Outhouse

An outhouse is a small structure separate from a main building which often contained a simple toilet (for example a pit toilet or pail closet) and may possibly also be used for housing animals and storage.

Contents

Terminology

The term "outhouse" is used in North American English for the structure around a simple pit toilet.[1] Outhouses used as toilets are referred to by many terms around the English-speaking world including Dunny (Australia),[2] Biffy (U.S. Girl Scouting), and Kybo (Scouting worldwide) [3].

The term "outhouse" may also be used for any small building away from a main building, used for a variety of purposes, but mainly for activities not wanted in the main house. Outhouses are used for storage, animals, and cooking, to name a few uses. Larger structures have names such as barn, stable, woodshed, detached garage and storage shed.

In Australia this toilet is frequently referred to as a dunny[2] or "thunderbox". Waste deposited in earth closets was euphemistically referred to as "nightsoil". In suburban areas not connected to the sewerage, such outhouses were not built over pits. Instead, waste was collected into large cans, or "dunny-cans", which were positioned under the toilet, to be collected by contractors (or "nightsoil collectors") hired by the local council. Collected waste matter would then be removed from the premises and disposed of elsewhere. The contractors would replace the used cans with empty, cleaned cans. Until the 1970s Brisbane relied heavily on this form of sanitation.[4]

In New Zealand such toilets are referred to as "long-drops".[5] These are the usual toilet-variety found on walking/tramping tracks and other locations where water is unavailable for flushing. Less commonly bachs may have these instead of flush toilets.

The term biffy is sometimes encountered in the context of U.S. Girl Scouting, and may have originated with the "BFI" logo of what was at one time Browning-Ferris Industries (now part of Allied Waste Industries), a waste collection company whose trade lines in some markets include the servicing of portable toilets. The term "Biffy" can also perhaps be traced to a company operating in Minnesota named "Biff's," which services portable toilets. Campers are told the term is an acronym for "Bathroom in the Forest For You." An alternate explanation: when backpackers prepare a cathole or trench latrine in their overnight campsite (even embellishing it with fresh-cut flowers), they call it the BIFF - Bathroom In Forest Floor. A backpacking group will carry a zip-lock bag with a trowel, toilet paper, and a lighter (to burn the used tissue); this bag is known as "the BIFF key".

The term "biffy" appears to have originally been a localism in Minnesota and adjoining places. Students studying linguistics in the mid-20th century were given the sample sentence, "If I said 'meet me at the biffy' what would you think?" Hysterical laughter would convulse the class as the professor queried students from other regions and logged their responses.

The term "kybo" is popular within the Scout Movement worldwide. The term "kybo" may have originated at the Farm and Wilderness Camps in Vermont where it came from the coffee cans (Kybo brand coffee) that held the lye or more often lime used to keep odor to a minimum. It was only after Kybo coffee (Motto: a cup full of satisfaction) was no longer available and the cans were no longer used that folks began to come up with other possible reasons for the term "kybo". The word is believed by some to have originated as an acronym for "Keep Your Bowels Open"[3] although this may be a backronym. An interesting aside is that toilet paper is often referred to as "Kybo Tape" or "Kybo Wrap". The term appears in summer camp folklore as a parody of "Downtown":

When you are sleepy and it's time to go peepee there's a place to go... kybo
When you are droopy and it's time to go poopy there's a place to go... kybo
Just listen to the rhythm of the froggies in the toilet,
Even though it's smelly I am sure you will enjoy it
The lights are not on in there, but you forget all your worries,
Forget all your cares in the kybo
Is not it fun to go... kybo[6]

Kybos are firmly woven into the lore of RAGBRAI, the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. "Kybo Roulette", in which riders waiting in line guess which toilet door will open next, is a common and celebrated diversion on the ride. See external link below to view "Adopt-A-Kybo" humor piece.

