Tiny SMART House Blog

Potty Questions – Composting Toilets

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compost toilet next to sink

One of the easiest off-grid living options is using compost toilets.  Fresh water is becoming a scarce resource in many areas, and if living off-grid (even temporarily), you may want to explore options that use no water.  Having one installed in your tiny house on wheels means you could even eliminate having a black tank, and not have to worry about hooking up to a septic system.

Nathan, Tiny SMART House’s President & CEO, recommends the newer type of compost toilets as they are better for dealing with humanure.  Nature’s Head and Separett have urine diverting designs, and are the ones we use and recommend to our clients.  This means that the relative lack of fluids in the storage tanks help eliminate odor and enhance the complete and rapid composting of the solid waste.  Older composting designs hold urine and solids in one tank, and need heat and rotation to help liquids evaporate.  Since there is usually more liquid than can evaporate quickly, you need to add peat moss, coconut fiber, compost starter or sawdust.  (Which means storing the sawdust, etc.  Do you want to use valuable storage space on that?)

Composting toilets require almost no maintenance and are impossible to plug.  Fans are used to dry out the contents, and are usually very quiet.  Ventilation is required, and we make sure that the pipes are properly vented to the outside so you never smell anything inside your tiny home!  Depending on the type of composting toilet you have, and how many people using it, it can be several weeks (or more!) for the solids bin to fill up.

If you decide to use your humanure as compost, be sure to learn how to take care of it properly.  Solid human waste can pollute water. Don’t use it on any edible plants.  Do use it on your pretty flowers! Lime will drastically reduce the time your compost needs to sit. Pee is easy, as (at the household level) it can be used directly (or slightly diluted) as fertilizer safely.  Urine can go into a gray water system (with the shower or sink water), or it can be drained into a rock pit. To learn more about composting and how to properly compost humanure, Nathan recommends these two articles: “Hot Composting How-To Guide” and “How to Safely Compost Human Waste”

If, after using your compost toilet for a while, you decide it’s not for you – don’t worry!  Here at Tiny SMART House we install a flange in case later you want (or need) to install a flush toilet.

 

Guest blog by Stacey Newman Weldon.  When she isn’t busy helping people create their own tiny custom homes, you can find her inspiring others to discovering their sense of fun at Adventure Wednesdays 

Potty Questions – Incinerating Toilets

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incinolet toilet

There are so many options when it comes to what kind of toilet to have in your tiny house, you must have lots of potty questions. To help answer them, here’s another option for dealing with your bathroom business – the incinerator toilet systems. If you are not familiar with these, the idea behind them is that your excrement is heated until all that remains is sterile and harmless ash. Typically taking around 6 minutes to process wet matter and 45 minutes to an hour to process solids. Typically costing around $2,000 they are an investment and newer models can be used in tiny houses that are frequently moved.  

The big thing to consider if opting for an incinerator toilet system is your power source and building to accommodate the bulky disposal unit. Brands such as Incinolet and Ecojohn offer units that can be electric, propane or solar. These units will use a fair amount of energy to operate and the type of power source will affect your out of pocket. You will only have ashes to deal with and that may very well make this an investment that has its own rewards. 

Blog by Shana Hirst. 

Potty Questions – RV Flush Toilets

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RV Flush toilet

When considering the management of waste in your tiny house, one almost immediately thinks of the toilet. Perhaps the most daunting waste to manage and the least pleasant to entertain thoughts on. If you have the ability to connect to a septic system (meaning where you’re parking your tiny house is hooked up to a sewer system or has a septic tank you can splice into) you can install a flushing toilet.

However if you are  unable to access or install a septic, then you may want to consider using a black water tank. When the black tank is full, it will need to be dumped in a specified locations. Often chemicals are recommended to keep odors down. If you are going off grid your options are fairly tricky.  This is why many who boondock or live off-grid use alternative toilets.

The expense of the toilet unit with using a septic or tank is the same ranging from around $100+ for a Dometic plastic RV commode, all the way up to a very high-end Toto Neorest .  Here at Tiny SMART House we offer a standard option of a porcelain home toilet.

The great thing about flushable toilets is the ability to retrofit the tank with a sink, like Sink Positives. The cost for black tanks themselves will depend upon capacity,  typically  around $250. Septic systems vary immensely for cost of installation. Variations can depend on location and if they are often compatible with the differing types of terrain.  

Have more questions about pottys?  Check out Potty Questions – Composting Toilets or  Potty Questions – Incinerating Toilets

Guest blog by Shana Hirst.

Permaculture- Composting

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We’re honored to bring you this guest blog from Tiny SMART House owner and founder – the man, the myth, the legend, Nathan Watson. 

iNTRO TO pERMACULTURE

Everyone has heard the term “Permaculture.” But what is it? The short answer is that it is the utilization of local resources to benefit the local community. Semantics aside, it’s the philosophy of making do with what you have on hand. When there is a surplus, it is redistributed for the greatest benefit to the land and people. Everything has connections that can be utilized. For me permaculture is the process of finding better ways to live. Ingenuity is the corner stone.  

With the resurgence of sustainable living, there seems, to me, to be too much information out there. There are certificate courses available if you are so inclined, but personally I have a more casual outlook on permaculture itself. How do we start the transition to sustainable living? What are some of the things I, as an individual, can do with limited resources? Let’s jump into a few ideas that will reduce negative input and/or create positive output, preferably, both. Once you embark on the road to sustainability, your life will become your project. More than that though, “You” become the project. After all, you are the most important member of the system you live in. You can have a good impact, simply by moving away from conventional ideas. 

