# 1909 privy plans



## Waterboy (Sep 20, 2011)

Besides taking for granted how simply water normally arrives into our homes, sometimes we also fail to consider how easily we can discharge waste water. Looking through one of my favorite old books the other night, I was reminded of how easy most of us have it today.

The 1909 book, "Household Discoveries and Mrs. Curtis's Cook Book," includes detailed plans for building a privy, which is quite useful -- right down to the size of boards and hardware required. (See photos below.)

"It is believed that any 14-year-old schoolboy of average intelligence and mechanical ingenuity can, by following these plans, build a sanitary privy for his home" at an expense of $5 to $10 per receptacle, according to locality, the book states. The plans could be adjusted so that instead of one seat, it may have two, three, four or five seats, etc., according to necessity. A pretty lattice covered with flowers or vines will add to the privacy of the privy -- at least outside it may be private. Also for those with more "elegant taste," an elaborate, and more expensive, structure can be built with a peaked roof instead of the standard single slant.

What really caught my attention, though, was the additional information about cleaning the privy and ensuring a clean water supply for the home and gardens. Unlike the open-pit outhouses I remember as a child, these plans call for a bucket under each seat, which should be deep enough so the user is not splashed. It also must fit snugly to keep out vermin and insects.

But here is where the fun comes in: "The frequency of cleaning the receptacle depends upon (a) the size of the tub; (b) the number of persons using the privy; and (c) the weather. In general, it is best to clean it about once a week in winter and twice a week in summer.

"An excellent plan is to have a double set of pails or tubs for each privy. Suppose the outhouse is to be cleaned every Saturday: Then pail No. 1 is taken out (say January 1), covered and set aside until the following Saturday; pail No. 2 is placed in the box for use; on January 8 pail No. 1 is emptied and put back in the box for use while pail No. 2 is taken out, covered, and set aside for a week (namely, January 15); and so on throughout the year.

"The object of this plan is to give an extra long time for the germs to be killed by fermentation or by the action of the disinfectant before the pail is emptied. Each time the receptacle is emptied, it is best to sprinkle into it a layer of top soil about 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep before putting it back.

"For the present, until certain very thorough investigations are made in regard to the length of time that the eggs of parasites and the spores of certain other germs may live, it is undoubtedly best to burn or boil all excreta; where this is not feasible, it is best to bury all human discharges at least 300 feet away and down hill from any water supply (as the well, spring, etc.).

"Many farmers insist upon using the fresh night soil (the bucket contents) as a fertilizer. In warm climates, this is attended with considerable danger, and if it is so utilized, it should never be used upon any field upon which vegetables are grown which are eaten uncooked; further, it should be promptly plowed under.

"In our present lack of knowledge as to the length of time that various germs may live, the use of fresh, unboiled night soil as a fertilizer is false economy which may result in the loss of human life."

The book further advises that a box of topsoil or lime can be left in the outhouse to sprinkle on top of the excreta to control flies. However, as a rule, people are almost always messy and fail to cover the excreta completely. "The lime is not used with sufficient frequency or liberally to keep insects aways, as is shown by the fact that flies carry the lime to the house and deposit it on the food."

With that said, I promise to never gripe again about cleaning the bathroom.


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## CdnMtlHd (Aug 4, 2009)

That is really cool. I will see if I can find a similar book locally. Thanks for sharing!


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

I remember those .Some were 2 and even 3 seaters,of course the kids were the only ones to use them together.We would sit on the cut out seat and plan the days next adventure in the woods . It was rough going in the winter though,pun intended.:gaah:


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## TimB (Nov 11, 2008)

I remember going to my Moms parents house in rural Carroll County Georgia as a kid. Pump in the kitchen, #5 washtub in the backroom for baths, and the outhouse out back.  We really had fun back then. :beercheer: Of course, i remember digging stradddle latrines as a Boy Scout also. 

Tim


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

TimB said:


> I remember going to my Moms parents house in rural Carroll County Georgia as a kid. Pump in the kitchen, #5 washtub in the backroom for baths, and the outhouse out back.  We really had fun back then. :beercheer: Of course, i remember digging stradddle latrines as a Boy Scout also.
> 
> Tim


 Yes those were the days .But then I guess hindsite is not always 20-20.Still I'd rather have that society than the one we have now,even if it meant an outhouse and Sears and Robuck catalog.


