Woman's Forum: Potty Issues

[bseek]

Most liquid laundry soaps have a pour spout that is almost the right shape, and no one is going to drink laundry soap. The container is also opaque so you can't see the contents.

 

[TrainChaser]

Bseek: Now, THAT'S something I hadn't considered before! Thanks!

 

[[email protected]]

I realize that the guys all say to pee separate from poo, but for those of us females who normally do them together, how do you handle it? I have a composting toilet my husband built and it is comfortable, easy to use, etc., but i'm not sure about disposal. My husband will be pulling my 28" travel trailer with his 1 ton Dodge Van that he has converted to an rv for himself. This isn't an issue for him, but me, it is. Any advise would be welcome. :huh:

Waste is easier to handle when it kept separate.  Put the paper in a bag not in the waste.  Bury the solids and as mentioned, water trees and plants or pour down the toilet at a stop..  Since I only have an SUV with a tent that attaches to the back I have to be on top of the waste issue.  I use coconut fiber in my bucket potty put initial layer in before using.  Then, cover in layers until ready to dispose of.  Either bury or dispose of in trash.  As far as the liquid part I use a shewee and a gallon jug and either water plants or pour in toilet if I make a stop.

 

[TrainChaser]

"Put the paper in a bag not in the waste."

I have read that before, but only in forums. TP was created to break down. I went all winter using a bucket with sawdust for urine, and I always dropped the paper into the bucket. If I was using a separate bucket for feces, I would have dropped the paper in that bucket. Paper and sawdust come from the same source, so I don't see the problem. If someone knows the reasoning on this, please explain.

And I wouldn't dump straight urine on any useful plants. If you've ever had a dog, you should know what straight urine does to the lawn. That's what those dead spots are. Urine isn't a useful nutrient source until it's diluted about 1:10 with water (greywater will do just fine).

 

[Almost There]

"Put the paper in a bag not in the waste."

Sawdust and chemically treated paper (which toilet paper is) have really different decomposition rates. It can take years for the toilet paper to fully decompose...okay, we're not talking decades but still, a really long time. Sawdust, wood shavings and the like along with solid waste take next to no time to decompose as compared to toilet paper.

Years ago one of the RV magazines tested regular household toilet paper against the 'sold for RV' brands and found that the RV brands actually took longer to disintegrate than the household brands.... . And that was disintegration rate not total decomposition.

I've lived with the C-Head toilet in close proximity to me for a year now and I always put my toilet paper in the regular garbage, not in the solid waste compartment. The grocery store garbage bag is disposed of easily while on the road at any gas station/rest area/grocery store etc. etc.

The garbage is more likely to smell of kitchen waste than bathroom and the C-Head continues to amaze me with it's lack of smell and ease of use.

 

[kayell]

The other issue w toilet paper is that if you bury tp with solid waste, the tp will come to the surface of the soil. There were some awful photos (here?) of a campsite that was disgusting with tp that had surfaced.

 

[Headache]

I've got big thighs, but I also have a very big tummy and I don't know how easily I will be able to reach out it to hold these contraptions and pee at the same time!!!  I'm going to just have to practice with some variations until I figure out what works for me!

This is one of the reasons why I can't use separation tools, I just can't hold them and stand at the same time.  My body has changed enough that it makes using a separating toilet pretty impossible right now so I'm using clumping cat litter, tie off the bags and throw them away as quickly as possible to keep the smell at bay.  PITA but has worked well for my travels.

 

[[email protected]]

This is one of the reasons why I can't use separation tools, I just can't hold them and stand at the same time.  My body has changed enough that it makes using a separating toilet pretty impossible right now so I'm using clumping cat litter, tie off the bags and throw them away as quickly as possible to keep the smell at bay.  PITA but has worked well for my travels.

Well, this may sound a little indelicate, but once you put the shewee in place, it holds itself in place.  I am no willow either, but it works for me.  It may not be for everyone though.  
Another issue talked about is toilet paper.  I have lived in the country for years with septic tanks.  The rule is strict, no paper flushed.  It goes in the trash.  Never had an issue with smell is taken out on a regular basis.  Also, I tried the so-called camping toilet paper.  I might as well use my hand.  That is why I use my comfort paper and bag it.  I did not know about the study on decomp.  Seems comfort wins out.

 

[TrainChaser]

Headache, try plain ole sawdust instead of heavy cat litter. Know any carpenters?

Landscape materials places (sand, gravel, compost, sawdust, etc) around here usually sell sawdust for $15/cubic yard, so ask them. If they fuss, have the math written out for them:

1 cubic yard = 27 sq ft
One 5-gallon bucket holds 0.668 of a square foot (2/3 of a cubic foot)
There are 40.4 5-gallon buckets worth of sawdust in a cubic yard

If they sell sawdust for a dollar per bucket ("a buck a bucket"), they're making $40 for the same cubic yard of sawdust that they are currently getting $15 for.

