple of reasons. First, we knew we were not going to have running water or septic availability for some time after moving here. Meaning we needed to limit our water use and the amount of waste that would need to be disposed of. The composting toilet allows us to do both. The second big thing for us was eliminating the nasty chemicals used with a regular RV toilet. Anything in that shade of blue can’t be good for you!
Not just for boondockers either!
The composting toilet offers benefits to weekend RVer’s as well. The solids don’t need emptying as often and the urine can go into a regular toilet if necessary. Nothing goes into the black water tank and the unpleasantries associated with finding and using a dumping station are eliminated.
It is also possible to use the composting toilet concept on a permanent basis. Reasons for doing this include conserving water, using the composted waste as fertilizer, or burned as a source of energy. Many people have installed them in their homes, albeit somewhat controversially. If done carelessly, dumping waste outside could contaminate the water supply. Additionally, reaching temperatures high enough to kill harmful parasites and microbes present in human waste can be difficult to achieve in the compost pile.
You can see why it is a somewhat contentious subject, particularly in the US where we are a rather uptight bunch and just not comfortable with this shit. If you are considering a composting toilet, make sure you are aware of your local regulations. For example, Virginia prohibits placing the composted material above the ground, i.e. in your garden. Your options include burying the stuff or locating a designated disposal site. I submit to you for thought, however, the question of whether pooping into our city water, which we drink, is any less distasteful.
Keep it clean
In any case, the key to proper composting of waste is a toilet system that separates the liquid and solids. Doing this prevents the very gross sewage sludge effect from occurring. This also allows you to use, compost, or dispose of them separately. Nitrogen-rich urine can be useful as a natural soil fertilizer.
The solids require additional processing. This can be done by emptying them into an outside bin and allowing earthworms and insects to breakdown the solids or by composting. There is an interesting article at: https://insidescience.org/news/inside-controversial-world-composting-toilets if learning more about the idea of composting toilets for all tickles your fancy.
But how does it really work?
The toilet we decided on is the Air Head brand toilet. ( https://airheadtoilet.com/ ). We went with this particular brand for a few reasons; the full-sized, more comfortable seat, easier urine container removal, and the opaque, colored urine container (rookie mistake). The Air Head system separates the solids from the liquids and has a fan-powered vent to the outside of the camper. The fan continuously keeps the air in the container moving outside virtually eliminating odor. The fan is very quiet, doesn’t use much energy, but it does run continuously. We were able to power the fan using just the battery and solar panel before we had access to grid power.
Preventing a system like this from becoming widely popular is the fact that one must face the uncomfortable reality that their shit does, in fact, stink. One must develop a tougher nature as there is more involved in using a composting toilet than just hitting the flush lever. However, once all of the kinks are worked out and the system functions as intended, there is no stink. There is, however, a sobering learning curve…
Just get to the point already
The first skill involved in using the toilet is getting your position just right to line up with the proper separation tank. In order for men to do this, standing to pee is NOT an option! It seems there is a deep-seated fear that sitting down to pee is a powerful gesture that results in men having their manhood terminated. Even though Byron chooses to pee outside whenever possible, I am quite sure he has used the toilet to no ill effect. So, rest assured men, it is no truer than the notion that drinking dog hair cures rabies.
Once you have conquered sitting to pee, the biggest issue is determining when the damn thing is full. As previously mentioned, one of the things we initially liked about this model was the opaque container. The intended purpose is to be more discrete while you’re walking through an RV park to dump it. Not really an issue for us here, yet, at the time, it seemed like one for the plus column. While opaque, it has a tiny viewing window intended to allow you to see when the bucket is nearing full. We all know about the road to Hell though, don’t we? Good intentions be damned. That little window is absolutely useless!
