looking for loo advice , not the best of topics .But we will be setting out to live on the road for a few years later this year .
We have lived in our van on and off and free camped plus stayed in parks.our experience with free camping has only been overnight thus far .
Theres always been toilets of sorts around . We are looking at staying off road for longer periods and there will be places no doubt with no toilets , so wondering what the majority do .
I've heard of dropping a few leaves of t/paper or tissue in the bowl first to some type of bags that go over the loo bowl .
Any good advice on this ritual.
Delta18 said
04:57 PM May 26, 2016
I keep a toilet brush in an old tall tuppaware jug beside the bowl. Just like at home if there are skids I brush them off.
I have a couple inches of water in the jug with a spoonful of the generic napppy soaker in it, same stuff I use in the cassette.
I also use the loo with the slide open, I've got to be a pretty good shot so not many skids.
In our soon to be delivered van I am going to fit a SOG kit, just had it delivered yesterday. Google it if you don't know what it does.
Cheers Neil
Joe50 said
02:14 AM May 27, 2016
I use "Happy Bowl" bowl liners (yes, that's what they're called!) fromhttp://caravansplus.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=5768 to reduce the incidence of skid marks to clean up. I have a combined toilet/shower in my motorhome and when having a shower I save the cold water that comes through before the hot water arrives at the shower head in a container to use for flushing the loo. Lastly, I've just started using Porta Pak deodorisers from Supercheap Auto, a pack of water soluble sachets you drop into the cassette which, apart from making the loo smell pretty, claims to break down the solid waste (I still use a generic nappy soaker (active ingredient sodium percarbonate - around 34 per cent concentrate) to do this as well). So far the loo/shower cubicle smells like a flower garden so I guess it must be working!
Joe
sandsmere said
05:50 AM May 27, 2016
Another thumbs-up for Happy Bowl Liners Joe.
" Wouldn't leave home without 'em. "
Radar said
07:10 AM May 27, 2016
What do you do with the happy bowl liners?
tastourer said
10:35 AM May 27, 2016
Radar wrote:
What do you do with the happy bowl liners?
Take them home with you - Leave no trace.
Cupie said
10:37 AM May 27, 2016
As part of my cleaning routine when I am emptying the cassette, I first use normal toilet brush & harpic to clean the bowl, emptying the cleaning fluid into the cassette & wiping the bowl to dry it.
Next I spray the entire outer surface, including the seat, lid & surrounding floor with Dettol Eucalyptus or pine disinfectant.
I do the same with the cassette compartment & dry it off.
Then, after returning the emptied, washed & reloaded (with chemicals of choice) cassette to the system I spray the cassette flap & rubber seals with a spray can of olive oil.
To make the bowl slippery, I give it a liberal spray of the olive oil too.
I rarely get skid marks & the 'rubber' seals are lubricated for longevity.
I give the outside of the pedestal a good wipe to remove the disinfectant.
Being a well trained cleaner, I fold the end of the toilet roll into a nice triangle & spray the roll & the whole area with smelly stuff, especially under the lid before I close it.
It's all about process! Perhaps I should have inserted a flow chart. Ha Ha!!
After using 'nappysan' or similar for a decade or so I have recently returned to the commercial Thelford product.
I'll get a pack of those previously mentioned porta potti deodorants from Supercheap. Thanks Joe50 for the heads up. We are not on the road full time so I consider that in the scheme of things, the cost of the commercial product is insignificant. Not so sure about the liners though .... but then I don't use the toilet seat liners at some Airport loos either. A personal idiosyncrasy I suppose.
-- Edited by Cupie on Friday 27th of May 2016 10:46:02 AM
-- Edited by Cupie on Friday 27th of May 2016 10:54:49 AM
Bruce and Bev said
05:23 PM May 27, 2016
Hey Joe. We use the Porta Pak sachets and have for the last 2 years. Theyre made in the USA and don't have dangerous chemicals in it like formaldehyde.
They are imported to Aust by a master franchisor. He sells larger sachets (about 3 times bigger than the ones you and I use) to commercial users like the portable toilets they use at shows and on building sites. He then imports and sells the smaller ones to various distributors for use by the likes of us.
