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witeowl

An indelicate question

witeowl
15 years ago

OK, this one is for the girls. More specifically, the girls that collect and use their own urine to water the compost pile. Are there any of you? Am I nuts for considering it?

I mean, sure, it's easy enough for the boys. They can go right over and "water" the compost pile in one step. No private collection necessary. But I'm a single woman wanting to 1) enjoy the benefits of urine in my pile and 2) stop wasting water to flush compostable urine and TP down the drain.

I'm not going to spend money on a special female urinal, and let's just say that my "aim" when given a cup in the doctor's office leaves something to be desired, so how can I start "collections" most easily? Anyone willing to share any suggestions or recommendations?

Comments (23)

  • jbest123
    15 years ago

    Hqw about a bedpan????

    John

    Here is a link that might be useful: Johns Journal

  • sudzy
    15 years ago

    sheesh.

  • witeowl
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    John: Interesting idea. I'm wondering if I could use one to create a collection chamber, like a little toilet next to my toilet. I know that I should seal the collected urine off from air to avoid amonia if I'm not going to head out to the pile every time (and I'm not), so that complicates things. Maybe I should just get a large mason jar, suck it up, and practice on improving my aim. ;-)

    Sudzy: Thanks for the extraordinarily helpful comment. Sheesh, indeed. :-\

  • wigglie
    15 years ago

    How about the new containers coffee comes in? They feature a rather large opening and a seal able lid. And should hold a day or two of collections.
    And just speaking for my self I can't just go right over and "water" the compost pile in one step. The neighbors asked me to stop. :)

  • fatbaldguy
    15 years ago

    Get a five gallon bucket. Squat. No aim required. More often than not, a grocery will give one up (five gallon bucket) with a lid for the asking.

  • gnomey
    15 years ago

    I hide the fact from my family that I am doing this. I take it out every time I do it though and use a red solo cup.

  • wonderpets
    15 years ago

    Ok. I have a dedicated funnel in the potty. And, on the rare occasion I get to go by myself, I collect into a soda bottle.

    I have 2 kids, so I might get to collect 24 ounces in one day -- and take it out later in the day.

    So far, hubby hasn't caught on.

    I think this officially qualifies me for Compost Whacko Status.

  • petalpatsy
    15 years ago

    I pee into an old Woolite bottle. The plastic pour spout comes out easily, and it has a handle and a good top. True, the opening isn't as big as a solo cup, but the bottle is oval so it's easy to place close to the body and short enough to truly squat onto without balancing, and it holds a couple of days worth.
    I'm sure a Tide bottle would work, too, but I use Woolite with Color Care(dye magnet) to prewash my cotton quilting fabrics so I have several empties--otherwise I use laundry powders in a compostable cardboard box. :)

    Don't keep more than a couple of days worth, or it gets tooo toooo stinky and you might find yourself adding throw up to your pile at the same time. I still put my TP in the wastepaper basket. I don't think it would be so good to collect it all together since the TP would be a urine soaked lump, and that crosses my 'Eeeww' line. :)))

  • burra_maluca
    15 years ago

    We don't have any close neighbours, so I keep a small bucket next to the heap and pour it on afterwards. Hubby pees straight onto it, my son doesn't yet but we'll train him soon...

    In the house I keep a bucket with some sawdust in for peeing in - it stops it sloshing around everywhere!

  • bob64
    15 years ago

    You could buy a hospital device designed specifically for women. Attached is a link for one product.

    Here is a link that might be useful: women's hospital urinal

  • paulns
    15 years ago

    The lid is important. My wife uses a two-quart ice cream tub with a lid - I do too when indoors. Toilet paper goes in waste basket, to be burned in the wood stove, because it tends to dry out and start flying around if it's put on the compost pile.

    We used to use a big metal bucket filled with sawdust but gathering the sawdust and filling it became a chore.

    Days' old pee stinks only for a few minutes once it's been exposed to soil bacteria - best to apply downwind from neighbours - and some say it's better for applying to the garden because more of it has been converted to ammonia.

