How to Clean a Flushable Camping Toilet

Want to know how to clean a flushable camping toilet? It isn't hard, so stop grimacing at the thought, roll up your sleeves and read my flushable camping toilet cleaning instructions.

First, you need a clear place to work, without onlookers and a water hose. (If a hosepipe is not available, you may have to make do with a few buckets of water for rinsing.)

You will need:

• A pair of rubber gloves
• A bottle of pine disinfectant (to kill germs)
• A cleaning rag
• A clean toilet brush
• A pair of overalls or a waterproof apron
• A pair of rubber gumboots (Wellington boots)

First, close the trap-door between the upper and lower compartments of the Porta Potti type toilet. Separate the two halves and empty the sewage into the assigned disposal place. This may be to a holding tank (to be pumped out later), down your own toilet at home, or even to be poured slowly and carefully into a pit you have dug yourself. (Not in your garden, where it would be illegal!)

Use the hose or poured water to flush away any urine, feces, paper or other matter from the upper part of the toilet. Clean the bowl, the toilet seat and the toilet lid on both sides with the toilet brush. Use water to flush everything clean and spotless. And pay attention to the hinge areas and less obvious places where dirt may adhere.

Finish by wiping with a damp-dry cloth moistened with disinfectant that has been diluted to the manufacturer's recommendations.

Rinse out the portable toilet's holding tank and flush it with water to ensure that there are no solids left inside the tank. Again, wipe the top, sides and bottom with a damp-dry disinfectant cloth.

Re-assemble the top and bottom halves of the portable flush toilet once more, and fill up the flushing compartment with clean water or a recommended chemical mix if you prefer to go that way. (The chemical mix will kill germs and therefore odors, but it is actually bad for the environment because good soil is full of living bacteria and micro-organisms.) Ideally, the waste should break down in the soil and become nutrition for the plant life, but that is a bit off-topic for a site about camping!