Normal People Preparing for TEOTWAWKI – Oh Crap!! – Sanitation Systems

So let me tell you a little sanitation story.  My father-in-law came to visit us for Christmas of 2017 and New Years 2018. We had a great visit, enjoyed opening gifts together, and loved the food and the company during his entire visit.

On New Year’s Day of 2018, however, we (father-in-law included) woke up to no water.  I mean none.  Not a drop.  We left the faucet dripping overnight to avoid this specific problem, but it was absolutely frigid overnight. The property manager told us to make sure that we left the water going because this house was known for the pipes under the garage freezing.  Even with water trickling through the pipes, they froze, but no one is going to come out New Years Day to unfreeze pipes.

No water means no showers which stinks (pun so intended), but it also, more worryingly, means no toilets and no way to wash our hands.  We also couldn’t wash laundry or dishes. So what were we to do?  While I’ll finish this true story later in the post, let me just say this—before January 1 of 2018, my husband viewed my preparedness efforts with a bit of eye-rolling.  After January 1, 2018, he was finally on board.  He finally understood what preparedness is all about.

So we’re back to talking about TEOTWAWKI or The End of the World as We Know It.  So far we’ve spent two days talking about the difference between bugging out and TEOTWAWKI here and here.  We’ve also talked about what systems we should put in place in case the world as we know it ends, and then we have discussed how to deal with water and food during those times.

So let’s say that TEOTWAWKI hits tomorrow.

Short-term Sanitation Solutions 

Let’s start by talking about short-term sanitation concerns.  How do we handle dealing with our bodily functions when the initial act that brings about TEOTWAWKI happens?  To begin, it’s quite easy. And here I’m going to continue my story.  When we discovered we had no water, I headed down to the basement and grabbed our empty five-gallon bucket, heavy-duty trash bags, snap-on toilet seat lid, kitty litter, and 5-gallon water jug with spigot and set up a make shift-privy in our main floor half-bathroom.

Setting up your indoor “outhouse”

I took TWO heavy-duty trash can liners.  After opening each of them, I put them into the five-gallon bucket and over the outside edge of it one at a time.  Then I snapped the plastic toilet seat with a lid over the trash can liners and onto the bucket.  This is the basic construct of setting up a short-term privy.

We put a large bowl in the bathroom sink and dumped a container of kitty litter into it.  Then we placed a 1/2 C measuring cup as a scoop into the kitty litter.  Any time that someone had to use the facilities, they were to scoop the kitty litter into the make-shift toilet.  This does two things.  First off, if you get the right kind of kitty littler it helps control the moisture.  Then kitty litter also helps (though not really well) to control the odor.

Washing Hands

Then I took a five-gallon water storage container with a spigot and placed it at our kitchen sink.  Our bathroom sink was taken up by the kitty litter container and this large container wouldn’t have fit on it anyway.  We kept a bottle of soap out by that sink.  So when you finished doing your business in the bathroom, you would scoop a 1/2 C of kitty litter into the toilet and close the lid.  Then we would head out to our kitchen sink and get our hands slightly wet, then lather them up with soap and turn on the spigot carefully to rinse our hands.

This was our “sanitation routine” for three days until we finally got water back again.

And while we could just take the trash bags that we used and put them into the trash, that’s not something you’re going to be able to do if your trash collection stops.  When that happens, your only recourse is to either compost it (think I’m kidding?) or bury it.  I, frankly wouldn’t want to dig that many or that big of holes in my backyard!!

Now while you can use a bucket like I linked to above, you can also get buckets for FREE at your local grocery store bakery. If you head to the bakery in the grocery store, ask them if they have any empty five-gallon frosting buckets that they would be willing to give you.  In my experience, you’ll probably walk away with at least one – if not more for FREE.  All you’ll need to do is to come home and using hot water and dish soap clean it out really well.

So if something drastic were to happen and your usual “indoor sanitation facilities” aren’t working, start by setting this up, but then we have to talk long-term.

Long-term Sanitation Solutions 

The indoor privy solution will only work for us short-term.  Eventually, you’re going to run out of trash bags or kitty litter.  And sooner or later, you’re not going to want to dig holes in your yard to bury your waste.  What are your other options?  I spent quite a bit of time researching this one.

You really have two types of options when it comes to dealing with bodily fluid sanitation concerns.  You can build and maintain an outhouse or purchase and install a composting toilet NOW.