If there’s a good time to be caught flat-footed, this ain’t it
Turns out that doe-eyed attempt at modesty has led to the biggest problem we have experienced with this toilet system. With no way of visualizing how much liquid is in the tank, you’re flying on instinct. It is unpleasantly surprising how fast that tank fills! On a couple of occasions, we have had the extreme misfortune of over-filling it. As you can imagine the operational reality of removing that over-full bucket is a most unpleasant one. You have no other option than to pull it out to empty it, whether overfull or not. In other words, a spill on aisle 4 is imminent! Maybe the most valuable thing I can tell you is to just empty the liquids bucket every day. Maybe more often depending on the people to buckets to beers ratio. Don’t let this happen to you!!
The sh#t*cident
We were unprepared, both physically, and mentally, to empty the solids bucket for the first time. We suddenly found ourselves in a bind (pun intended) regarding the nuances of use and quickly found ourselves in an emergency shit-uation. The toilet arrived with a package of large coffee filters, the usefulness of which still eludes us. Foolishly (because that is what the instructions said), we believed they were intended to be used as liners prior to each “deposit” (how a bowel movement is tastefully referred to in the instruction manual), to keep the toilet bowl clean. We have since determined that to be erroneous, and just plain ridiculous.
After using the toilet in this manner, (with filter liner), for a couple of weeks we started to notice some odor. Keep in mind, the absence of odor was key to our decision to purchase this toilet in the first place. There were tons of reviews warning that if there was an odor, you weren’t doing it right.
The toilet has an agitator, turned via a foot pedal on the outside to stir up the “deposited” material. This allows the material to oxygenate, to mix with the peat which we add as organic matter to aid in composting and to dry out. This is the process that eliminates odor. Well, it turns out that when coffee filters are used with each deposit the agitator becomes bound up into a ball of the stuff of nightmares or, as Byron refers to it, a massive 7-11 burrito. More technically, the air vent gets blocked and oxygenation can’t happen. Rather than mixing nicely with the peat and drying into an inoffensive soil-like mixture, the deposited material festers into a vile witch’s brew with the power to gag maggots.
Oh, but it gets worse.
This tragedy coincided with the first use of our RV furnace system. There is a major hot air outlet under the shower in the bathroom. This outlet happens to blow directly on the toilet bowl. If you have some imagination, you have an idea of how this played out. The gag-worthy smell rivaled that of the stinkhorn from Ch 7 and was amplified and distributed, impressively efficiently, throughout the RV via the furnace.
At that point emptying the thing shot right up to the top of the priorities list, above even eating, drinking, and waaaaaay above breathing. I could go into detail about the events which unfolded as Byron heroically wrestled this beast. However, I didn’t think most people would derive enjoyment from that story. Suffice it to say that sooo much cursing and gagging took place, that I am actually a little surprised that we are still using that toilet today.
To be honest, I’m not sure I could accurately describe the events that took place even if I wanted to. While Byron took one for the team, I curled up inside the camper, plugging my ears, rocking and chanting, LA-LA-LA-LA, trying to block the whole thing out. Surprisingly, all of my nurse training and poop experience does not factor in when dealing with our own excrement. Look, yet another growth opportunity for me! Yay me.
It is safe to say the instruction manual doesn’t begin to cover this kind of thing, nor do the online reviews. As such, I consider it my civic duty to warn others of the dangers of coffee filters in composting toilets. Therefore, I bravely recount the story here for you. May you never find yourself in such a harrowing can-tastrophe.
Let this be a lesson
Okay, I think I beat those puns to death and did what I came here to do. Obviously, whether you have a composting or chemical toilet the tanks must be emptied and it is never pleasant. After fine-tuning the process we actually find the composting toilet to be quite a useful addition. I hope this has not discouraged anyone from using a composting toilet but rather provided some tips on avoiding disaster, some helpful advice from a friend perhaps. Godspeed in your future composting toilet endeavors.
What are your thoughts on the use of composting toilets? Should they be in homes as well as RV’s? Let me know below and if you haven’t already, sign up for the email list to keep in touch!