Sunday, October 12, 2014

Game of Thrones: The Luggable Loo vs Incinolet - Making Do When You Have to Make Doodoo.

It is the Loo, the Throne, the Oval Office, the Turlit, etc. You know what I am talking about. The potty is an important part of the everyday for all people. So I cannot, in good faith, talk about Rancho No Dinero without bringing up the scoop on the poop. Ok, on to the point of this post.

This means there since there is no running water, I obviously do not have a flushing toilet.  I cannot spend my life running to a gas station (since there is none close by) or digging a hole to go to the restroom. I was forced to find an alternative solution.

Originally I had planned to order a beautiful hand-made oak sawdust toilet that a gentleman custom builds, but he is ill or on vacation or whatever right now and I cannot wait for him. I had to research a few other options until I found a good one. I ordered a Luggable Loo. Those of you who camp may be familiar with this item, but if you are not let me explain what it is and how it works.

The Luggable Loo is basically a 5 gallon bucket with a toilet seat on it. You line the bucket with a plastic bag and then simply tie it shut and throw it away. Another option, other than just throwing it away is to use it as a sawdust toilet and then compost the waste. If you plan to compost the waste, you must take the time to read the Humanure Handbook so that you can safely compost human waste. I have seen many versions of this made by DIYers, but I chose to order this one because the seat/lid unit snaps onto the bucket. I would sure hate to knock this over by accident, lol.

Using this set-up is not as gross as you city-slickers may think. It would be far grosser to dig a hole and have an animal dig it up and drag your waste and toilet paper across the yard. Besides, I don't want to poop outside on my own property. The company who makes this has several pop-up tents that are designed to work as temporary outhouses, but I simply placed it where my future bathroom is inside. After I install my household toilet and it is running, I plan to put this down in my storm shelter for emergencies. If you want to have one for emergencies, but don't have a tornado shelter, you can do like many and make a cover for it. It is just the right height for a good foot rest! The Luggable Loo is around $25 and was worth every penny.


My final toilet purchase for the homestead will be an Incinolet. An Incinolet does not run of water either, but actually incinerates your waste. Burning the poop away to an easy to clean up ash which is cleaned out every few weeks. I like the Incinolet best of all the options primarily because it is made of stainless steel and not plastic. I feel that over time it will hold up better and be the most hygienic of all the options.

Using the Incinolet is simple and low hassle. After installation, you simply place a liner in the bowl, do your thing, then press the "flush."  The basin opens up allowing the liner to drop down into the toilet and then it catches fire and burns. Liners run approximately .12 cents a use. The only draw back is that the unit runs on electricity. If the power is out or you are off the grid with no electricity and no solar, then this unit is not going to function as designed. In that case a composting toilet may be a better option for you.

We can not go through the building of a home without discussing the delicate topic of poop. However, I have discovered that there are many options for dealing with the topic of waste and its "management." Composting, sawdust, and incinerating toilets are the most common and the most user friendly options I have found.

For those of you who may be interested in how the Incinolet functions, here is a highly entertaining video that demonstrates its use:


So there you have it, the poop on poop!