Composting toilets for families with children
As our nation faces water shortages and water crises in heavily populated areas like California, compost toilets continue to gain popularity as a water-saving alternative to traditional toilets. Their increasing use, however, leads many families and homeowners to ask themselves, are they a good solution for my home? Particularly for families with children, there are some special considerations to keep in mind.
The needs of families with children will vary, depending on the ages of the children in the home. If you have young children, for example, potty training may be a consideration. First, you’ll want to assess the height of your toilet seat. Many composting toilets, specifically free-standing units, feature very high seat heights. Some even have built-in stools or footrests, making it easy for an adult to climb onto the seat. For a child, this would obviously create a problem going to the bathroom on her own.
Young children are known to want to flush various objects down the toilet; Any parent who has ever removed a watch, rubber duck, or other item from the toilet bowl is well aware of this. With a composting toilet, getting to the lost item may not be as easy. One of the biggest advantages of modern composting toilets is that they are designed in such a way that the owner does not have to come into contact with the waste until it is fully composted. However, if he thinks your child has dropped something in the toilet, he may put on gloves and rummage through the waste to find the missing item. Therefore, it is important that parents of young children take the time to instill in their children the importance of not putting foreign objects down the toilet. Another easy alternative is to install a child-resistant toilet seat and lid so that children cannot lift the lid without your help.
If you have older or younger teens in your home, you may also need to talk about the importance of not putting things like wipes, tampons, or sanitary pads down the toilet. The only things that should go in a composting toilet are waste and toilet paper. Everything else belongs in the dump.
How much toilet paper is used can also be another conversation to have with kids, though this isn’t just a topic for homes with composting toilets. Many parents have had to use a plunger to unclog a traditional toilet when a child has used half the toilet paper roll and tried to flush. With a compost toilet, the problem is not that it won’t work, but that using too much paper will affect the capacity of the unit. Composting toilet capacities are generally based on the number of people using the fixture each day. If someone is adding a large amount of toilet paper, this will of course have an impact.
Last but not least, homeowners with composting toilet systems should take the time to explain regular maintenance to the unit to their children. This usually involves adding some filler, such as a mixture of peat and wood chips, every day and turning a crank on the outside of the toilet, which in turn turns the inner drum. Once the children are old enough, involve them in these daily activities. The more they know about the system, the less likely they are to do something that could damage it.
Composting toilets are a wonderful alternative to traditional toilets and can be used just about anywhere. For families with children, they remain a very viable alternative to traditional toilets, as long as parents explain and educate their children about the toilet. Also, by introducing your children to an eco-friendly accessory like a composting toilet while they are young, you will have a positive impact on their lifelong trend towards an eco-friendly lifestyle.