Toilet Performance

Did you know that the climate of your region can have an impact on the performance of a composting toilet? It's true. Whether your climate experiences particularly long and cold winter or very wet summers, the weather plays a role in how you will use and maintain your system. If you are considering adding a composting toilet at home, the weather is certainly something you should consider before choosing and buying a unit.

Firstly, it is important to understand that the primary function of any composting toilet is evaporation. Because our waste is about 90% water, composting toilets must have a good ability to dissipate all the excess liquid. Electrical units typically have a heating element and a fan base at the rear to assist and accelerate the process of evaporation. However, if you live in a very humid climate, and the toilet should be located in a building without air conditioning, you can expect that evaporation will occur at a much slower pace.

Most composting toilets are equipped with an emergency overflow drain, and in many cases, the manufacturer says that hooking the drain is not necessary. Indeed, under normal operation, the liquid never get high enough in the unit to reach the drain valve. However, in a humid climate, it is essential to connect the emergency overflow drain, because the humidity will affect the evaporative capacity of the unit so significantly. The issue of moisture can also influence your decision about whether to buy a water or low-flush system. Remember that systems with low flush may face more problems than the evaporative capacity of units without water, simply because of the added water goes in the compost every flush.

The second major task of a composting toilet is to break down the remaining 10% of waste, which is essentially composed of various nutrients. This decomposition process is performed by aerobic bacteria, or tiny microbes that break down in compost waste, with the aid of oxygen. Aerobic bacteria are very effective, do their work quickly, without creating sulphate or methane gas as a byproduct of the decomposition process. However, these bacteria are active at temperatures of 55 degrees Fahrenheit or more. If you live in a very cold climate, it is important that your composting toilet is located inside in a heated during the winter months, if you plan to use over one year continuously throughout the year .

Some composting toilet called mainframes are designed so that the toilet in the bathroom is connected by a plumbing pipe to a central composting in a basement, cellar, or even outside. If you have such a system, remember that the central unit where the compost is taking place is essential to keep warm. If this unit is not heated, then you will not be able to use the toilet on an ongoing basis during the winter. composting toilet that drums are generally allowed to freeze may still be used on an occasional basis as a holding tank, assuming there is sufficient space in the drum to contain the waste.

Whatever type of climate where you live, it is possible to have a composting toilet, provided that you do your first search. If you do not know how climate might affect your system performance, contact the manufacturer before making your selection and ask questions. They will be happy to point you in the direction of a system that suits you.