Composting Toilets Alaska

Composting toilets are becoming more popular and easier to use. They're commonplace in cabins, outlying areas away from running water, and even as an extra toilet in the basement.

Modern composting toilets are well constructed and do not require a water hook-up. Composting toilets work because bacteria in a peat medium break down human waste into harmless organic matter. A dry mix containing the dormant bacteria is put into the peat mixture to begin the process. As humans use the toilet, the process of breaking down the waste continues with the resulting material suitable even for the garden. It's no longer a danger and doesn't carry the odor of waste. Some composting toilets utilize an electric fan to circulate air through the toilet and then to the outside of your home. Other models utilize only a ventilation pipe. Both work equally well and whether a fan is included or not is usually dependant on the size of the toilet and how much use it will be getting.

1. First, decide on the location of the toilet. You will have a semi-permanent fixture that will require minor maintenance and a hole to the outside of your home. Install the required PVC pipe. It will run from the connection on the top of the toilet, through the wall or the ceiling, and to the outside through a wall or the roof. The pipe will need to be high enough to receive wind action to turn the blades in the mounted fixture on the top of the pipe. This is the aeration system and is needed, except on select models, for the composting action to work.
2. Put in the peat and the bacteria on the bottom slide-out panel. Moisten the material and let the bacteria go to work for a couple of days before using the toilet. Keep the peat moist and you're in business. If the peat dries out, you'll have to start over with fresh peat and bacteria.
3. Empty the material from the pan once or twice a year. Use gloves since you'll get dirty. The composted material isn't considered a hazard and can be put around plants, bagged and put in the trash, or simply dumped on the ground. Refill the pan and start the whole process again.

When cleaning the toilet, avoid spraying or dropping cleaning products onto the peat as doing this will kill the bacteria. A composting toilet uses no water and will last for many years.

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