Does Anyone Use An Outhouse Full Time

SueMc · #21 08/18/12, 08:53 PM

Not "full time" but we have a sawdust toilet at our property (no house yet). That's all I wanted since no one would see me using it. The men in my life built the toilet box and just kept going, building an actual outhouse complete with moon cutout in the door! Our four y/o granddaughter painted the toilet box with a variety of paint colors. I have two shelves in the outhouse and it's stocked with spider spray, hand wipes and toilet paper. There is a garbage can outside full of sawdust. It doesn't smell and fits into "farm decor" nicely. I have collected a large amt. of hollyhock seeds that will be planted around the outhouse next year. Like the old saying..."all that is old is new again..."....or something like that!

Common Tator · #22 08/18/12, 10:03 PM

If I couldn't have indoor plumbing "just like in the city", I would want a sawdust toilet in the house, AND an outhouse outside. The outhouse would be used most during the day, but I wouldn't want to have to trip over rattlesnakes and wrestle bears to get to it at night, and at my age, there are ALWAYS visits at night. Then, that sawdust toilet would be awfully convenient!

danielsumner · #23 08/18/12, 10:16 PM

We have a lot of work being done by a landscape company now. The Blue Porti Potty has been sitting in the front yard for over a month now, and about another month to go. Yes, they put the darn thing in the front of the dang house. No outhouse for me and I want the Blue monster gone soon too.

mnn2501 · #24 08/18/12, 10:22 PM

How does one get all the sawdust you would need unless you also own a sawmill?

big rockpile · #25 08/18/12, 10:42 PM

I've used a few.

Does Anyone Use An Outhouse Full Time - Homesteading Questions

big rockpile

Nimrod · #26 08/18/12, 11:14 PM

The out house on the current property is for emergency use. Unfortunantly the only emergency so far occured in the dead of winter. Snow is a great insulator and if there is a foot covering your septic tank, the tank won't freeze. Last winter there was no snow and cold temps (-35) so the septic tank froze. It snowed and within a week the tank thawed out and the inside toilet started working again. It was a little bit nippy for a while but at least I didn't have to worry about spiders and flies.

The new property is in a county where they require an outhouse be designed by a professional septic and outhouse designer. I wonder if Frank Loyd Wright started this way?

ErinP · #27 08/19/12, 12:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mnn2501

How does one get all the sawdust you would need unless you also own a sawmill?

Well we don't have a whole lot of sawmills, owned or otherwise, on the high plains, so I just buy a bag of horse bedding. Pine shavings. You can find it at most feed stores.
I try to avoid the kiln-dried stuff, but it works OK, too. I just get the finest flakes I can find. It's usually $6 or $7 a bag and will last for a couple of months...

Ness · #28 08/19/12, 12:35 AM

Composting toilets

. Think you can even get them at like Home Depot now.

Rick · #29 08/19/12, 06:32 AM

Peat Moss, leaves, pine needles.
We get a truckful for 30 bucks every couple years.

Our pile turned out to be the coolest Science project this year...

We dug up a dayglo momma 5 line skink and her ten eggs. 7 yo gs got to handle them as we put them on the other side of the pile.

Then we found 10 new-borns before we could -fill our bucket.
We moved as for away as we could in the pile to dig for the sawdust.

For several days my cut-off Vinegar bottle scoop came up with 1 to 2 babies (10 more) which I trabsported 50 yards aways from our cats and dogs.

blufford · #30 08/19/12, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waiting Falcon

I would go for a sawdust bucket . If maintained properly there is no smell to them at all. When I was so sick, I was vomiting into my bucket and there was no smell to bother me. Don't think I could do that in a toilet unless someone has come up with improvements I do not know about.

But you couldn't cool your head on the cold porcelain.

HermitJohn · #31 08/19/12, 07:46 AM

Pit type outhouses really stink unless you live in desert. Ground water at least some point in the year invades and you get the anaerobic (decomposition in absence of oxygen) 'super stink' effect.

The Irish and Chinese needed the 'night soil' for farming so were smart enough to build outhouses above ground. You step up to use the facilities. Waste is at ground level building up a stalagmite. Then there is a back door down low where the 'night soil' is scooped out when full. Its much like an outdoor sawdust bucket. Works best with a two holer outhouse so one side has chance to age a bit before being scooped out. I have built and used them though I use bucket anymore. I just saved wood ash and kept it in bucket in the outhouse. You need a feed sack for used paper products that can then be burned, dont want paper down in the mix.

