Traveling and camping out are experiences that come with a price. Obviously, when you travel, you give up the comforts of home, which means losing the ability to use a regular toilet whenever you want to or need to.
One of the best solutions to this is using a portable toilet. What are portable toilets and how do portable toilets work? Let’s take a look.
What Are Portable Toilets?
Traveling and seeing the world is a life-changing experience that everyone should at least try once in their lives. The world is a big place, and we have a limited amount of time to see what is out there.
Traveling broadens the mind and opens us up to different kinds of people and cultures. It also exposes us to amazing and breathtaking sights and sounds. This can be done alone for a soul-searching journey, or it can be an experience that can be shared with your friends or your entire family.
Unfortunately, this means giving up the comforts that a regular toilet offers. It goes without saying that there are many establishments that have toilets that you can find along the way, but for the more adventurous of travelers, these are not always an option. You can rough it out and use a shovel and find a bush, but there are more elegant and convenient ways to do your business.
The solution? Portable toilets!
Portable toilets are toilets that can be easily transported or carried when on the move or when traveling. Unlike camper toilets, these toilets have to be lighter and easier to transport.
Most of them are designed to be small enough to fit inside the trunk of an average vehicle, although there are also portable toilets that are so small and light that it can be carried or packed in a bag.
How Do Portable Toilets Work?
In a nutshell, portable toilets work similarly to home toilets. It is just that they are smaller, lighter, and portable. Before you can understand how do portable toilets work, you also have to be familiar with its components.
The toilet seat is an important part of any toilet. It is where you sit as you do your business. With that being said, the seat of a portable toilet has to be durable enough to take the weight of a person and still be safe and hygienic to come into contact with skin. It also has to be hard-wearing enough to take the rough conditions of the outdoors.
Unlike camper toilets, portable toilets cannot have storage tanks as it is too heavy to carry around. Most waste storage of portable toilets is made up of heavy-duty bags that can be sealed and disposed of. These bags have to be lightweight and small but sturdy enough to prevent leaks and punctures.
This bag is where the wastes are stored. More often than not, it comes packed with gels or powders that are formulated to solidify liquid wastes and keep it from stinking.
What Makes a Good Portable Toilet?
There are many things to consider when you think about what makes a good portable toilet. There are toilets that prioritize convenience, while there are those that prioritize portability. Here are some of the most important factors to consider when looking for a good portable toilet:
Convenience
Portable toilets have to be convenient to use by any and all travelers. This means that it should be travel-ready. It shouldn’t have many moving parts, and it should be ready to use quickly but just as easily and just as quickly packed away.
Portability
Portable toilets also have to be really light to be able to be transported and carried while traveling. Camper toilets are made to be placed in large, high-powered vehicles, such as trucks and RVs, but portable toilets have to be small and light enough to be carried by one person, with or without any vehicle. That is why most portable toilets are collapsible and can be folded and disassembled for easy transport.
Stability
One factor that most people overlook is stability. Portable toilets are made to be lightweight, but they should also be stable enough to take on your full weight when you are doing your business. This means that it shouldn’t wobble or move when you are using it. The last thing you want to happen while on the toilet is have it fall down or topple over.
Materials
There is a reason why porcelain is used in most toilets. It can be cleaned easily, it is mostly non-stick, and it is durable enough to take the weight of a person.
Obviously, porcelain cannot be used for portable toilets, but the materials used should be able to accommodate a full grown man. It should also be easily cleaned of any wastes that it comes into contact with.
Reusability
One of the more important factors to consider is reusability. This means that the toilet should be durable enough to be used on a daily basis.
Good materials should be used, but a sturdy design is also important to make sure that it can be packed and unpacked at least once a day and still be durable and functional.
Clean Up
Portable toilets also cannot afford the space and weight of a flushing mechanism. This means that the materials used for portable toilets have to be made so that it can be cleaned easily when coming into contact with human waste.
Most materials have to be non-stick and should be able to be cleaned or sanitized by running water and with minimal contact.
Odor Control
Camper toilets have storage tanks that are sealed to minimize leaks and control the odor of human waste. However, portable toilets cannot afford the weight of a sealed tank.
Instead, most portable toilets come with sealed bags that have gels or powders to control the unpleasant smell of human wastes. These gels are usually also drying chemicals that can solidify any liquids to prevent wastes from leaking out.
Summary
Portable toilets are one of the best options for people who need to go to the bathroom when they are out of reach from civilization. It works just like any home toilet; only it is more durable, more lightweight, and requires more work.
Convenience, stability, reusability, and hygiene are prioritized with most of the portable toilets in the market. A good portable toilet should be easily unpacked, used, properly cleaned, and then repacked again. A good portable toilet should also be durable enough to take the rigors of the outdoors and travel and functionally tough enough to be used at least every day.
read also: Reliance Luggable Loo Portable Toilet Review
