Plumbing

Sometimes after a long, hard day at work, you want to come home, take a hot shower and wash away the day. Few things can ruin that relaxing feeling of a hot shower faster than a clogged drain. You don’t want to be standing in a pool of dirty water while trying to get clean. But how did this happen? What can you do? Most of the time, your clogged drain directly results from hair build-up. Learn how to remove hair from your shower drain with this comprehensive guide.

Why is My Drain Clogged With Hair?

Although almost nobody does this, you should clean your shower drains at least once every few years. People with long hair are especially susceptible to having their shower drains clogged; however, everyone is clogging their drain with hair, long or short. Your hair falls out while you shower; this is normal whether you notice it or not. 

This Might Be Gross

Wearing gloves is highly recommended anytime you are extracting something from a drain. The giant clumps of hair you will remove from your shower drain will be wet, covered in soap scum, and look very similar to a rat or mouse. It might not smell great, either.

What You Will Need

• Drain cleaning snake auger.
  • This tool has a long, flexible metal cable tipped with a bulb auger (basically a corkscrew). 
  • The snake auger rotates as it extends, allowing you to penetrate the blockage and grab and remove it.
  • Some drain cleaning snake augers are manually operated, others are battery-powered, and you can use some with a cordless drill. 
  • You can also use a snake auger to unclog sinks and toilets. It is a valuable tool to keep handy.
• Needle nose pliers.
  • These will help you grab and remove hair out of the drain.
• Flat-head screwdriver or allen wrenches.
  • You will need one of these to remove the shower drain cover.
• Channel locks.
  • You may need these to remove the shower drain cover.
• Gloves.
  • You should always wear gloves when handling substances you have removed from a drain.

How to Remove Hair From Your Shower Drain

1. Remove shower drain cover.
   1. With your fingers (or channel locks if necessary), unscrew the top piece of the drain cover. 
   2. Look down into the area where this top piece was. There will be a rod that the rest of the drain cap slides up and down on. On the top of this rod will be either a receptacle for an allen wrench or a flat head screwdriver. Unscrew this rod with the appropriate tool. 
   3. Remove the rest of the shower drain cover. 
2. Remove all visible hair from the drain with your needle nose pliers.
3. Run enough water in the shower for it to pool up. Turn the water off.
4. Work the end of your drain cleaning snake auger down into the drain. Extend the auger until the water in the shower starts to drain. Reverse the auger. 
   1. Note: If you have extended the auger beyond 10 feet and the shower is not draining, reverse the auger back out of the drain. You may pull out a mass of hair that will allow the water to drain. If not, repeat the process, extending it a bit further.
5. Extend the auger back into the drain and back out once more to ensure that you have entirely removed the blockage.
6. Run the water in the shower for several minutes to make sure that the shower drains correctly.
7. Re-assemble the shower drain cover.

Clean Up

Removing hair from your shower drain is not terribly messy, but when dealing with drains, things can get a little bit gross. It is a good idea to give your shower floor at least a light cleaning afterward or at least run the water for a little while. 

Cleaning off the snake auger is a good idea; you don’t want it to have a dried-up hairball stuck to it the next time you use it. With your gloved hand and needle nose pliers, remove as much of the hair and gunk as possible. It doesn’t need to be perfect, just get the majority off there. 

Wash your hands. Even if you are wearing gloves, this is always a good idea. 

What to Do if Your Drain is Still Clogged?

If your drain is still clogged after this you may need to know more than how to remove hair from your shower drain.

Try a home remedy for unclogging your drain, or try a liquid drain opener. If your drain is still clogged then it is time to call a professional.

How to Remove Hair From Your Shower Drain- In Conclusion

We all lose hair when we shower, and that hair inevitably ends up in our drains. Even though this problem is common, it is not difficult to fix. You have learned how to remove hair from your shower drain from this article, and you can use the guide and videos as references. Don’t tolerate standing in a pool of dirty water while trying to get clean. Unclog that drain!

