cover material

People frequently ask about inside cover material for a sawdust toilet and I would like to comment on chainsaw sawdust. I have used this in the past successfully but when I tried to use some of a trailer load that I got from a friends winter wood cutting I could not use it do to a fuel/oil smell. Having some second hand knowledge of this problem I let the load sit uncovered over the winter and the smell is completely gone as of this spring. Now I keep a tarp spread out near the pile and transfer about a feed bags worth onto it in a thin layer to dry over the course of a few days. Pick out the larger pieces of bark and wood, put the now dry sawdust into a feed bag and another bag of cover material is ready for storage. Now that the test is complete I am going to get a few more loads of this material so I am inside cover material independent for a year or more at a time.

I've used a bucket system for years and years with various cover materials. I've found that having whatever it is both moist and even half-composted helps with odor control relative to very dry cover material. I am separating urine so that may be part of the difference. Without access to sawdust or composted woodchips, etc.; I've even used moist clay based soil to good result......

With an all in system dryness does not cause a problem but having too moist a cover material results in larger amounts to soak up excess liquid.