For modern summer residents, a dry closet becomes a good solution in all respects - you can buy it or make a dry closet with your own hands, in any case, the material costs and the amount of time spent on arranging a toilet of this type will be significantly less than the cost of installing a septic tank or a toilet boring everyone with cesspool. A chemical or electric dry closet needs to be bought ready-made, but such a convenient option as a composted (peat) dry closet can be made independently.
A compost toilet is an eco-friendly design, which is especially important for a summer residence, and the waste after processing in it becomes a good natural fertilizer, so you will save on the purchase of fertilizers as well. This type of dry closet is the simplest; it is a plastic tank or a box of various sizes with a seat and a hinged lid. The waste strewn with peat gradually decomposes, turning into compost.
Peat toilet is dry, water is not used in it for draining. You will need only dry peat, you can use it in a mixture with sawdust, and no chemistry. Moisture will evaporate from the raw waste, providing a constant level of humidity for the decomposition of human waste products. The bacteria in peat will do this. A mixture of peat and sawdust can be bought or made independently.
Peat toilet usually has a large volume. If the volume of the plastic container exceeds 100 liters, this makes it possible to maintain the optimum temperature. The container can only be cleaned once a year, and after emptying it you will receive excellent fertilizer.
Do not be afraid of strong unpleasant odors - the ventilation pipe, which ensures their absence, is an important (mandatory!) Part of the peat dry closet. Excess moisture is discharged using a drain hose. A considerable plus - there will be no flies in such a toilet, neither peat nor compost of these insects are of interest.
Peat dry closet - inside view (tank with a lid and a seat), and outside (second half of the tank with a ventilation pipe). Everything is clean and environmentally friendly!
Do-it-yourself peat dry closet is not such a difficulty, because many people in a private house make comfortable toilets as in an apartment, and this principle is also used when creating a dry closet.
Construction # 1 - the easiest peat closet
You will need a garbage container, a round barrel (or bucket) and a seat with a lid. A compost waste pit should be located near the toilet, so that it is convenient to carry a heavy container to it (you can use a container on wheels).
A bucket with a toilet seat does not look particularly aesthetically pleasing, so you can build a frame of plywood or other material (OSB, chipboard) into which the bucket will be inserted, paint it and thereby give the structure a more presentable look. In the upper part - the frame cover, with the help of a jigsaw, a hole is cut to the size of the barrel or bucket that you plan to use. The cover to the frame is conveniently attached with hinges. A comfortable height of such a design for a dry closet is 40-50 cm.
An example of a toilet frame made of plywood - inside the supporting posts are made of timber, the lid will rise on the hinges, a hole for the bucket and for sitting has been sawn with a jigsaw
Dry closet with a large tank on wheels, with a drainage pipe for drainage. A tank of this size will need to be emptied infrequently, you only need to think about how it is more convenient to get it and deliver it to the compost pit
Peat and scoop are the necessary components, you need to keep them in a container near the toilet and each time use it to fill up the waste.
A compact convenient dry closet - inside there is a small waste container, next to it is a bucket of peat. Hygienic design that requires a minimum of costs, besides you will always have fertilizers for the garden
To keep the bucket clean, a peat layer should also be poured onto the bottom. If instead of a barrel or bucket you use a garbage container and make a hole in it below with a nozzle and a grate for draining liquid into the drainage trench, you get a more functional design. In order to empty the container in a more hygienic way, two insert containers or two buckets of different sizes inserted into one another can be used.
Peat in combination with sawdust is used in large containers - from 50 liters or more. This mixture is used for better aeration.
If desired, and if necessary, you can make a dry closet with a very large capacity for waste, where you can dump and kitchen waste. Such a toilet should be equipped with a hatch for removing compost, have a ventilation pipe and a hole for air circulation in the compost pit. The tank has a slope along which waste slides into a compost pit
Construction # 2 - we make a dry closet “on a bucket”
You will need a regular toilet seat and bucket. Connect the bucket and the toilet seat, insert the garbage bag into the bucket, use adhesive tape to attach it to the toilet seat. Peat or cat litter can be used to spill waste. Bags or garbage bags must be durable, as filler impregnated with waste weighs a lot.
Peat dry closet can be located in a specially designated room in the house or in a shed in the yard. When deciding to arrange a toilet in a wooden shed, the container will be conveniently removed if a special door is made at the bottom of one of the side walls.
An example of a composting toilet with a side door equipped with a grill. It’s more convenient to take out a waste tank
For convenience, the door can be equipped with a ventilation grill, in which case there is no need to make a ventilation pipe.
This is how the dry closet design with the side door looks from the inside. The receiving container can be easily removed without disassembling the design of the dry closet from the inside.
Many claim that when operating a peat dry closet, unpleasant odors are completely absent, but this is not entirely true. The smell, although not strong, especially in a small toilet, is still present, so it is better to clean the container more often and fold it until fertilizer forms in a compost pit.
If you don’t want to look for ways how to make a dry closet with your own hands, you can buy a toilet bucket, a very convenient novelty that allows you to solve the problem. Although you still have to make a compost pit, this wonderful option is suitable for many purposes - both for fishing and gardening.
Despite the fact that this new invention is very functional, it is most convenient to use it for its intended purpose. For a summer residence, such a bucket can become indispensable, and all the efforts to equip the toilet will disappear
It looks like a plastic bucket with a lid and a toilet seat. Fragile in appearance, but actually quite durable, able to withstand a decent weight. Such buckets have almost the same design, but are available in a very wide range of colors. To use the toilet bucket, you can also use peat or sawdust - pour a little to the bottom and sprinkle waste. As in a dry closet, we move the waste into a compost pit, and then rinse the bucket. Perhaps this is the simplest construction of a dry closet.
You can place such a mini-toilet anywhere, at night it is convenient to put it in the house, so as not to go outside, you can put it in the barn, buy or make a wooden or plastic booth and install a bucket-toilet there, and eventually equip a full dry closet in this room.
The design as a whole is simple - a bucket with a seat and a lid, but the sizes, color, design, plastic, can be different. So among such a variety, it’s easy to choose the right option for yourself
A toilet bucket costs no more than three hundred rubles, but it can solve a very urgent problem for summer residents. For the first time, this option is quite suitable, and you will have time to choose a toilet for your site that will best suit your requirements.