More than a place to get clean, a well-made bathtub offers a sanctuary for relaxation and self-care. High-end bathtub brands put great care into designing fixtures that meet every requirement of a luxury bath. These brands produce distinctive yet timeless designs that are also comfortable to use. The durable materials they work with ensure your tub remains an inviting focal point in your bathroom for decades.

Choosing a Beautiful, Comfortable Bathtub

High-end bathtub brands offer a wide selection of styles, but remember, the tub’s design also affects how you can use it. Freestanding tubs, long the hallmark of a luxury bathroom, are back in a big way, but many brands also offer built-in baths that are just as stylish and durable, and even easier to install and clean.

Think carefully about shape and drain configuration, particularly if you’re looking for a freestanding bath. The classic roll-top is easy to find and always in style. The slipper bath, named for the shoe-like shape created by its single higher side, is ideal for soaking. The symmetrical bateau, or “boat,” bath is loved for its graceful silhouette.

While single-ended baths have their faucet and drain at one end, double-ended tubs place them in the middle, allowing two people to share the bath comfortably.

Material is an equally important consideration. Copper and cast iron are both classics for their beauty and durability. While copper is lighter and heats more quickly than cast iron, it also loses heat quickly. Stone bathtubs lend a spa-like ambiance to your bathroom, but they’re even heavier than metal baths, heat slowly, and require careful cleaning.

Many luxury brands use fiberglass-reinforced acrylic or composite material to combine the best qualities of traditional materials.

High-End Bathtub Brands to Watch

Jacuzzi

A household name for hot tubs, Jacuzzi also produces bathtubs that give you up to six different Hydrotherapy Experiences, including heated soak, whirlpool, Swirlpool, and the spa-like Pure Air bath option. Most of these features are found in their acrylic drop-in and skirted baths.

The brand’s freestanding tubs are designed for soaking. Among these are the Solid Surface collection made from Luxecast, a mineral-based composite material. Other freestanding tubs are made from fiberglass-reinforced acrylic. With their simple, fluid forms, Jacuzzi’s bathtubs are ideal for a modern minimalist bathroom.

Kohler

Kohler introduced the world’s first enameled cast iron bathtub in 1883 and have continued to innovate ever since. Their freestanding, drop-in, undermount, and alcove baths combine classic style with modern technology.

Their overflow baths create a continuous cascade of water to give you the experience of soaking in a natural spring. Chromatherapy lights aim to improve your mood, the Heated BubbleMassage Air Baths and Whirlpool features soothe sore muscles and promote circulation, and Vibracoustic baths use sound vibrations to help you relax.

In addition to acrylic baths, Kohler produces freestanding baths from Lithocase, a solid-surface acrylic with the look of stone. The majority of the brand’s baths fit a modern aesthetic, but the Ironworks and Artifacts line offers a more vintage look.

Waterworks

Waterworks produces artisanal freestanding and drop-in baths inspired by European bath traditions. Their Classic line includes freestanding and skirted tubs in vintage and simple, timeless styles, the Modern line strikes out with smooth, rounded forms, and the Transitional line blends the best of both, but leans toward vintage. Several models include air and whirlpool features.

Most models are made from high-density acrylic, but you’ll also find a few metal tubs. Prime among them is the opulent French-style Clothilde tub, a double-ended bateau bath handcrafted from copper with no visible seams using original 19th-century tools and methods. If understated sophistication is more your style, try the cast iron models.

Victoria + Albert

Owned by House of Rohl, the Victoria + Albert brand is known for the graceful elegance of its freestanding and undermount/drop-in tubs.

The symmetrical Barcelona Classic is the picture of contemporary simplicity, the Almafi slipper bathtub takes a more traditional approach, and the Amiata’s gentle curves blend modern and conventional forms. Other tubs, such as the asymmetrical egg-shaped Napoli and the contoured Cabrits, are sculptural works of art in their own right.

The bathtubs are made in South Africa with Volcanic Limestone, a strong, naturally white material that allows the tubs to be cast seamlessly in one piece. If white isn’t your preference, the brand’s RAL color service lets you choose a hue that better suits your tastes.

