If you follow instructions and keep your composting toilet in good working order, the composting process will kill off all nasty or potential harmful pathogens and bacteria. After a chamber has been filled and the compost goes through a curing process, you will get a product that is chemically, biologically and aesthetically similar to topsoil.

For more information on safely handling composting waste, see our blog post: Safely handling humanure.

The answer to this is they most certainly do. When set up and maintained properly, a composting toilet will reduce your water consumption by 30% as well as generating a usable humus or topsoil-like product at the end of the composting period.

Like anything in life, if a composting toilet isn’t maintained properly or is misused, then it won’t work to its full potential and you will have issues… but you can take it from the thousands of happy customers we’ve had over the decades that composting toilets most certainly do work.

First let's look at water usage. Composting toilets will cut your use of perfectly good drinking water by a huge amount every year. a typical family will avoid wasting 35,000 litres per year. that’s two large water tanks

Times that 10+ flushes for a family house per day, that’s around 70 litres a day, 490 litres a week, 1,960 litres a month and 23,520 litres of water a year. That’s about a family sized swimming pool of perfectly good drinking water you’re literally flushing down the toilet each year.)

Ok, so that’s water usage, let’s take a look at water protection. Conventional methods for process raw sewage generate huge amounts of nutrient rich treated water which runs into water systems and oceans. In oceans, rivers, and bays this increases the nutrient levels in the water which in turn increases the BOD levels (Biological Oxygen Demand). This can cause the proliferation of aquatic plant life which seems like a good thing, but as the plant life dies and decays this can cause the removal of oxygen from the water and the destruction of the habitat.

Now let’s look at the end result of using a composting toilet – the compost. By composting your waste you’re removing your footprint on the earth considerably. Breaking down human waste into a valuable fertiliser has always been common practice. It was not until the 20th century and the advent of artificial fertilisers that we have been literally wasting our waste.

Composting toilets reduce waste by around 90% in volume and deliver a material which is chemically, biologically and aesthetically similar to topsoil. Everybody wins!

There are many models with a ventilation fan included in the setup, but it’s not a necessity to have a fan if you’re willing to maintain your toilet properly. If you’re looking for the easiest possible setup with the minimum amount of maintenance required then it’s advisable to install a system with ventilation. This will either use electricity or can be hooked up to a solar system.)

All composting toilets have ventilation systems. the most reliable use very low wattage 12 volt fans. low cost solar power can be used to power the fan. wind driven ventilators are often used in stand alone outdoor installations.

There are many ways you can insulate chambers if they are exposed to the outside elements.

The lower the temperature the slower the composting process. to avoid having uncomposted material, discuss with us your situation, and we will recommend either a larger capacity unit or our classic 850 toilet with heater.

The other option of course is to look at a self contained composting toilet. This means the seat and chamber are all-in-one and won’t be subject to outside temperatures.

Again, this will depend on the type of cleaning product you’re using. If you’re using products with harsh chemicals, there’s a fair chance these will kill off all the good bacteria and organisms in your compost pile, resulting in your toilet not working to it’s full potential.

If you use natural products with all-natural ingredients then there’s less of a chance of killing off all the good guys working away in your composting pile. Please note that oils like tea tree and eucalyptus have antibacterial properties so can affect your compost pile.

If you’re looking for a natural way to clean your composting toilet, take a look at our Nature Flush Enzyme. It’s a natural product that’s derived from bacterial fermentation. The best thing about this product is that it will clean your toilet but also help accelerate the composting pile!

Urine is absorbed into the composting pile and accounts for most of the nitrogen which is important for a healthy culture of microbes. Read more about Carbon:Nitrogen in our blog: How a composting toilet works that covers the four main principles of composting. 

In cases of excessive urine or extremely cold weather, urine will filter through the composting pile and collect in the leachate storage below the false floor of the chamber. Here it will evaporate or drain through a short hose into an absorption trench or gravel pit. 

A porcelain urine-diverting pedestal is available. A urine-diverting system ensures the urine does not come in contact with excrement which means it can safely be collected, diluted and used as a nitrogen-rich fertiliser.

Daily or Weekly

• Add 1 cup of bulking agent to the system after every solid deposit.
• Clean restroom and toilet fixtures using only biodegradable cleaners.

Monthly

• Inspect the in-service chamber, and depending on usage prepare another chamber for in-service use once the current chamber becomes full. Refer to Rotation of Chambers in your owner's manual for more information.
• Check the vent pipe and remove any foreign matter.
• Check that the fan is operating.
• Check that the leachate hose is clear of blockages and draining correctly.

Six Monthly

• Remove and clean the fan.