Outhouse maintenance

[MNmikew]

Deer camp in Wisc. I have an outhouse with a sealed 250 gal. tank that is about 1/3 full. I'm planning on getting it pumped in the spring but is there something I can dump in there to make is smell a bit better?

I've seen people dump lime in, does this help?

[BoxMN]

If I am not mistaken, anything you do to kill the smell in essence (not herbal essence, heh!) will kill the bacteria, which is what you need to break it down. You could dump lime in a day or so early to kill the smell, then on last day add in water and Ridex, and maybe that would balance between killing smell and keeping the bacteria working away.

Best thing, make sure it has a stack that goes up nice and high, and I have heard that having a black stack helps especially if in the sun, so it helps "draw" that air up. Not sure if that is true.

I put in an RV toilet. Worked great. It stays closed, so the smell only can escape the stack. I just hooked a 5 gallon water jug to the "flush" and it really worked slick. No stink, but about $150 and the work involved, but mine was new outhouse, so not retrofitting.

Good luck with your stank and also with the hunting!

[sparcebag]

Lime it.If its a true outhouse,No water for flush just solids building up,not much bacterial action and breakdown.When its pumped they will add water to thin the solids to pump consistancy.The vent stack box mentions helps LOTS!

[Surface Tension]

It'll break down the solids and it does cover up smells. When I lived in AK I'd used ashes from my woodstove. Lye/lime is made from wood ash. I think the ashes worked better for getting rid of the smell. The Lime sort added a sour smell on top of the bad small. Wasn't good at all and it seems to loose all effectiveness from the guy before you.

edited to add:

"a sealed 250 gallon tank" "1/3 full"

Yowzzer, we could probably add fermented to that.

I think a power vent would help you out too. It dosen't have to run all the time, only 10 minutes before you go.

Also, put a magazine between the seat base.

[BobT]

Couldn't you use the chemicals they use in portables or RVs? Seems they help control odor.

Bob

[tedl]

RID X for septic systems works good. You can buy that at the local grocery store.

[IFallsRon]

I used to get a treatment at Fleet. Dump it in and follow with a couple five-gallon buckets of water. We'd do this as one of the last things before leaving so it had until the next visit to work.