So let’s talk outhouses and sanitation

Never thought you’d read an article on those did ya?  In my research, I discovered that there are two types of outhouses, a pit privy and a vault privy.  Since most of us are familiar with pit privies, I’ll start with a vault privy.  A vault privy is a building installed over a large capture receptacle. The problem is that these have to be pumped out (somewhat like a septic system) every now and again.  So that doesn’t make this the best long-term choice for TEOTWAWKI.

A pit privy is where you dig a deep pit making sure that you keep it away from water sources and gardens.  You then build a small room with a door and a bench with a toilet seat over the pit.  You’ll also need to make sure that you run a 3-4″ plastic pipe from under the bench to 2 feet above the roof to let out the gases.  While it will take time for the pit to fill up because there will be seepage and come minimal decomposition, eventually, you will need to fill in the hole and dig a new pit.

Maintaining an Outhouse

As I was researching this, I learned a couple of things.  Just like when I scooped the kitty litter into the make-shift toilet in the bathroom, after you use the outhouse, you should either scoop some calcium hydroxide (which can be found at feed stores) or wood ash (like from a wood-burning stove or fireplace).  The calcium hydroxide does better at controlling odor but slows any decomposition – which you really do want.  Wood ash is free and helps with decomposition, but it doesn’t do AS WELL dealing with the odor.

Make sure that everyone knows that nothing goes into the privy except urine, poop, and toilet paper.  If you run out of toilet paper, and you use leaves to “wipe” even those shouldn’t go into the privy.  So you shouldn’t toss backside wipes, veggie leftovers, gray water from the kitchen sink or anything else into the privy.

Other Privy Considerations

Depending on what TEOTWAWKI looks like, having a battery operated motion sensor light inside the outhouse might be incredibly helpful.  It could also get you killed depending on the situation.  You’ll also want a sufficient quantity of hand sanitizer out there in the outhouse.  You’ll also need a sealed bucket filled either with wood ash or calcium hydroxide (lime), and a container for keeping toilet paper dry and spider-free.

But an outhouse isn’t your only options – it’s just your cheapest and lowest maintenance option.  You have another (and indoor at that) option.

Composting Toilets for Sanitation

The thought of not having to go outside on a freezing night if I can stay inside and use the facilities is a wonderful prospect!  It’s also pricier and more complex with a greater chance of having issues than an outhouse though.  This option is a composting toilet, but I was concerned about needing electricity to use a composting toilet.

Nature’s Head

While I was researching these toilets, I found out that there are two specific types of composting toilets which do NOT require electricity.  One is called Nature’s Head Dry Composting Toilet.  This type of toilet separates the urine from the excrement.  The urine bottle will need to be emptied every 2-4 days depending on how many people use this toilet.  The composting bin will need to be turned after each use that’s more than just urine, but it doesn’t have to be emptied nearly as often as the urine bottle.

Depending on how many people use it (we would probably have 10 people in our house if something happened), the bin could need to be emptied as often as once a week.  It does have a vent hose and fan.  Yes, I know I told you that it doesn’t require electricity.  There are people who use this toilet with a solar panel.  The vent hose and fan just keep you from stinking up your house.

Separett Villa 9200

The other type of composting toilet which doesn’t require electricity is called Separett Villa 9200.  The biggest difference between the two types of toilets is that you don’t have to empty a urine bottle for the Separett because it pipes the urine outside.  The problem is that if freezing is a consideration, then you can’t use the Separett.  It too has a composting bin which will need to be changed regularly.

Wow.  That’s a lot to take in!

Is your head spinning yet?  Short-term toilet sanitation solutions, long term toilet sanitation solutions, outhouses or composting toilets.  The choices can be overwhelming.  No matter which direction you choose though, choose NOW.  Get the things that you need to do these things NOW.  You never know, even if it’s not TEOTWAWKI, when your pipes are going to freeze, and you’re going to need a short-term sanitation solution.

What About You?

Do you already have a short-term toilet?  Or are you incredibly ‘lucky’ and you already own a composting toilet, making sanitation a breeze?  Have you ever even used an outhouse?  I’d love to hear your stories or hear about your preparedness efforts in this part of dealing with TEOTWAWKI sanitation.

Together let’s Love, Learn, Practice, and Overcome

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