Connie McBride

We have been using an Air Head Composting Toilet for 7 years and love it. We have it on a boat, but the concept is the same. I believe they actually have a slightly larger "home" version for people who have more room. It would require emptying less often. Would never have anything else on a boat, or anywhere else. Two people, full time, we empty the solids container every 4 to 6 weeks. No smell, very little maintenance. A great unit with a fantastic warranty. Check them out: http://airheadtoilet.com/

Al Freeman wrote:Michael Cox makes a good point way down at the bottom of this post.  That point being, you gotta pee in a composting toilet to make it work.  Absolutely!

The truth of the matter is, urine contains urea, which is a nitrogen-based product.  Adding this to the mix provides moisture, which facilitates thermophilic action.  That's where it gets hot, if you don't want to look up the $5 word.  

Secondly, it makes the pile 'fluid' more or less.  A dry turd standing alone will eventually turn to soil, but if it's bathed in a solution of urine, the reaction goes probably a hundred times faster.

I know it smells, but that's the way the cookie crumbles.  Use more cover (sawdust or crushed, dry leaves), if it's teasing at your nostrils.  When you dump your bucket out, it should "slosh" into the compost pile and require only a slight water rinse to "clean" the bucket.  Personally, I swish out the bucket with a squirt of hose water, then let it dry and reuse it right away.  Of course, I have a few extra buckets on hand in case I wake up to snow or ice and don't want to fool with it.  I empty my thunder mug (toilet) about every 4 days; hey at my age, I can use the exercise.

Bottom line here:  Pee in your composting toilet!

That all depends on what type of toilet you have and what your goal is. We have an Air Head composting toilet and since it is indoors, our goal is less odor. Therefore, we try to keep ALL urine out of the "solids" container, which the Air Head facilitates with its design. We have a stirrer to keep air flow going and we have an exhaust fan that draws very little (we live on solar only). With our unit, the point is to encourage aerobic bacteria to grow in the presence of LOTS of oxygen, rather than the anaerobic kind which grow in wet, stagnant situations like what you're describing. Which is why it smells so horrible. Our toilet does not smell at all because aerobic activity has no smell. The contents have to be removed to an area where they can finish composting (like all units that have "fresh deposits" in them), but it doesn't take long. I know there are different systems, and I'm not doubting what you say is true for yours, I just wanted to point out that not all composting toilets require that you pee in them and not all of them smell. We also only empty ours every 4-6 weeks which is my favorite feature! Have a good day.

Tyler Ludens wrote:Personally I would not replace a flush toilet with a composting toilet, I would have a composting toilet in addition to a flush toilet, in case there is illness or injury which prevents maintenance of the composting toilet.  Diversity is a survival strategy!

We've been using a composting toilet (an Air Head) exclusively for 6 years, as our only toilet. We've had it through plenty of bouts of sickness and it's never caused us a problem. We can go 4-6 weeks between emptying the unit, so for us, the added INITIAL expense of a unit like this is made up for in convenience over the years. I don't think I would have been willing to tolerate a composting toilet (or bucket) that had to be changed every few days. I agreed to a composting toilet only because my husband convinced me of the convenience of having one. I think many of the DIY models lose that part of the design, which is, IMHO, the best part of having a composter. Their initial cost turns off many people, but they really are worth it in the long run. (to us, anyway)

We have lived in several small spaces, but most of the past 15 years have been on very small boats, traveling. The best thing we ever did was get a composting toilet. It makes life so much easier! Our bathroom is barely big enough for one, but I gladly sacrifice the room for the convenience. Here's our take on it: http://simplysailingonline.com/index.php?page=ss150

William Bronson wrote: I have considered composting toilets.
My wife swears she wants to use one.
But, I struggle to get her or the kids to deal with the rather inoffensive waste from their bunnies.

You know, we've been using a commercial model (Air Head) composting toilet for 6 years, and it's actually probably less offensive than bunny waste. If YOU do the emptying of the solids container once every 4-6 weeks (for 2 people full time) then she may be even more ready to try one. Here's our take on it: http://simplysailingonline.com/index.php?page=ss150

We have been using an Air Head composting toilet for 6 years. We've had these tiny little critters only once. They sort of look like yeast when they clump, if they're the same kind we had. We cleaned the area around the toilet VERY WELL with vinegar. Not IN the toilet, but the seat, the outside, the fan unit, the screens EVERYTHING. We did this a few times a day for two or three days and they disappeared. They have never returned, though nothing else has changed. That's all the advice I can offer. Sorry it's not more, but take heart, they WILL go away!

Try these exercises for 10 days. It may sound hokey, but just do it and see if you don't feel better. My husband suffered from a herniated disk and the results are nothing short of amazing. Any time I spend too much time at a computer I make myself do 10 days of these exercises and BOOM, all fixed: back, neck, shoulder, knees, all of it. Try it. Really.

http://www.amazon.com/Pain-Free-Revolutionary-Stopping-Chronic/dp/0553379887/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454769996&sr=8-1&keywords=pain+free

"Odor, flies and serious risk of illness?"

Really? We've been using a commercial composting toilet (Air Head) for 5 years and it smells better than any conventional toilet or anything else I've ever seen installed in a bathroom. The only time we had flies was when you did not follow installation directions. We decided to leave out the screen. When not following directions, it's only natural to expect a product not to work correctly. Since then, we've had no problem with flies. Risk of illness? It's not like you're stirring this with your hands or something. You're more likely to get poo on your hands from changing a kid's diaper than you are from emptying a composting toilet. I'm not sure where the risk of illness comes from. But I have noticed that most people who are adamantly opposed to composting toilets don't have one. Very few people who have one have any complaints at all about them. But I guess that can be said about a lot off unconventional ideas.