  • albert_135   39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.
    15 years ago

    Back before running water and sewers (There were a lot of us rural folk who didn't start getting these things until after WWII.) every adult woman I knew had a "chamber pot" beside the bed to collect various waste during the night. All the persons who were "better off" had a commode, A chair enclosing a chamber pot. The ones I am familiar with were about a gallon and a half, porcelain with a fitted lid and a handle. There must have been thousands of them a little over a half century ago. Whatever happened to them?

  • witeowl
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thanks for all the ideas. Many are spot on.

    I'll admit that I had a hope that someone would tell me about some brilliant adapter (diverter) they had for their regular toilet, but I've gotten over it. ;-)

  • alphonse
    15 years ago

    Not a girl, but there was a thread on this somewhere, maybe here, years ago.
    It can be done standing up with no accessory but will require practice. The shower was suggested for neophytes.
    You could do a Web search for "finger assisted method".

  • habitat_gardener
    15 years ago

    Low tech but works: put a cheap washcloth on closed lid (to take care of problems with "aim"). Pee into a quart yogurt container, or any other wide-mouth container. Pour pee into pint water containers, or whatever other closed containers are easy to come by. Rinse quart container, and pour rinse water into pint container.

    The washcloths were something like a dozen for $5 or less, though I didn't get them for this project. Easy to replace and wash, but with practice aim improves.

    I wouldn't want to pee into a container of pee -- it'd smell pretty bad after a while. If I had a ready supply of sawdust, that'd be a great solution. Lacking sawdust, hmm, it might be worth trying something like a 5 gallon bucket with a layer of shredded newspaper, a layer of coffee grounds, and a layer of shredded paper. (I've found that coffee grounds work great on the compost pile when I want to cover up a malodorous bucketful of compostables.) And then after every contribution, add a handful of shredded newspaper.

    When we had a cat who needed indoor facilities at night as she got older, I tried all kinds of kitty litters. Because the litter box was on a stair landing, I didn't like the gritty or gel-bubble kinds, which got tracked all over the stairs. What worked best was a cardboard box lined with plastic, and shredded paper inside. The paper allowed her to move stuff around, and it was easy to take a plastic bag and dispose of wet or soiled paper. The hardest part was taking the time to shred a bagful of newspaper at a time.

    I have heard of a "diverter" for camping that allows a woman to pee standing up, if you're out in the boonies and want to deliver directly.

  • paulns
    15 years ago

    Something like this?A urine-diverter.

    Here is a link that might be useful: urine diverter

  • mommyandme
    15 years ago

    Medical supply stores sell a device called a "urine collection hat". It fits into the toilet, under the seat & can hold quite a bit of urine. They are meant for measuring 24 hour output. Because of the way it fits into the toilet, you just pee as you normally do w/o worrying about squatting or bad aim.

  • fertilizersalesman
    15 years ago

    Having read this entire thread I have concluded that you all are indeed crazy. Very crazy. Very very crazy... but funny crazy, not scary crazy.

  • joepyeweed
    15 years ago

    I second the "hat".

  • louisianagal
    15 years ago

    Yes, the "hat." We use these all the time in maternity to measure urine output. I had thought of the chamber pot, but the hat would be even better. They can be a bit flimsy, so be careful carrying it outside if it is full.

  • medontdo
    15 years ago

    i'd use a ice cream bucket, LOL its cheap, you already paid for it!! LOL but my kids pee in a bucket for me, i take meds so i can't, sigh, ~Medo

  • eyes5
    15 years ago

    Try the Shewee! Look it up on google or something. It's basically a simple plastic funnel that gives girls the same aiming ability as boys!

  • cali1023
    15 years ago

    We have a yard that's hidden from the neighbors, so I just keep a five-gallon bucket outside the backdoor.

    It's covered with a snap-on toilet-seat called a Luggable Loo. (LINK: http://www.cabelas.com/vprod-1/0009518.shtml)

    Next to that is a roll of toilet paper and an old plastic kitchen trashcan with a lid that is full of shredded junk mail.

    I pee in the bucket, throw in the toilet paper, and cover with a layer of shredded paper.

    When the bucket gets full, I take it to the compost bin on the side of the house.

    Then I rinse it out, pour that water onto the compost as well, and start over again.

    The urine provides nitrogen and water for the compost, and the shredded paper is a balancing carbon.

    My husband just pees anywhere in the yard that he suits his fancy.