He told me only to use the blue ones if you want solids in the cassette to break down as well as have the scent. We try to use our toilet only for "liquid" waste and empty it about every 4-5 days. Any toilet paper (and we use the standard supermarket brands) has dissolved and all you get is scented blue liquid coming out when the cassette is emptied. We have used it in emergency for solids - and they are all liquid as well by then.
The other colours of Porta Paks - green and brown do not break down solids and only provide a scent according to the importer.
Phillipn said
09:48 PM May 28, 2016
We have an SOG unit fitted to the toilet in our van. Just home for a trip of 8 weeks, no chemicals used.
The fan starts when the blade is opened and their is no toilet odour in the van, and no difference in the odour when empting the toilet.
I wish we had one fitted years ago.
The contents can be empted into a septic system as it only contains P, P,P and H2o.
Delta18 said
11:12 PM May 28, 2016
Phillipn wrote:
We have an SOG unit fitted to the toilet in our van. Just home for a trip of 8 weeks, no chemicals used.
The fan starts when the blade is opened and their is no toilet odour in the van, and no difference in the odour when empting the toilet.
I wish we had one fitted years ago.
The contents can be empted into a septic system as it only contains P, P,P and H2o.
Hah, mine would smell pretty bad as there is more than pee & water in the cassette I can tell you!
Phillipn said
03:18 PM May 29, 2016
Delta18 wrote:
Phillipn wrote:
We have an SOG unit fitted to the toilet in our van. Just home for a trip of 8 weeks, no chemicals used.
The fan starts when the blade is opened and their is no toilet odour in the van, and no difference in the odour when empting the toilet.
I wish we had one fitted years ago.
The contents can be empted into a septic system as it only contains P, P,P and H2o.
Hah, mine would smell pretty bad as there is more than pee & water in the cassette I can tell you!
P,P,P and H2o= Pee, Poo, Paper and water. If you smell that bad you may need a drench.
sandsmere said
08:08 AM May 30, 2016
Radar wrote:
What do you do with the happy bowl liners?
Put them in the bowl before you sit down, then flush them down with your deposit.
They disintergrate in the cassette.
Radar said
04:36 PM May 30, 2016
sandsmere wrote:
Radar wrote:
What do you do with the happy bowl liners?
Put them in the bowl before you sit down, then flush them down with your deposit.
They disintergrate in the cassette.
Thank you for that information.
Ralphiesmum said
06:43 PM Jun 2, 2016
Interesting point about the Portapak product, Bruce. I checked this morning & the only one specified as safe for septic systems is the green. According to the dealer at the time the deodoriser used in the other colours has a detrimental effect on septic bacteria. All colours clearly state their ability to break down toilet waste. Happy travels, we met you at Sue & Phil's.
Ralphiesmum
JandJ said
08:10 PM Jun 2, 2016
Love, love, love the SOG system in the installed toilet. But a tip to share re the flush..... We have a flush button, but we use an old bicycle water bottle. We keep it filled and use it to squirt (flush). It's more 'directional', more forceful and you don't need the pump on, so you can use the 'squirt/flush' by the side of the road at rest stops (no need to turn the pump on) and you can use the squirt at night without the pump noise activating.
looking for loo advice , not the best of topics .But we will be setting out to live on the road for a few years later this year .
We have lived in our van on and off and free camped plus stayed in parks.our experience with free camping has only been overnight thus far .
Theres always been toilets of sorts around . We are looking at staying off road for longer periods and there will be places no doubt with no toilets , so wondering what the majority do .
I've heard of dropping a few leaves of t/paper or tissue in the bowl first to some type of bags that go over the loo bowl .
Any good advice on this ritual.
I keep a toilet brush in an old tall tuppaware jug beside the bowl. Just like at home if there are skids I brush them off.
I have a couple inches of water in the jug with a spoonful of the generic napppy soaker in it, same stuff I use in the cassette.
I also use the loo with the slide open, I've got to be a pretty good shot so not many skids.
In our soon to be delivered van I am going to fit a SOG kit, just had it delivered yesterday. Google it if you don't know what it does.
