In the beginning, there were
the bushes. You just picked a likely-looking clump and there you had it;
The Casual Bathroom.
Of course, if all your
relatives used the same clump, things would soon pile up, so to speak.
Enter the outhouse. A pit is
dug and a shelter constructed over it for privacy and protection from
inclement weather Periodically, lime is added to aid in the breaking down
of the waste. Once the pit is almost full, it's covered over with dirt, a
new pit is dug, and the shelter moved on top of the new pit. It's simple
and straightforward. Also stinky, full of bugs in the summer and freezing
cold in the winter, plus it's a long walk (or sprint) in the middle of the
night.
With the urbanization of
humanity, came the desire to perform bodily functions in the comfort of
your home. While chamber pots were easy and low-tech, there was a
perceived need for something even easier, less odiferous and more
hands-off.
The Father of the Modern
Bathroom was Thomas Crapper. He is credited with the design of the first
flush-type toilet, changing the way the world would "go" forever. For
several generations, this has been the norm in all but the most remote
areas of our country.
Hey, look! It's modern-day
Homesteaders!
See how happy they are roaming
their hard-won acreage!
Marveling at the wildlife and
plantlife!
Building their own little
house, or just camping out until they can afford to build!
Planting a garden and tending
it, reveling in the wonder of the seasons!
Hmmmm. They look a little
uncomfortable..
Kinda hopping up and down with
their faces all twisted up.
OH NO, WHERE WILL OUR
HOMESTEADERS "GO"?
The phrase "Back to Nature" was
never used in a more appropriate manner.
Of course the shrubberies are
still there, as is the option of the pit toilet outhouse. But thanks to
the Wonders of Modern Science, our Homseteaters have several other
options.
The Composting Toilet:
A composting toilet consists of
indoor parts that look alot like a flush toilet except it looks like the
tank is beneath instead of behind and there's a vent pipe going up through
the roof. It's alot like the toilets on airplanes or trains with the
waterless bowl and flapper bottom. Your compost toilet must be several
feet above ground level to accomodate the outside part which is the
composter itself. With an assortment of vents, fans, and hardworking
microbes, the waste is turned into a small amount of pure compost that
empties from a tray. This type of toilet runs somewhere in the area of
$1,200 (www.envirolet.com)
The Incinerating Toilet:
This one is totally cool. It
requires no plumbing, venting or outside apparatus. It also looks pretty
conventional. When it's time to use the toilet, you drop a paper liner in
the bowl and go. At the press of a button, the paper and contained waste
will drop into the bottom and be FRIED into a tiny pile of harmless ashes.
My own personal misgivings about this come from having a 4 year old in the
house. I'm not so concerned about HIS safety, as his TOYS' safety (let's
see what happens to a matchbox car in the Inferno. Awesome! Now Teddy's
turn) If you have no small children or have better control over yours than
I do mine, and go shopping for this type of system, expect to spend about
$1,700. (www.incineret.com)
But let's say our Homesteaders
have no source of the electricity that both these options require.
And maybe, just maybe, they
have better things to do with several thousand dollars than buy toilets.
Fear not, for there is always
The Sawdust Toilet:
This is basically an outhouse
in reverse. With a sawdust toilet, a 5 gallon bucket is fitted with a
toilet seat and several inches of sawdust are placed in the bottom as a
starting layer. Each time the toilet is used, more sawdust is added. This
keeps the contents from attracting bugs and repelling humans. Once the
bucket is filled, it's taken out to the compost bin, emptied and covered.
It's recommended that the compost bin have 3 sections- 1 for fresh
compost, 1 for last year's compost (to be used as needed) and 1 for
surplus sawdust storage. Cost for your Sawdust toilet and compost bins-
under $200.
(www.jenkinspublishing.com/sawdustoilet.html)
Of course, you need to check
with your local CodeLords to see which option is open and legal for you to
pursue, but certainly, all of the above make more sense than taking a
small amount of waste, mixing it with megagallons of clean water, and then
trying to clean it all up. I mean, really, think about it.
We as Homesteaders take great
pride in being responsible for everything that goes into our families. We
need to be just as responsible in regards to what comes out of them.
