septic and sewer alternatives | Construction and DIY projects | Forums

after reading about KVR's horrible situation, it steers me to possibly go with a composting toilet in my new house.

I've been reading a great deal about it and although it does require monthly maintenance, as long as you continue to do the maintenance, you should never have any problems with the system.

The waste is composted naturally. It leaves no odor inside the house, as it has fans and vents that draw air away.

The down side is that once per month you have to open a slot in the composting tank and rake down the top layer of waste. Yes, this part doesn't sound the best. And then every 2-6 months, depending on size of unit and amount of use, you have to open the bottom drawer and shovel out the fresh compost.

There is no foul odor to the finished product. It smells like earth, from what I hear.

I would NOT use this compost to place on plants meant for human consumption. It should be used either in a field, on flowers and at the base of trees.

My wife doesn't like the idea, as the maintenance part seems gross. But there are specific benefits to this type of system.

1. cost. This system costs less than installing a septic system.

2. Septic drain fields fail after a while. causing waste to back up into the house. As long as you remove the finish product as instructed, this will never happen to composting system.

3. Septic tanks need to be pumped every 1-2 years, depending on amount of use. this expense is eliminated with composting toilet.

4. Public sewer systems charge $ for using the system. Each month you pay that bill. Yes, most of the time it's carefree system and well worth the cost of not having to deal with waste in any form.

But once in awhile the public system will back up and deliver waste inside your home.

No monthly charges with the composting toilet and as long as you remove finished product, it will never back up waste inside your home.

I'm really leaning towards this option. For all the reason above.