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## bevoworks11 (Dec 21, 2011)

I know I'm sounding like a Greek chorus here, but I also appreciate you posting that. That book looks really interesting.


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## dragon5126 (Nov 30, 2008)

You know, we get really spoiled by "city water" and "city plumbing". I know this is a tangent off the direction of this thread, but it does illustrate a prime example of why an oversized septic tank should be installed when you have a septic system... since a water pump can run off the grid with a genny or 12v and solar supplying recharge and a storage tank for septic use only placed above the highest toilet (yes this means it may need to be insulated depending on climate) would supply water for toilets, the oversized septic tank seperate from sinks, tubs showers and laundry, would allow simple maintenance, and would allow biological handling of the waste for a substantial period of time providing common sense practices are used (no feminine hygene products, bleach and similar). A seperate tank for purely liquid waste would allow for bleach based cleaners, and laundry waste would keep chemicals out of the solid waste system that would kill off the bacterial base that is needed to handle solid waste and prevent the need for constant maintenance. No it wont be permanent, but it will work for multiple years rather than just one... Yes it needs plumbing to be designed around such a system, but in this age of "green everything" this really isnt something that we need to give a second thought to particularly if we are planning on building a retreat or rural home or "cabin". I've seen Out Houses built on wheels, for ease of movement for when the "basement" becomes filled. So thinking ahead is nothing new, it's just a matter of direction and choice of how you wish to do it.


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## havasu (Sep 4, 2011)

It just seems appropriate to post this pic here!


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## DKRinAK (Nov 21, 2011)

*1909 - pretty quaint*

A more modern outlook at an outhouse is provided by the Hesperian Foundation.
They have a free PDF download for sanitation well worth the time and bandwidth to download and read. 
_
Sanitation and Cleanliness for a Healthy Environment_ by Jeff Conant.

The book is aimed at a village setting, but is applicable to anywhere sanitation may become an issue. As a bonus, it has a recipe for home made soap and shows designs for outhouses that allow you to capture a valuable resource.

A good addition to any bookshelf.

http://hesperian.org/books-and-resources/

Enjoy and learn.


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## DirtyHarry (Mar 8, 2012)

I'm old enough to have seen and used a few of these. However, with constant use these not only have to be moved from time to time, they can also present a health risk. I am considering building a more modern one over a septic tank. The seat can be directly over one of the clean out holes with a large steel pipe coming up to hold a regular toilet seat. I would also put in a small drain field going out from the tank. I would vent the tank out through the roof. I could either pipe the roof rain water into the tank or just pump water into the tank once in awhile. This makes a much more sanitary toilet than just dumping waste on the ground. By having it sealed and vented you can make the structure secure from small animals. I can tell you it can get exciting using an old fashioned out house when a big snake slithers around you in the middle of your business. They seem to like cool, wet, places that attract bugs.


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## UniqueOldGal (Mar 7, 2012)

Add to your outhouse the principals of The Humanure Handbook (1994)composting and there's no health hazard; there's cured usable composte for the garden later on.(This is better for loners as Others might not understand thorough composting and not want to eat your vegies.It is NOT legal to sell vegies fertilized this way in the US. BUT if SHTF and you don't have livestick you Can make your own fertilizer!).Charts of the death rates of coliforms,protazoans and the heat or cold-number of days and temperatures to kill them- is in charts in the book.It is all NOW KNOWN. A very new book The Resiliant Gardener promotes "the power of pee" as well.
I had an outhouse for 10 years with 2 seats but one side I left covered with a board after it was filled. Over a year it had been filled with peat moss added every sitting and a little lime added once week or so. A sign for guests said "throw in a handfull of this peat moss when you are done".( another sign said "For THIS,I went to college ")  No smell,no bugs,no critters,Ever,but it did freeze half the year too! It took a year to fill a side so the covered side was plenty cured with no traces of smell or TP by the time the second side was full and the floor boards had to be lifted and the old side dug out. I was a woman in my
40s and I dug out my outhouse 6 times over the years.It had a sloped base under there that rolled the mass forward partly -under the raised lift-off floorboards -the whole thing was raised a bit. It was made to be easy to dig out:by design or accident I don't know. I spread the "soil" on the forest floor and covered it with a few pine needles because I was at 5000 ft on a mountainside and didn't have a garden there(I didn't know what I know now about greenhouses and permaculture and such). I was never even remotely grossed out by that outhouse and the native plants/grasses took over the 'dump' areas leaving no trace.


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