How do chemical toilets work?

This article provides the details of how do chemical toilets work, the set-up, use, maintenance, cleaning, and emptying-out of chemical toilets. We also describe the use of chemical toilets and how they reduce wastewater consumption.

Guide to using a Chemical Toilet

Chemical Toilets: Use a chemically treated reservoir located directly below the toilet seat. The chemicals reduce odours and perform partial disinfection of the waste.

How Do Chemical Toilets Work: As A Septic Design Alternative

Chemical toilets have limited storage capacity and must be pumped and periodically cleaned by septic company. However, more sophisticated toilets in design are recirculating toilets which separate the waste from the chemical and then re circulate the fluid through the toilet tank.

• Chemical toilets provide a toilet seat is located above a vault containing a chemical to sanitise and remove odours from the wastewater.
• Recirculating toilets use substances as the toilet flush fluid. The wastes are separated from the fluid, wastes discharged to an internal holding tank, and the fluid reused.
• The liquids used in these types of toilets do not completely disinfect the wastes therefore, waste products from these units shall not be discharged to surface waters or to the ground surface.
• The reduced volume wastewater from recirculating toilets may be discharged to a larger holding tank but not to a subsurface absorption system.

How Do Chemical Toilets Work: Using and Maintaining

Chemical toilets have limited storage capacity and must be emptied and cleaned by the user.

The toilets wooden platform is for raising the seats heights to a more comfortable position without breaking, but in normal use chemical toilet works just fine placed directly on a floor or on the ground outdoors.

How Do Chemical Toilets Work: Operational

Here are complete details for operation and maintenance of the chemical toilet.

1. Check for deodorant: Pull out the T handle located at the centre of the toilet front to open the sliding door that separates the toilet bowl from the waste reservoir and look into the toilet base.
2. Add deodorant/ Chemicals: Locate the chemical toilet chemicals. Both dry powder and liquid versions of chemical toilet.

How Do Chemical Toilets Work: Adding chemical deodorant

• Separate the toilet top and bottom
• Open the waste reservoir
• Add chemical disinfectant
• Replace the toilet top
• Add water
• Close the waste reservoir

The portable chemical toilet is then ready to use.

How to Empty and Clean the Chemical Toilet

Emptying the chemical toilet waste reservoir into a toilet or other dumping location

To empty out the toilet:

1. 1. Empty the toilet waste reservoir by unscrewing the large round cap found on the rear of the toilet waste reservoir.
   2. Be sure that the toilet bottom reservoir is closed: that is, meaning assure that the T handle at the toilet front has been pushed in.
   3. Carry the toilet outside: For convenience the entire toilet can be carried outside, or if you prefer, separate the top and bottom sections of the toilet while it is still indoors, and then each half can be carried separately outside. Handles on the rear of both top and bottom halves of the toilet allow easy carrying.

Wash the toilet top and bottom halves thoroughly outdoors using a garden hose. If a small amount of deodorant/disinfectant remains in the waste reservoir you can add water from a garden hose, slosh the waste inside the reservoir to loosen it, and then empty this diluted wastewater out.