Living With Chemical toilets.

LIVING WITH CHEMICAL TOILETS

 Living on the road means dealing with your own waste. Sure if you stay in caravan parks all the time you can use their facilities. However, if you want to free camp you are going to have to find a solution. By far the most common RV toilets are the range from Thetford. Dealing with the waste is universal no matter what brand of chemical toilet you choose.

In order to deal with the odor you have few options.The first, and by far the most common deals with the odor by using a chemical that kills the bacteria while adding a deodoriser to mask any smell. These products, like Aqua Kem Blue by Thetford work quite well. The chemicals used are sodium chloride (salt) and Bronopol. We have used this product and it works OK but you do get a definite "chemical" smell in the bathroom. A bit of info on the active ingredient Bronopol. The crystalline and liquid formulation of Bronopol can be used as a preservative, bactericide, microbicide, biocide, slimicide, odor controller, and anti-fouling agent. It is approved by the WHO. American websites carry warnings on the use of this chemicals which are absent from the Australian suppliers. By its very nature this type of chemical should only be emptied in non septic system and never in the environment. Bottles of Aqua Kem typically cost $10, and you need 150ml per  waste holding tank. The Thetford toilets come with a measuring cup, but strangely doesn't measure 150ml, a real design oversight. This works out at $1.50 a treatment. 

The second type and septic safe is Aqua Kem green. This type of chemical works by the promotion of "good" bacteria in order to promote the break down of the human waste. This, it is claimed is a more environmentally sensitive alternative to chemical breakdown. Again the typical price is $10 and about $1.50 per treatment. We used this type for over a year a found it to work quite well with a couple of draw backs. The first and most oblivious is the cost. The second is we found this system works best when the holding tank is not rinsed. Leaving a little in the holding tank to re seat the next waste load. Over time the build up in the tank blocked the venting system and prevented the float indicator from working. The float lets you know when the system is full. It was not to difficult to fix, but none the less a draw back. Moreover, with the vent blocked I did wear a load on one occasion. 

Making Your Own

For those on a super tight budget you could try mixing your own. There are thousands of motorhomers out there doing just this and it works out at about 20 cents a treatment. All you need are the simple products pictured below available from any Coles or Woolies to make up a massive five litres. Some old hands add salt and some use salt water in lieu of fresh.

The following “recipe” was posted on the CMCA Bulletin Board and could be of interest to those on a tight budget. (from Rob Gray) “Motorhome toilets need chemicals to break the waste down into a slurry that's easy to dispose of. You can buy this chemical for about $50.00 per four litres, or you can make your own for about a tenth of that price. It is most unwise to empty this "brew" into a septic system and it would be 100% illegal to dump it into a long drop National Parks toilet in NSW ($2,000.00 fine!)

Ingredients 

• 250 gm powdered Borax - $2.42
• 600 ml cloudy ammonia - $1.36 or $1.97 for lemon 
• 1 bottle MYO (200 ml) - $1.28 for apple or pine fragrance

Procedure 

Use as much hot water as required to dissolve the Borax. Add MYO and ammonia. Add cold water to take the total to five litres. We got this recipe from Adrian & Carol Capel but it, and ones like it, have been around the traps for years. We use 250 ml of this mixture in an 80 litre black water holding tank and it seems to do the job. NOTE: MYO (stands for Make Your Own disinfectant) is a brand of concentrated disinfectant available (as are all the other ingredients) from Woollies/Coles and probably all other major supermarkets”. 

We tried this using normal ammonia as we find it a bit better than cloudy, as it can be used for other purposes such as taking the sting out of sandfly bites and general cleaning in the motorhome. Of course you could also save by locating your own supply of Bronopol. In the USA it can be bought via Agriseek etc.

This Recipe was supplied to me by Colin Johnson from Coral Bay.

We have been using the napisan treatment plus Woolworths home brand since January and we are very pleased with it, will never go back to the expensive chemicals again. The Woolies brand is cheaper then the genuine Napisan Product and apparently the ingredient sodium percarbonate is a higher strength, 346g/kg, far cheaper also at around $9 for 3kg, our 1st container has lasted us 3 months, just opened our 2nd yesterday.

I use an old Fish oil container and put two heaped tablespoons of napisan in and pour in warm to hot water and dissolve it well, i then just pour into the waste tank, do that every time you empty and flush clean, our storage tank is clean and nil odour.

SOG KITS

The SOG Toilet Ventilation System is an ecological solution for motorhome and caravan toilets. It is 100% chemical free and 100% odorless.

The final and ultimately the most cost effective way, is a SOG kit added to your existing toilet. The no chemical solution. This system works by venting the system, to the outside when the toilet is in use. The odor  is passed through an activated carbon filter to eliminate smell. Moreover, the increase of oxygen in the system is said to promote the break down of the waste more efficiently.  As you are not using chemicals you are able to choose to empty the waste holding tank when you can with out incurring a cost. These systems cost around the two hundred dollar mark and are available from eBay.  The installation  is not complex and can easily  completed in an afternoon.

Toilet Paper 

You can buy the recommended paper which is said to break down quickly and can be put into the waste holding tank. Another option is to substitute toilet paper for baby wipes. These need to be disposed of separately  and not in the waste holding tank. We use an old nappy San container. The main advantage, apart from comfort, is we are able to store months of wipes in a small space. Handy when free camping or touring. As well as not taking up space in the holding tank with paper.

TIPS

Oil the trap door with Olive Oil to ensure smooth operation

Collect rain water to fill flush system. 

Separate Toilet wipes from waste hold tank. Its easier to find a bin than a waste drop.