A floating toilet looks like an outhouse, however, it floats on or above the water. It is essentially an outhouse with a collection tank below to keep feces out of the water. [7] Most feature urine diversion, dessication (UDD) to permit urine to pass. [8] Applications for this type of outhouse are homes located on or above water or for areas that are flooded. [9]

Design and construction

Outhouses vary in design and construction. Common features usually include:

Biological processes

An outhouse is primarily a hole dug into the ground, into which biological waste solids and liquids are introduced, similar to a cesspit. If sufficient moisture is available, natural bacteria within the waste materials begin the fermentation. Earthworms, amoebas, molds, and other organisms in the surrounding ground soils and flying insects entering the privy hole also consume nutrients in the waste material, slowly decomposing the wastes and forming a compost pile in the base of the pit. Bacteria form a complex biofilm on the wastes and in the surrounding exposed soils around the perimeter of the pit and feed on the wastes splashed or dropped into the pit.

An outhouse operates differently from a septic tank in that the pit is not normally filled with standing water. The solids act as a sponge to retain moisture but also are exposed to open air, allowing for insects and earthworms to feed on the wastes which would not be possible within a septic tank. Septic tanks also tend to contain only organisms that can survive anaerobic conditions, while the open outhouse pit can sustain both aerobic and anaerobic organisms.

The process of decomposition is slow due to the layering of waste materials but is generally effective if the input of new wastes does not exceed the decomposition rate of the bacteria and other organisms. Small amounts of moisture from urination are absorbed by existing decomposed wastes in the base of the pit. In soils where the percolation rate of water through the soil is slow and where there is not a large amount of waste entering the pit, the wastes can slowly decompose and be rendered harmless without causing groundwater contamination.

Soil percolation and groundwater pollution

In soils with a fast rate of percolation such as sandy soils, or where the base of the pit penetrates topsoils and clay going directly down to underlying gravel and fractured substone, waste liquids entering the unlined pit may quickly seep deep underground before bacteria and other organisms can remove contaminants, leading to groundwater pollution. This fast percolation of liquid wastes out of the pit can be slowed or prevented in newly dug outhouses by lining the base of the pit and the walls with a layer of absorptive organic material such as a thick mat of grass clippings. This material then decomposes and becomes part of the compost pile lining the pit that continues to act as a moisture sponge In most outhouse designs, the privy hole is covered by a small building. The primary purpose of the building is for human comfort, so that the user does not get wet when it is raining or cold when it is windy. However the building has the secondary and (possibly unintended by the builder) effect of protecting the privy hole from large influxes of water when it is raining, which would flood the hole and flush untreated wastes into the underlying soils before they can decompose.

On flat or low-lying ground, the privy hole can be further protected from rain and floodwaters by constructing a small raised hill or berm around the edge of the hole, using material from the hole when the pit is first excavated, to raise up the outhouse foundation. This helps falling rain and surface water to flow away from the sides of the outhouse so it does not enter the pit and lead to groundwater contamination.

Rain and surface water flowing into a low-lying open pit will also lead to soil erosion around the edges of the pit that may eventually undermine the building foundation, and potentially lead to collapse of the structure into the enlarging hole.

End of pit life

Eventually over a period of many years, the solid wastes form a growing pile that fill the pit. A new pit is dug somewhere nearby, and soil is used from the new pit to cover and cap off the old pit. Underground organisms such as earthworms continue decomposition of the old pit until the material is indistinguishable from other ground soils.

High volume usage

In locations where an outhouse must service a large number of users, the single pit may be extended to form a long covered trench or a series of separate pits, so that the waste inputs are spread out over a larger surface area. The fastest waste decomposition generally occurs in the uppermost layer of solids exposed to the air. Decomposition continues slowly in deeper layers but relies on diffusion of air into the solids to sustain life for the organisms within the solids.

A deeper pit may appear to provide additional capacity but a thick layer of fresh solids deposited by many users may exceed the natural decomposition rate of the organisms in the pit, leading to increased potential for waste seepage out of the pit. A deep pit may also penetrate upper slow-percolation surface soil layers, and allow entry of contaminated waste liquids into the underlying fast percolation subsoils.

