Changing the Potty: Nature’s Head Toilet

Changing the Potty: Nature’s Head Toile 

*TRIGGER WARNING: graphic content 

I realize that some readers may be coming to my blog because of Tiny House content. We are a small (tiny) Tiny House community. Today’s post will be about the Nature’s Head Composting toilet.

To be more exact—emptying out the basin that holds the composting material and poo, otherwise referred to as solids.

As I was considering my move into the Tiny House, I deliberated between a composting toilet and adding on a small room just as a bathroom, but as time and money got away from me and I really wanted to get moving (sorry for the pun) I chose a waterless composting toilet. Nature’s Head came up in my Google. I liked that they were a made in the USA company AND made in Ohio, my home state.

Friends of mine who also had Tiny houses mentioned they used a waterless toilet with a two compartment system. Meaning wets and solids are kept separately. Believe it or not—it is the urine that smells, so that goes into its own bucket that in my particular case gets emptied 2x a week. I chose the Nature’s Head because after reading reviews. It was recommended as the least offensive and advertised itself as “odorless.” A big plus plus plus.

Waterless means you are not flushing waste away into a septic or into municipal pipes. It basically is self-contained until emptied.

The composting material in the solids bin is coco coir. I buy it in the “brick” form, 3 to a pack at $12, at a pet supply store. The material is the same stuff used to line reptile terrariums. I re-hydrate the brick using hot water and a gallon jug. Lately I’ve been using a bit less than a full gallon. The mixture should be moist, not wet or soupy. The composting materials adds the right about of decomposing agents needed to break down the waste and effectively render it odorless. I’m not sure of the science. As I’ve mentioned here I’ve used several off-the-grid toilets and some used popcorn and some sawdust added after use or routinely after several uses. The coco coir in my Nature’s Head is good for about 6 weeks in my case.

The key is keeping urine out of the solids, keeping waste separate.

To be continued