Ove Decors

One of the more budget-friendly luxury bathtub brands, this Canadian company offers a collection of freestanding oval, rectangular, and slipper tubs. Nearly all their models are made from fiberglass-reinforced acrylic, making them relatively lightweight and easy to install and helping them resist yellowing and fading.

If the vintage look appeals to you, try the Clawfoot tub, the somewhat larger Classic tub, or the even larger, but simpler Castor tub. These models feature classic clawfoot supports, but are made of acrylic instead of traditional cast iron. For a modern take on footed tubs, try the Sayuri, which stands in a black metal cradle that lends it a dramatic contemporary edge.

Urban Archaeology

This luxury bathtub brand began with one man’s architectural salvage work and now produces a relatively small, but highly unique collection of bathtubs in high-end materials including marble, brass, copper, and pewter. Their marble bathtubs are hand-carved out of a solid block.

The Estate series tubs rest on a base with ogee detailing that lends it a classical look worthy of an architectural magazine. The City series takes a more understated approach.

Metal bathtubs in the Mercer collection draw on traditional styles that have been popular since the 18th-century. The optional front rivets offered with these models make them perfect for an industrial-style bathroom. If rustic style is more your thing, look to the Country series.

For durability and easier cleaning, the company’s metal tubs are made with either a vitreous porcelain interior or an insert of porcelain enameled cast iron.

Devon & Devon

Based in Florence, Italy, Devon & Devon draws much of its inspiration from its home city’s architectural traditions. The brand focuses on timeless designs in cast iron and marble as well as their proprietary materials White Tec, a mineral-based composite, and White Tec Plus, made from plant-derived resins.

Among the cast iron models, you’ll find the striking neo-classic Capital series bathtubs, which feature geometrical designs in bas-relief. The President bath offers a similar look in marble.

White Tec and White Tec Plus baths are available with shapely ogee bases as well as in sleek, contemporary forms. For any model, you’ll have your choice of matt or gloss finish in any of more than 500 colors.

LaCava

This Chicago-based company with Italian roots produces acrylic and solid-surface bathtubs in modern designs. The brand stands out for its creative bath shapes you’ll be hard pressed to find anywhere else.

If you’re looking for a distinctive bathroom focal point, consider the La Scala low-profile slipper bath with cascading levels, the flowing vase-like Lirico bath, or the Suave, a fluid semi-circle bath framed by a dramatic rectangular rim. LaCava also offers oval, rectangular, and round baths if you favor pure geometric forms.

Beyond the reliability you’d expect from any well-made faucet, high-end faucets offer modern conveniences such as touchless operation, greater control over temperature and spray power, and multiple spray head functionalities.

By keeping up with the trends, high-end faucet brands are able to offer a greater choice of distinctive designs to help you create a kitchen or bath that’s a cut above the ordinary.

Finding Faucets That Fit Your Lifestyle

Before you think about aesthetics, consider the functions you want in your faucet. High-end kitchen faucets come in both space-saving pull-out sprayer models and comfortable pull-down sprayer models, but some also include a magnetic docking system to hold your sprayer where you want it.

Many let you turn on the water without turning a knob, but methods vary. Touchless models turn on with the wave of a hand, touch-activated faucets react to a tap of the finger, and other models include an on/off button.

For durability, look for a ceramic disc faucet in either compression or cartridge style. While they cost a premium, they’re nearly leakproof.

Aesthetically, the best finish is one that matches your kitchen or bathroom cabinetry hardware, but for durability and ease of cleaning, you can’t go wrong with chrome.

High-End Faucet Brands to Watch

Delta Faucet Company

In 1954, Delta pioneered the ball-valve for mixing hot and cold water and has continued to develop innovations to improve performance and durability ever since.

Delta’s Touch2O technology lets you turn the water on with a touch, and with VoiceIQ technology, you can get the water you need without touching the faucet at all.

The MagnaTite Docking system holds the faucet sprayhead securely, the TempSense LED light indicates the water’s temperature, and Touch-Clean spray holes make mineral deposit removal easy.