Decomposition may be accelerated by stirring or turning the pile, which breaks up the pile and introduces air pockets and air channels that allow faster organism growth within the bed of solids.

Holding tanks

In areas where an open pit cannot be safely constructed due to extremely high soil percolation rates and lack of absorptive organic material to absorb and decompose liquid wastes, the open pit is replaced with solid-walled storage tank that typically must be pumped out regularly since liquids are not permitted to leach out of the storage tank.

Hazardous waste

As with standard septic and sewage systems, toxic substances such as paint, oil, and chemicals must not be dumped into outhouse pits. The toxic materials will either kill the organisms breaking down the compost pile or the chemicals may not be digestible, eventually seeping deeper underground and contaminating groundwater under the pit.

Odor

The decomposition of the solids by organisms naturally leads to the emission of gases such as methane and hydrogen sulfide. These gases linger within the pit and are the source of the pit odor, but the open-pit nature permits diffusion of these gases out of the pit, so concentrations are typically low enough not to cause harm.

The odor can be reduced by installing a vertical vent tube in the corner of the outhouse structure. In the warmth of the day the vent tube is heated, which sets up a slow air convection current that draws fresh air into the privy hole, and expels warmed pit gases out the top of the vent tube.

Insect control

Some types of flying insects such as the housefly are attracted to the odor of decaying material, and will use it for food for their offspring, laying eggs in the decaying material. Other insects such as mosquitoes seek out standing water that may be present in the pit for the breeding of their offspring.

Both of these are undesirable pests to humans, but can be easily controlled without chemicals by enclosing the top of the pit with tight fitting boards or concrete, using a privy hole cover that is closed after every use, and by using fine-grid insect screen to cover the inlet and outlet vent holes. This prevents flying insect entry by all potential routes.

Parasites

One of the purposes of outhouses is to avoid spreading parasites such as worms, notably hookworms. These worms are able to travel up to 4 feet from the waste through soil, so outhouses are commonly made at least 6 feet deep.[27]

Controversies, trends and records

Outhouse design, placement and maintenance has long been recognized as being important to the public health. See posters created by the Works Projects Administration.[28]

The growing popularity of paddling, hiking and climbing has created special waste disposal issues throughout the world. It is a dominant topic for outdoor organizations and their members.[24] A grass roots organization -- Hikers Against Doo-Doo, also known as HADD—exists dedicated to providing information, insight and strategies for addressing the problem of waste disposal.[29] The response to the growing problem has varied around the world.

Popular culture

See also

Literature and further reading

References

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  2. ^ a b "Australian Country Roadsigns". http://www.upfromaustralia.com/auscounroad.html. 
  3. ^ a b http://www.scoutorama.com/dictionary/dictionary_display.cfm?dict_id=15
  4. ^ "Observations « Carry the Bags". http://carrythebags.wordpress.com/category/observations/. 
  5. ^ http://www.showusyourlongdrop.co.nz/ collects images of toilets improvised after the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake
  6. ^ "The Kybo Song". http://guidezone.e-guiding.com/kybosong.htm. 
  7. ^ http://washtech.wordpress.com/tag/urine-diverting-toilets/ Floating toilets for floating villages on Cambodia’s Tonle Sap lake
  8. ^ http://www.adb.org/Water/Photos/CAM/floating-toilets/Default.asp Sample Designs: Floating UDD Toilets, Asian Development Bank Website
  9. ^ http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/asia/100416/cambodia-health-floating-toilets, Article: Floating toilets to clean up Cambodia's act, Author: Geoffrey Cain April 19, 2010, Global Post
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  25. ^ 'See Composting toilets bring the outhouse indoors — JSCMS
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  27. ^ [1]
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  47. ^ Gene Weingarten (November 21, 2003). "Cartoon Raises a Stink: Some See Slur Against Islam in a 'B.C.' Outhouse Strip". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A2184-2003Nov20?language=printer. Retrieved 2007-04-09. 
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  58. ^ Compare, What are Outhouse Diggers?
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External links