Tiny House with composting toilet: The independent form of living

Mobile and yet at home: Tiny Houses combine the feeling of freedom of traveling with the comfort of your own four walls. The mobile home on four wheels is becoming increasingly popular. The same applies to the variant with a fixed location in the garden at home, whether as a guest cottage or weekend idyll. Those who decide in favor of a Tiny House often have the desire to get rid of superfluous ballast, to reduce themselves to the bare essentials, and to swap land sealing for nature. 

Even if a lot of things can be done without, going to the toilet remains a must. This is where the challenge begins: Mobile Tiny Houses have no connection to the sewage system. Installing the classic ceramic toilet is therefore not an option for the mobile home. The situation is similar for fixed houses in one's own garden. In order to install a conventional toilet here, access to the sewage system is required - and this in turn is tied to permits.

Composting toilets offer a simple and stylish alternative. Without the use of flushing water, free of chemicals and thanks to easy disposal, they are ideally suited as a self-sufficient toilet in the Tiny House. The mobile toilets are available in different sizes so that the seat height is similar to that of a conventional toilet. Those who like it particularly comfortable have the option of choosing a model with automatic soft-close. The environmentally friendly and resource-saving composting toilets also look good: From plastic to wood, from white to anthracite, there is a wide range of designs that can be integrated into any interior.

How the composting toilet works

The principle of the composting toilet is very simple: the quiet little toilet has a special separating insert that separates solid from liquid during toilet use and drains it into separate containers. The drier the feces stay, the fewer odours can develop. Because of this, it is not only separated from the urine, but also covered with litter after it is done. This removes additional moisture from the droppings. Small animal litter, sawdust, fine bark mulch or even dried coffee grounds are suitable for this purpose. To block odours even better, you can also use our scent blocker pure or as an additive to your litter. The urine is collected in a canister. To further promote the drying process and to prevent the formation of condensation in warm temperatures, you can optionally connect a fan to the composting toilet.

Emptying the composting toilet

Since solids and liquids are collected separately, the containers can be removed and emptied independently. The urine canister can be emptied in any toilet connected to the sewage system or its contents diluted and used as fertilizer. When doing this, you should bear in mind that your plants prefer nitrogenous fertilizers. To dispose of the solids as easily as possible, the container is lined with a bin liner before use. When the bag is full, it is tied tightly and disposed of in the residual waste. For this reason, toilet paper may also be thrown into the bin and does not have to be collected separately. Another alternative is to use a composter. In this case, you should make sure not to use bleached or colored toilet paper.

Cleaning the composting toilet

Cleaning a composting toilet is as simple as using it. All you need are a few tried-and-tested household remedies: diluted vinegar or citric acid or, alternatively, agents with effective microorganisms. The mixture is particularly easy to apply to the separating insert or the containers with a small spray bottle and then wipe off. The urine canister should be rinsed with the mixture at regular intervals. It is important never to use pure water for this. The combination of residual urine in the canister and water leads to the formation of urine scale, which in turn causes unpleasant odours. If this happens, there are ways to get rid of the uninvited guest. You can find out more about this in our article "Ooopsie, Pupsie! I smell!"

Which composting toilet suits you and your Tiny House?

Since you want to feel at home in your Tiny House, it makes sense to make sure it has a good seat height. In addition, the composting toilet should not have too small a capacity so that the emptying cycles are not too short. Our large composting toilet models all have containers with a capacity of 10 liters, which can hold 18 to 22 small and 11 to 20 large transactions. With three different material finishes, you also have the choice between a classy furniture look, casual sportiness or clean design. Here you can find an overview of the possible models and compare them with each other.

For individualists

Do you want a toilet that is as unique as your Tiny House itself? In that case, you have the possibility to build your own composting toilet. For this purpose, we offer you both individual separators as well as complete DIY kits, which, in addition to the divider insert, also include containers in various sizes.