Most of them are guys.... you just have to explain things to them so they can understand.

 

[Headache]

Well, this may sound a little indelicate, but once you put the shewee in place, it holds itself in place.

The trick is doing it standing up which I cannot do, nor get into place while sitting.  I have incontinence issues so most often I've already peed before I get it near me in the first place.  This should also explain why no, I cannot use a separate receptacle.

I don't understand why you can't use toilet paper in a septic tank, the pumpers or the installer had never told me anything like that. Even 2 ply has been septic "friendly" for quite awhile now. What was that based on?

Not to be an ass and not singling anyone out(I am choosing to state this here out of convenience) but it appears that some women will not accept that another woman cannot use the same things they can.  So, I'm divulging private information that I don't feel comfortable discussing with anyone in the hopes that someone will figure out that everything does not work for everyone.  Hopefully some will be able to accept a woman's explanation that yes, she does in fact know herself and her body.

I'm sorry but I'm feeling invalidated more than helped by comments that allude that I don't understand how my body functions or how urination apparatus works even after I've stated I've tried them.

Trainchaser out of convenience and no I'm not explaining myself to anyone, I'm not chasing sawdust.  The lighter version cat litters work well enough and are more convenient to purchase.  The buckets also come in very handy for just about anything.  I thought about using pet bedding and something else in an earlier post but since I already have a cat and have cat litter, I'll just use the same thing.

 

[Cammalu]

I don't know how anyone can live without a bidet [emoji33]. You ever get one you will never, ever go back. I don't have my van yet but one thing is certain... It's going to have a bidet


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Queen]

We had a bidet in our house in Italy... I told my brother it was a drinking fountain.  

 

[mayble]

The lighter version cat litters work well enough and are more convenient to purchase.  The buckets also come in very handy for just about anything.  I thought about using pet bedding and something else in an earlier post but since I already have a cat and have cat litter, I'll just use the same thing.

I ain't gonna lie - I've thought about just using the damn litter box myself.

 

[mayble]

We had a bidet in our house in Italy... I told my brother it was a drinking fountain.  

and now i get to clean coffee out of my keyboard
thanks for that!

 

[Queen]

I was nine, he was ten, hilarity ensued (on my part), mom didn't find it funny though.

 

[TrainChaser]

Headache -- do you use some of the plant-based cat litters?  I tried one years ago, but kittty didn't like it.  Did you start your kitten on it, or introduce it later?  Which one do you use, in particular?  I'm not crazy about taking 30 or 40 lbs of used clay litter to the dump...

And, as to your comments above... are you saying we're not all alike?  We're not all pre-programmed Stepford Wives?  We all don't have perfect bodies?  We don't all wear the same size hats?  Well, I'll be a monkey's aunt!  Our world will have a hard time adjusting to THAT information!

 

[Queen]

Ordered a P-style today, shall report later on the sure to be hilarious attempts at peeing while standing up. My beloved wife is none to thrilled about the "practice in the shower" part, but I said I'd clean it each time.

 

[RossCoe]

I just received a P-style.  I ordered it mostly for traveling and sanitary reasons in grossly dirty public bathrooms when there is nothing else available!  So I watched you tube videos on demonstrating how to use it- very interesting in that she actually pees on camera.  That's what I call an instructional video!! lol.  Anyway, for my first try, I was clothed in my bathroom and did the pull down partly method.  I placed the pstyle as suggested- snug up against my vulva with the urethra in the center.  It was a weird feeling peeing standing up.  I let go just a little and "uh oh!"  stopped when I felt some dribbles in the  pants and legs!!!  Aborted the attempt, cleaned myself up, and waited to try again.  

So the next attempt I put the pstyle inside the folds of my business parts and that seemed to work great.  I have since used it several times and it seems to work just fine as long as you position it inside the folds of your vulva.  Any other pointers from you ladies with more experience?

 

[Queen]

So the next attempt I put the pstyle inside the folds of my business parts and that seemed to work great.  I have since used it several times and it seems to work just fine as long as you position it inside the folds of your vulva. 

For those of us who are larger and/or older I can see where that way might work better.  

I really want this to work for me.  I was in a Loves truck stop bathroom recently and the handicapped stall was taken so I used a regular one (not common for me since the knee replacement), it was filthy and I have to sit all the way down... into wetness on the seat, then almost couldn't get back up because the floor was wet and slippery too.  It was scary and embarrassing.  So, if the pstyle works, it will be going into rest areas and public bathrooms with me!

 

[RossCoe]

I also found that pointing it a little bit downhill channelled the pee down and off the scoop, so to speak. Now we have to deal with the splash of the water that I guess the guys deal with all the time. Once I get the hang of how far the stream will go I can back farther away from the bowl!