After a year & a half of living tiny we thought it was about time we shared our experience with using a composting toilet. Honestly, this was the scariest part of going tiny for me (Amy). I was nervous about the smell, if it would be easy to use, what our guests would think & of course how gross emptying it would be. In saying that, I’m happy to report that we LOVE our composting toilet & I had little reason to be nervous.
We decided early in the build stage that we wanted a composting toilet. We figured to would be more difficult to find a parking spot with a septic connection that not. Also, living in Queensland, Australia which is drought prone we are conscious of our water usage. After a few months of research & many YouTube reviews we decided to go with the Separett Villa 9010 urine diverting toilet.
We decided on this model of composting toilet not only does it look similar to a traditional toilet but it also some great features that make it feel less like a composting toilet. The design has two separate compartments, the front section for the urine & the back for the solid waste. The urine travels down a tube outside the house where it can be plumbed in with the grey water, in a separate holding tank or to a pit away from the house as we’ve done. Some other designs collect the urine in a container at the front of the toilet. Having our urine on display wouldn’t fit our décor & from the reviews we saw emptying the urine was worse than the solid waste. There was risk of urine overflowing if it wasn’t emptied every few days, spillages when removing the container & the smell when disposing of it. The back compartment has a bucket which is covered by an automatic flap which opens when you sit. No having to see the waste or accidentally pooping on the flap! Plus the smell is contained & bugs kept out. The bucket also sits on a platform that rotates slightly when you sit, so that waste is distributed evenly instead of in the same spot. There is also a fan which runs 24/7 in the solids compartment, elevating the need to add dry medium such as wood chips or peat-moss after use.
For our family, we empty the solid waste every 2-3 weeks. This is based on the bags we choose to use rather than how full the bucket is. As we use composting plastic bag they can begin to break down sooner than we would like them to, so we keep to a schedule for emptying it rather than waiting for it to be full. The waste can be collected & after being stored for a period of 12 months, after this is usable compost for trees or gardens in which vegetables won’t be in direct contact with it. Our current circumstances don’t allow us the space for long term waste storage away from the house. Instead, we dispose of it in our waste bin which is collected weekly. It’s no difference to disposing of soiled nappies except our waste is all fully compostable.
The most common question we get is whether our toilet smells. I can report that there is no smell (literally no smell even right after going like a traditional toilet). As the urine is kept separate & there is the built in exhaust fan the solids are dehydrated & smell limited. On the few occasions where there has been a smell it’s been when the container is very full or when we thing the children have accidentally had some urine go in the back compartment. The extractor fan is vented out to the rear wall & at times if you walk directly in front of this there is a smell. For this reason, we ensured our design had this vented away from an area we would spend time in.
In regards to maintenance when we empty the poop we also clean the filter over the fan, rinse the buckets with water & wipe down the toilet with disinfectant. Once a week we pour hot water down the urine bowl to aid in removing any calcification or build up of minerals keeping the pipe draining freely. Sometimes, for an extra deep clean we’ll use bi-carb soda & vinegar to. We also do a generally wipe down of the toilet weekly as you would a traditional toilet. After each use of the toilet, we spray the front section of the bowl to with a few squirts of water & vinegar to keep the bowl clean & smell free.
When considering if a composting toilet suits your lifestyle it’s important to note some the drawbacks too. Of course there is the obvious; of having to empty the poop bucket (this really isn’t that bad, to see how we empty our toilet follow this link https://youtu.be/widohd1y1UM ). Our toilet also requires that everyone (including males) sit to pee. The bowl is not designed receive urine from a standing position which will result in splash back & a mess you won’t enjoy cleaning. Having to use a composting toilet can be daunting for your guests & will require some explanation before they use it. We have a handy printable for our guests which you can download below. When unwell, some people vomit in the toilet & while this isn’t impossible with our composting toilet, it just really isn’t ideal. When we’ve been unwell we just use a bucket.
Overall, our experience with using a composting toilet has been great & we don’t regret our decision to do so