Long, sleek curves and modern geometric forms characterize most of Delta’s faucets, but you’ll find vintage-style designs in the Cassidy, Victorian, Zallia, and Mylan collections.

Moen

After burning his hands using a two-handle faucet in 1937, Al Moen set out to create the more manageable single-handle faucet that would become the foundation of his company.

Today, Moen is still known for its easy-to-use bathroom and kitchen faucets. Models with MotionSense technology allow for hands-free operation. Power Clean technology gives you a more concentrated spray. With Power Boost, you can choose between Power Spray for faster cleaning or Power Stream to fill containers faster.

Many of Moen’s faucet designs take a fresh approach to blending modern and classic looks. The traditional yet relaxed Wynford and Colinet collections are good examples of this. The Lindor and Oxby collections, with their linear edges and graceful curves, lean toward the more minimalist side.

Kohler

Operating since 1873 and now one of the best-known names in bathroom fixtures, Kohler offers high-end kitchen and bathroom faucets in a broad range of styles.

The ultra-minimalist Purist collection and geometric Composed collection are perfect for modern homes. If vintage is more your style, try the Artifacts collection or the 1930s Art Deco Pinstripe collection. Faucets in the Margaux collection combine strong lines with smooth curves for the best of both contemporary and classic looks.

More advanced models include Response touchless technology and temperature memory, which lets you turn the water on at your preferred temperature setting.

House of Rohl

Dating from 1897, House of Rohl has built a reputation for elegant brass kitchen and bathroom fixtures, and for bridge faucets in particular. The company currently incorporates three faucet brands.

The Rohl brand focuses on an updated traditional look with distinctive designs such as the Tenerif, featuring crosshatching meant to reflect the trunk of a palm tree, and the Palladian collection, influenced by the lines of the Palladian window.

The Riobel puts modern technology at the forefront, offering touchless operation in the Azure and Trattoria designs.

The Perrin & Rowe brand presents hand-molded, hand-polished antique-style faucets. The brand’s attention to detail stands out, especially in the graceful Edwardian collection and the somewhat more simplified Georgian Era collection.

Hansgrohe

Founded in 1901, this German producer is now owned by the MASCO Group, which also owns the Delta Faucet Company, but their luxury customizable Axor products are still made in Germany.

Faucets with the Select function lets you start or stop the water with a button, AirPower technology provides softer water flow, and QuickClean technology makes it easy to remove mineral scale.

Hansgrohe’s style tends toward sleek and modern, but with a distinctive flair. The slim profile of the Finoris and the industrial chic look of the Metris M71 kitchen faucet stand out from the usual, while the Metropol Classic suits traditional bathrooms well.

Grohe

Established in 1936 by Frederich Grohe, son of Hans Grohe, the company is now owned by the Japanese LIXIL Corporation, but many of its faucets are still made in Germany.

The handy push-button and touchless options in kitchen faucets and the SpeedClean nozzles make the brand’s faucets convenient to use. With the Zedra kitchen faucet, you’ll get a triple-function spray head with stream, shower, and blade sprays. The curves and flowing lines of the Zedra are also found in the Concetto, Costa, Atria New, and Minta collections.

Most of Grohe’s other faucets carry a modern minimalist aesthetic with little detailing, such as the angular models in the Eurosmart, Eurocube, and Allure Brilliant collections. While they offer comparable quality to Hansgrohe faucets, Grohe faucets are often priced lower.

Toto

Although most of this Japanese company’s faucets are manufactured abroad, they still offer the high-tech performance and reliability the company has built its reputation on.

Toto’s proprietary ceramic cartridge is especially well known for its durability. Their Safety Thermo system is the first to use SMA (Shape Memory Alloy) to minimize temperature fluctuation and protect you from burns. LED lights also help alert you to temperature changes. Faucets with Toto’s Slow Flow technology provide strong flow with minimal backsplash. Several touchless models are available.

Faucets in the GB, GE, and Upton collections stand out for their structured, geometric look, while models in the GF, GM, and GO collections are designed with fluid lines. For more traditional forms, look to the Vivian and Connely faucets.