Posted a sign "A sprinkle a day helps keep odor away..." Flies too. Can use ag lime if you dont have wood ash. Really no smell with one of these, sort of a composty, leaf litter, type smell. No major stink hole like the pit outhouses. I've seen/smelled some of the pit outhouses that would make me rather drive 10 miles to nearest gas station.....

Except for the long walk at night jumping over rattlesnakes and such, I'd really rather have one of the Irish/Chinese style outhouses than bucket. I still think its weird people want a boom-boom room in their house. Course living alone doesnt matter in my world.

Common Tator · #32 08/19/12, 09:10 AM

I built my wellhouse to look like an outhouse. I was going to pain a crescent moon on the front of it, but Betty kept looking at me funny when I was telling her. So, I didn't. When I was a kid, ours blew over in a storm one night. I still remember daddy going out there early one morning, in dire need, and having to stand the outhouse back up. Funny how one or 2 memories stick in your head from when you were 5 years old, yet you can't remember where you left your car keys 5 minutes ago.

meanwhile · #33 08/19/12, 09:54 AM

We have three out houses. Here is link to what one looks like:
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink

We are in the process of "prettying" it up some since guests use it now. We have stained the floor and seat base with blue stain and are sewing a new curtain.

We use this Out House "full time" when we are outside. We do have indoor traditional toilets but use this Out House almost daily. The hole is about 5 feet deep and 2 feet wide by 3 feet wide. We did not have to put anything to hold the soil stable. We do have a vent stack up the back. That helps air things out.

We have never had any trouble with bad smells until this year. Two weeks ago we have guests here for a wild food class and more people used the Out House. I would estimate about 12 people used it over a 5 hour time and a few more in the afternoon. We are not sure why it started to smell bad but it did. We took ashes out of the firepit and sprinkled ash down the hole and left the door open for a few days. It aired out just fine.

I would agree with those above who suggested the sawdust toilet or bucket inside. It can be cleaned more often and dumped outside away from the house to compost. Perhaps an Out House away from the house for daily use but the compost bucket inside for at night and when it is cold outside.

An Out House does not have to be smelly nor nasty. Just take care of it and keep it clean just like an indoor bathroom.

Good luck.

Rick · #34 08/19/12, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meanwhile

We have three out houses. Here is link to what one looks like:
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink

We are in the process of "prettying" it up some since guests use it now. We have stained the floor and seat base with blue stain and are sewing a new curtain.

We use this Out House "full time" when we are outside. We do have indoor traditional toilets but use this Out House almost daily. The hole is about 5 feet deep and 2 feet wide by 3 feet wide. We did not have to put anything to hold the soil stable. We do have a vent stack up the back. That helps air things out.

We have never had any trouble with bad smells until this year. Two weeks ago we have guests here for a wild food class and more people used the Out House. I would estimate about 12 people used it over a 5 hour time and a few more in the afternoon. We are not sure why it started to smell bad but it did. We took ashes out of the firepit and sprinkled ash down the hole and left the door open for a few days. It aired out just fine.

12 uses in 5 hours is pretty much non-stop, N'est-ce pas? Spread the wealth at the other venues!

Forerunner · #35 08/19/12, 11:51 AM

A 55 gallon drum of sawdust lasts my family of 7 for about 6 weeks.
I make mine when I need to, with a chainsaw.
For those who have dead elm, and like burning it, but hate splitting it, use the chainsaw to buck and quarter the log for firewood and use them shavings for yer sawdust commode.

Know any woodworkers ?

Any woodworker worth his salt will come up with that 55 gallon drum full, or more, each week........ but, like Rick said, there's lots of worthy substitutes for sawdsust.

Lizza · #36 08/19/12, 12:11 PM

I've used both (outhouse & sawdust) and the sawdust is the better of the two options. Less smell for full time usage. Like someone else mentioned, personally, I would like to have both.

As to sawdust, we pick it up by the 55 gallon barrel for $4.00-$6.00 (they always charge me different prices), you can pick it up by the yard for $12 which would last a really long time! This is Oregon though, we have a lot of sawmills.

A tip for sawdust toilets, use stall dry or wood pellets for the bottom (soaks up urine), and try and use only actual sawdust, we've tried everything else and nothing comes close to sawdust for smell and coverage.