It can be a common misconception among builders, architects, draftsmen and even plumbers that haven’t worked with a domestic waterless composting toilet that they would smell.
This misconception is fortunately disappearing with the widespread installation of Nature Loo and Sun-Mar composting toilets in Australia over the past 15 years.
This false and odourous reputation is based on experience with camping, national park and festival toilets which are not designed in the same way as domestic composting toilets. When choosing a composting toilet, always look for the Australian Standards logo as this means the product has been tested under strict standards (AS/NZS 1546.2:2008). This includes design standards for domestic systems that require a ventilation system to work 24/7 to ensure the toilet is odour free.
All Ecoflo ’s certified domestic waterless toilets are equipped with a low wattage ventilation fan powered by mains or solar. A flushing toilet relies on the bathroom extractor fan or a breezy window to ventilate the room after the toilet has been “visited”. In comparison, a waterless toilet is odourless from the start as it separates the user from the collected waste straight away. The toilet’s fan is constantly drawing air so the smell never has a chance to reach the user.
We enjoy receiving letters from our customers, especially when they describe the story of how they came to own a Nature Loo composting toilet. Please read through this letter if you have not used a domestic waterless toilet before.
Mrs Frost, Stanthorpe, QLD:
“My partner and I designed and built our first home about five years ago. Very early on Scott told me he wanted composting toilets. I have to admit that my first reaction was ‘No way am I having some stinky long-drop in my house!’. He insisted that they were not stinky and when we were camping in a National Park one weekend, made a point of showing me its on-site composting loo.
"I was completely impressed with the lack of odour and immediately agreed that we would have them in our home. We chose the Nature Loo Classic 750 and even designed the house to make sure we had the minimum height below the bathroom floor (680mm) to allow for the loo’s compost chambers.
"The toilet is completely odourless and I honestly find a normal flushing toilet smellier than our composting loos. They look fantastic and are really easy to maintain. Even changing the compost chambers is not such a bad job. The lids are quick and easy to undo, it doesn’t take long to get the full bin out and whack the lid on and then slide the new bin under – it's all over in a matter of minutes.
"We live in a cold climate and had some concerns that the composting process might be a bit slow, but with two toilet pedestals and three compost chambers swapping between them, we have never had a problem.
"There are two adults in the house full time and often a lot of guests but we still are able to leave the full bins out long enough to completely compost before we need them again. When the time comes to empty the bin the contents are remarkable to work with. Just an earthy odour and humus-y kind of texture. We dig it in around fruit trees and they love it.
"We have been really impressed with our toilets and I’m so glad that we made the choice to install a Nature Loo. We are on a rural property with tank water and went through the final stages of a bad drought with our loos in place and never had to worry that we were flushing our precious drinking water away. We recommend these toilets to all our friends who are considering building or renovating. We absolutely love our loos!”
