sawdust toilet (sort of) question

Riverdale · #1 10/19/10, 05:36 AM

My wife asked last night if I had heard of anyone using a 'sawdust oilet', but instead of sawdust, using soil. She intendes to compost for the garden (after a couple year decomp time), but wants to fugure out how musc dirt we need before the ground freezes.

She would rather use (free) soil from our property than purchasing sawdust.

Paul O · #2 10/19/10, 06:42 AM

Riverdale,
I don't think plain soil will work. You need carbonous material to get the composting action going.

fishhead · #3 10/19/10, 06:56 AM

Check the phone book to see if there are any cabinet shops in the area. They may have lots of free sawdust.

Wisconsin Ann · #4 10/19/10, 07:20 AM

Straight soil won't work. Tell her to think of the composting toilet as a small outdoor compost pile. Soil will smother it. Peatmoss works well, although it's a bit pricey.

Tell her that sawdust really really DOES work great with the toilets. There is enough bacteria and nitrogen in the Poo that it breaks down the sawdust quickly enough to be useful for composted mass.

HOWEVER....to compost human manure, you NEED the heat from the sawdust compost. Soil will NOT kill the pathogens.

This is what our instructions from the purchased composting toilet says: sprinkle 1/4cup peatmoss on the top every time you use the toilet (they're talking for poo). 1/2cup warm water added every day

As to purchasing sawdust...you're not looking for bedding type shavings..you actually want the finer stuff that comes from cutting boards. Find a sawmill or a woodworker. Take a BIG bag with you. I'd be willing to bet you can get as much as you want for free.

Belfrybat · #5 10/19/10, 08:02 AM

I agree with the above posters. Finely shredded leaves work as well but don't absorb odors quite as good as sawdust. Ditto pine needles. I get sawdust free from several places around here. A sawmill, cabinet maker, and a general woodworking shop. Just call around, I have no doubt you can find free sawdust. Depending on where you live, you might also find cotton burrs or rice hulls. Any finely shredded plant matter will work. When I lived in the Austin area, I had to pay for sawdust/shavings from a lumber mill. $3.00 for a huge contractors size bag. It would last me over 6 months. Cheaper than flushing city water down the sewer.

fishhead · #6 10/19/10, 08:41 AM

I just read on this site that if possible get sawdust directly from the sawmill instead of places that use kiln dried lumber because the former does a better job of absorbing odors.

I've heard of people using fresh sawdust in homes to remove nasty odors. They literally covered the floors with fresh sawdust and let it sit for several days.

http://www.humanurehandbook.com/humanure_toilet.html

Dexter · #7 10/19/10, 08:45 AM

Bugs will come to the surface in your toilet if you use soil.
I used rotted sawdust (free) for awhile and just got used to seeing centipedes in there. I actually used bedding wood shavings for nearly 5 years- that little compressed bag lasted long enough that I didn't mind buying rather than wasting gas/time searching for free sawdust. It wasn't "fine" like sawdust but it was just for me, I'm flexible!

Wisconsin Ann · #8 10/19/10, 09:01 AM

Ah, Dexter! good to know about the bedding shavings. I think I'd want to add some of the peatmoss just to start the reaction more quickly...but that's cool that it works

myheaven · #9 10/19/10, 11:41 AM

Could chopped up corn fodder (stslks and cobs) work if it was chopped quite fine?

ryanthomas · #10 10/19/10, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by myheaven

Could chopped up corn fodder (stslks and cobs) work if it was chopped quite fine?

Don't know about the stalks, but ground up cobs work great. I imagine the stalks would be fine too.

Freeholder · #11 10/19/10, 12:53 PM

When we used a sawdust toilet for a year, we bought a bale of peat (not too expensive purchased at a feed store -- get the biggest one they have). One bale lasted a LONG time.

I did try soil, and it does not work. You need something that will stay on top of the deposits in order to keep the odors down, and soil sinks. That's in addition to the fact that you need to be adding carbonaceous material for the composting action to happen.

Kathleen

Mid Tn Mama · #12 10/20/10, 08:29 AM

Gosh, you have to have lots of paper from paper products and junk mail--why not shred and use?

Jim-mi · #13 10/20/10, 09:48 AM

Thats a good idea about the 'shavings' and 'peatmoss' . . .
Cause around here in the dead of winter collecting sawdust from the mill could be difficult.

layered . .poo-sawdust-shreded . . might work.............

Eyes Wide Open · #14 10/20/10, 10:02 AM

Has anyone ever tried shredded leaves? I'm guessing not as good as sawdust but could it be a reasonable substitution?

raymilosh · #15 10/20/10, 10:06 AM

I just gather up leaves and crunch them up a bit. In 5 minutes, I have enough to last a couple of weeks. I really don't spend much time or worry on the matter and no money is spent either and the results of doing it this way these past few years are fine. Low or no odor.

Freeholder · #16 10/20/10, 10:23 AM

Leaves are a good idea, if they aren't buried under three feet of snow, and if you don't live in the desert or near-desert where there aren't any leaves (as I do!). But for those who have them available, yes, by all means use what you have!

Kathleen