Cheers Neil
I use "Happy Bowl" bowl liners (yes, that's what they're called!) from http://caravansplus.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=5768 to reduce the incidence of skid marks to clean up. I have a combined toilet/shower in my motorhome and when having a shower I save the cold water that comes through before the hot water arrives at the shower head in a container to use for flushing the loo. Lastly, I've just started using Porta Pak deodorisers from Supercheap Auto, a pack of water soluble sachets you drop into the cassette which, apart from making the loo smell pretty, claims to break down the solid waste (I still use a generic nappy soaker (active ingredient sodium percarbonate - around 34 per cent concentrate) to do this as well). So far the loo/shower cubicle smells like a flower garden so I guess it must be working!
Joe
Another thumbs-up for Happy Bowl Liners Joe.
" Wouldn't leave home without 'em. "
What do you do with the happy bowl liners?
Take them home with you - Leave no trace.
As part of my cleaning routine when I am emptying the cassette, I first use normal toilet brush & harpic to clean the bowl, emptying the cleaning fluid into the cassette & wiping the bowl to dry it.
Next I spray the entire outer surface, including the seat, lid & surrounding floor with Dettol Eucalyptus or pine disinfectant.
I do the same with the cassette compartment & dry it off.
Then, after returning the emptied, washed & reloaded (with chemicals of choice) cassette to the system I spray the cassette flap & rubber seals with a spray can of olive oil.
To make the bowl slippery, I give it a liberal spray of the olive oil too.
I rarely get skid marks & the 'rubber' seals are lubricated for longevity.
I give the outside of the pedestal a good wipe to remove the disinfectant.
Being a well trained cleaner, I fold the end of the toilet roll into a nice triangle & spray the roll & the whole area with smelly stuff, especially under the lid before I close it.
It's all about process!
Perhaps I should have inserted a flow chart. Ha Ha!!
After using 'nappysan' or similar for a decade or so I have recently returned to the commercial Thelford product.
I'll get a pack of those previously mentioned porta potti deodorants from Supercheap. Thanks Joe50 for the heads up. We are not on the road full time so I consider that in the scheme of things, the cost of the commercial product is insignificant. Not so sure about the liners though .... but then I don't use the toilet seat liners at some Airport loos either. A personal idiosyncrasy I suppose.
-- Edited by Cupie on Friday 27th of May 2016 10:46:02 AM
-- Edited by Cupie on Friday 27th of May 2016 10:54:49 AM
They are imported to Aust by a master franchisor. He sells larger sachets (about 3 times bigger than the ones you and I use) to commercial users like the portable toilets they use at shows and on building sites. He then imports and sells the smaller ones to various distributors for use by the likes of us.
He told me only to use the blue ones if you want solids in the cassette to break down as well as have the scent. We try to use our toilet only for "liquid" waste and empty it about every 4-5 days. Any toilet paper (and we use the standard supermarket brands) has dissolved and all you get is scented blue liquid coming out when the cassette is emptied. We have used it in emergency for solids - and they are all liquid as well by then.
The other colours of Porta Paks - green and brown do not break down solids and only provide a scent according to the importer.
We have an SOG unit fitted to the toilet in our van. Just home for a trip of 8 weeks, no chemicals used.
The fan starts when the blade is opened and their is no toilet odour in the van, and no difference in the odour when empting the toilet.
I wish we had one fitted years ago.
The contents can be empted into a septic system as it only contains P, P,P and H2o.
Hah, mine would smell pretty bad as there is more than pee & water in the cassette I can tell you!
P,P,P and H2o= Pee, Poo, Paper and water. If you smell that bad you may need a drench.
Put them in the bowl before you sit down, then flush them down with your deposit.
They disintergrate in the cassette.
Thank you for that information.
Interesting point about the Portapak product, Bruce. I checked this morning & the only one specified as safe for septic systems is the green. According to the dealer at the time the deodoriser used in the other colours has a detrimental effect on septic bacteria. All colours clearly state their ability to break down toilet waste. Happy travels, we met you at Sue & Phil's.
Ralphiesmum
Love, love, love the SOG system in the installed toilet. But a tip to share re the flush..... We have a flush button, but we use an old bicycle water bottle. We keep it filled and use it to squirt (flush). It's more 'directional', more forceful and you don't need the pump on, so you can use the 'squirt/flush' by the side of the road at rest stops (no need to turn the pump on) and you can use the squirt at night without the pump noise activating.