Composting 

This is more than using your food scraps or composting toilet to make fertilizer. Compost can be used to build healthier soil, help water retention and even heat your home. Compost for me is anything organic that can’t be fed to animals. Chickens and pigs will eat just about everything.  What’s left is basically, manure, eggshells, coffee grounds, branches and yard clippings and the like. These things need a little time to make them more useful. Healthy compost will have reached a temperature that kills any pathogens and breaks down complex compounds into simpler ones. Regardless what your thoughts are about humanure, there is a use for it everyone can live with. While it is safe, if composted correctly, it can be used to feed fruit trees and for horticulture projects. It can be used to grow plants that attract birds and bees. Compost has been used to heat homes. By using the heat generated from composting to heat air or water, the energy can then be pumped to heat living space. A pile of branches, manure and plant material on top of poly water lines can heat a home. 

I like paper towels. For good or bad, that’s my reality. Those paper towels make great worm beds. Worms help make your plants healthier. Healthier plants produce more and resist pests. Happy plants taste better. Worms attract birds. Birds eat pests. And birds are cool. They are the sound most of us associate with nature. Connections. They are everywhere. Worm casting are key to a lush garden. Worms are pretty easy to grow. They pretty much run on autopilot and you can eat them if you get hungry enough. Or sell them.  

As tiny house living goes, the hardest part has been accomplished. A small living space minimizes energy requirements and materials used to create it. When planning a life like this, outdoor spaces are utilized more and these spaces tend to get more attention. Sit outside, observe nature, plan around the findings from these observations. Make the area nearest your door the most intensive. Mid-size project should be integrated with nature outside that and the farther reaches are minimal care. Slowly adapt your space over time, leaving room for modifications and unforeseen projects. A well thought out project will integrate every resource in the system. A reasonable project will utilize the most plentiful resources first and with time adapt to integrate more and more of them. A simple project is dumping the composting toilet in to a rose garden or building a small wetland gray water system. Some projects will fail or become obsolete or too cumbersome, being replaced with new ones. Just try to help the system work better.  

Any of these ideas can be found in books, articles and the internet. If you’re just curious, working on something or committed to the idea, permaculture is more than a science. It’s a way of living with the natural world. Some people find this idea appealing and some feel it is necessary for their happiness. I am a nomad. I don’t have a piece of property to cultivate. What I do is spread the ideas around and help people develop ideas and projects. All over the world people are moving toward a more sustainable life. There are countless demonstration retreats and farms in every country. If you look you can find one near you. Go look at what people are actually doing and you’ll see healthy people and plants living the way they are meant to. Every project is different and tends to take on the personality of the creator.  A lot can be called life art and are some of the most beautiful places on this planet. 

Permaculture – Aquaculture & Rainwater Collection

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We’re honored to bring you this guest blog from Tiny SMART House owner and founder – the man, the myth, the legend, Nathan Watson. 

Intro to Permaculture

Everyone has heard the term “Permaculture.” But what is it? The short answer is that it is the utilization of local resources to benefit the local community. Semantics aside, it’s the philosophy of making do with what you have on hand. When there is a surplus, it is redistributed for the greatest benefit to the land and people. Everything has connections that can be utilized. For me permaculture is the process of finding better ways to live. Ingenuity is the corner stone.  

With the resurgence of sustainable living, there seems, to me, to be too much information out there. There are   certificate courses available if you are so inclined, but personally I have a more casual outlook on permaculture itself. How do we start the transition to sustainable living? What are some of the things I, as an individual, can do with limited resources? Let’s jump into a few ideas that will reduce negative input and/or create positive output, preferably, both. Once you embark on the road to sustainability, your life will become your project. More than that though, “You” become the project. After all, you are the most important member of the system you live in. You can have a good impact, simply by moving away from conventional ideas. 

Aquaculture

Gray water can be used to support a small wetland, which will remove some toxins, before being used to water plants. A small wetland will attract wildlife and support its own communities. With some creativity you can add a lot of diversity to your space. Just by using water that is leaving the system, the system can be enriched.  

Rainwater collection 

When we think of harvesting rain, a lot of people imagine gutters, barrels and plumbing. I imagine a system where everything is used to benefit the project. I think of runoff management. The idea is to add as much of your excess rain water to your groundwater aquifer as possible. By using divots and berms it is possible to slow the water down enough to allow it to soak into the earth while moving it to a place it was be stored or used. This concept was used in Chile’ while I was volunteering there. The cabin had an old hand dug well that was always dirty and not very secure. There was an elaborate rain water collection system put in that never worked right. The well was used to water fruit trees and a garden. As the area developed, the water table got lower and lower. The area is in southern Chile and has weather similar to the Puget Sound. Just looking at it, you could see the water was not saturating and therefore contributing to the lowered water table. By using a series of tiny connected ponds lined with vegetation,  water is be allowed to return to the ground. As a single project, the impact is minimal, but allowing nature to help nature is the first objective. Stopping run off preserves top soil and maximizes a natural resource. 

Another idea is to use rain to generate power. First thought is electricity. But, there is kinetic energy also. Water can be used to pump water up hill, providing there is a surplus. Any surplus should be used to sustain the whole. Tanks don’t have to be big plastic eyesores. They can be integrated into buildings, covered in wood, rock, plants and turned back into usable space. I like the idea of a second story fort or patio myself. They can be put in the ground, but then you need to pump it back up. If you live on a hill, gravity becomes more of a resource, allowing the tanks to be elevated, but still intergraded with the landscape. Little generators can be installed on your gutters. Once again, this is a brave new frontier with lots of possibilities. Modern technology is ready for the next leap, even if it is back to old ideas.