Thanks to the great state of Texas using your bathroom during electrical outages can be, shall we say, problematic.

About 5 years ago the state mandated that all new sewage treatment systems in homes like mine be those damn aerobic spetic systems.  Unlike the good old fashioned field system the aerobic system requires electricity to not only treat the waste but to pump the treated water out of the #3 holding tank into the yard.  If this tank is not “emptied” regularly the whole system can back into the house.  My septic guy told me that “ideally” the system “should” be able to handle “light” use for three days before problems occur.  Notice the words with the quotes.  My brother found out his system could not handle one day.  Don’t ask about his solution. 

Just as an aside, if you can and your system is not prone to “flooding” during rain, having the first tank pumped is ideal before prolonged power outages.  This stops the solid waste from getting into the grey water and clear water tanks and allows you to use your toilet for quite some time without bad things happening.  But I digress.

I knew that when hurricane Ike finished its trek through my neighborhood. electricity would not be available for a couple weeks at least and it was not.  I had to contend with two basic problems here, facilities and my wife.  Now me, it ain’t nuttin but a thing, gimme a tree to hide behind and depending on which pressures are present a shovel and toilet paper and I’m set.  HOWEVER, my lovely wife while a real trooper during emergencies and extraordinary events, well she still requires some of the basic comforts of home.  Ladies and gentle peoples, I present for your perusal the Squawkbox IKE Memorial Outhouse.

Click the pic for a larger version

We satrted out with the following basic materials

  1. 8′ X 10′ gray tarp
  2. 50′ twine
  3. set of saw horses
  4. 5 gal bucket with lid
  5. heavy duty garbage bags (or doubled standard garbage bags)
  6. toliet seat
  7. 10′ rope 
  8. big box full of bbq ash
  9. shovel
  10. bleach
  11. flashlight
  12. radio
  13. toilet/ magazine cat rack
  14. 4 rolls of toilet paper
  15. cinder block
  16. bug/mosquito spray

Later we added a 2nd over head tarp.  While it did not rain the tree we had installed this work of art next too weeped sap.  I offered my lovely wife an umbrella to keep the sap off her but she did not see the humor in that.  So I put up a roof.  I also added a side panel of plywood.  It seems while sitting no one could see us, but ummmm when we stood up, well my folks next door could get a rather funny view of the goings on.

It is pretty obvious the use of most of the things listed above, but let me tell ya, that ten feet of rope comes in handy to tie the toilet seat to the saw horses.  A stationary seat really increases the the probabilty of properly aiming at the 5 gal bucket.  The cinder block holes provide a great place for cigarettes and coffee cups.  Bleach and bbq ash (or any ash for that matter) tossed on top of the waste keeps the smell down and the flies away.

Disposal?  BURN IT OR BURY IT (deep), but please do not make your local garbage collectors pick the bundled bags up.  We had so many downed trees and brush, burning it was my option.  NO IT DID NOT SMELL.

So there ya go.  Get as fancy as you wanna, but even in times of emergencies there is no reason to sacrifice all your creature comforts.

It is all about comfort

It is all about comfort