THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF DRY TOILETS
Individual or professional you are fully committed to an ecological approach, want to gain autonomy or rent an unusual eco-responsible housing?
The choice of toilets is not to be overlooked, especially for a nomadic habitat such as a Tiny House, and must be well thought out according to your comfort needs and the configuration of your accommodation.
Often prejudiced but still more hygienic than conventional toilets, dry toilets are a solution to limit our environmental impact and avoid the waste of drinking water.
And for good reason. Did you know that simply by flushing the toilet, the French throw almost 40 of the drinking water into the sewers every day?
Be aware: 36 Litres per person per day of water waste only by the toilet! Clearly, this is 1/3 of the water consumption of French households that pass through their toilets.
And the problem doesn’t end there.
These toilet wastewaters (called “water valves”) are loaded with pathogens and many mineral, organic and even synthetic pollutants such as pesticides and medicines, making it difficult for treatment plants to work and may end up in our waterways.
So in this article, we explain the different dry toilet facilities that exist to help you choose according to your means and your need for comfort.
COMPOSTING DRY TOILETS
Very often people are introduced to dry toilets at a public event. And who says public, says many passages and thus lack of cleanliness… Then inevitably the dry toilets do not end up being victims of this cliché.
And now we say Stop! There is no reason why a private dry toilet should be dirtier than a conventional one, since it really depends on your maintenance… So yes, you can be green and clean, one does not prevent the other!
Once this truth is restored, it is worth noting that dry toilets even have many advantages.
Ecological and economical, because as the name suggests they do not consume water, dry toilets are as easy to install and as comfortable for your little buttocks as conventional toilets. In addition to zero risk of breakdown and plugging, zero toilet products to buy or even skeptical pit to maintain!
So, in practical terms, how’s it going in the dry corner?
Well, it’s going well. After each passage, we cover our little need with sawdust or wood shavings… No one knows, it is the sawdust that will absorb the humidity and thus avoid fermentation and odours.
Logistics level, just plan the wood sawdust stock and empty every 2/3 days (for a family of 3/4 people) the contents of the bucket on the compost heap of the garden.
To best prepare the bucket for dry toilets, before installing it, consider wetting it a little with water and then covering the walls – a bottom of 5 to 10 cm of sawdust.
Installing dry compost toilets will only take you a maximum of half a day as there are no water connections to make. You can even save space by incorporating a wood chip compartment into the extension of the toilets. And a little advice for more comfort and discretion, plan for the drain access to the bucket from the outside via a small hatch to avoid walking with in the house, even if it is small as a Tiny House …
DRY TOILETS WITH SEPARATOR
We’re going upmarket in the dry toilet family. This is a more sophisticated system than the simple compost bin described above.
Thanks to a separator positioned under the toilet bezel, liquid and solid waste will be dissociated.
The urine will be collected in a container located in the front part of the toilet, and the faeces in another at the back.
Why would you do that?
To prevent odours from forming by preventing liquid and solid waste from mixing. In addition, with the possibility for some models to add an outdoor ventilation system, odours are directly eliminated, sawdust litter is almost no longer necessary.
Dry separator toilets also allow you to sort solids from a compostable bag that will go directly to your compost corner of the garden and, on the other hand, liquids that you can drain via grey water or use as fertilizer for your plants! Finally, for even more comfort, some will appreciate the fact of emptying the bucket less frequently since the container of urine is easier to empty.
EVAPORATIVE AND DEHYDRATING DRY TOILETS
It’s kind of the Rolls of the dry toilet. Inevitably more complex to install and expensive to purchase than other systems, dry toilets with evaporation and dehydration are a guarantee of total comfort.
Not only do they prevent the handling of sawdust, reduce waste volumes by 90, but they also make emptying considerably easier.
There are different types of facilities. Some use only air and sun, for example, and others are related to electricity.
Now it’s up to you to make the choice for a greener toilet! See also our special article PHYTOEPURATION.
You want to know more about our Tiny Houses? Contact the BIMIFY team 🙂.