Although high-end toilets do essentially the same job as standard models, they offer additional features for comfort and hygiene that make taking care of your daily needs just a little easier.

Exceptional Cleanliness and Comfort

Performance and appearance are the primary factors that set luxury toilets apart from their traditional counterparts. Many high-end toilet brands include shower toilets, or toilets with an integrated bidet, in their product lines. These give you all the benefits of a bidet without the need for space to accommodate a separate unit.

Little conveniences such as lighting, seat heating, and deodorization are fairly easy to find on higher quality toilets, but the truly luxury models offer advanced features such as touchless operation, foot warmers, and noise masking.

In terms of design, high-end brands go beyond the average with minimalist models that evoke an atmosphere of refreshment and relaxation, as well as more decorative models that lend personality to your bathroom. Rimless, skirted designs are common not just for their modern look, but also because they’re easier to clean.

High-End Toilet Brands to Watch

ToTo

Founded in 1917, Japanese manufacturer ToTo is today among the most respected toilet brands worldwide. The company’s designers aim to blend hygienic living with modern minimalist aesthetics, and few other toilets offer as many state-of-the-art features.

Toto’s best known product, the Washlet unit, is a toilet seat with a bidet function that fits onto a standard toilet. The most advanced model offers hands-free operation with automatic lid open/close and automatic flushing, warm-water cleansing and warm-air dry functions, as well as lighting, seat heating, deodorization, and even a privacy button that plays white noise.

Toto’s Neorest and Aquia toilet lines include many of the same features, and the Neorest’s sleek, low-profile is a perfect fit for minimalist homes. Most higher-end models use ToTo’s proprietary 3D Tornado Flush system, which promises to keep the bowl cleaner for longer with minimal water use.

Kohler

Producing toilets since 1883, Kohler is one of the oldest and best known names in American bathroom fixtures. The Veil, Eir, and Karing lines of intelligent toilets offer modern comforts such as hands-free operation, warm-water cleansing and warm-air drying, heated seats, and deodorization.

The Numi, Kohler’s most innovative high-end toilet, takes luxury even further. In addition to the features found in the intelligent toilet lines, it also offers user presets, ambient lighting in a variety of colors, UV sanitization, and a foot warmer. If your power goes out, the Numi can still support up to 100 flushes.

The Numi 1.0 uses Bluetooth to sync to devices so you can enjoy your choice of music. The Numi 2.0 works with Amazon Alexa, letting you personalize your bathroom experience with voice commands alone.

INAX

This Japanese firm, operating since 1924, has grown to carry a small selection of thoughtfully designed toilets with luxury features such as hands-free operation, deodorization, and foam cushioning that minimizes splashing.

Designs are grouped into the S600, S400, and S200 lines. The S600 line features the SATIS G shower toilet constructed from rounded rectangles, or squovals, for a contemporary look. The S400 line includes easy-clean rimless one-piece and close coupled toilets that combine the softness of the squoval with simple straight lines. The S200 line’s rimless one-piece and close coupled toilets are designed with a shorter depth, but wider seats than standard toilets, making them ideal for compact urban living.

Laufen

Swiss bathroom fixture company Laufen, founded in 1892, offers primarily floorstanding and wall-hung toilets, along with a few one-piece models. Laufen’s designs focus primarily on aesthetics, blending Swiss precision with expressive Italian flourishes. While the designs suit modern needs, they offer relatively few advanced features.  

Laufen’s shower toilet, the Cleanet, provides warm-water cleansing and air drying with adjustable, programmable settings managed by remote control or touch screen. The Sonar line of easy-clean rimless toilets are designed for optimal hygiene. For a truly distinctive minimalist look, consider the Ilbagnoalessi One line, created by Italian furniture designer Stefano Giovannoni. Designed to resemble a water-smoothed stone, this model’s flowing lines let it hide in plain sight.

DXV

In celebration of more than 140 years producing bathroom fixtures, American Standard launched the DXV brand to represent design periods that have influenced the company’s products. Models are grouped into the decorative Classic, refined Golden Era, sleek Modern, and eclectic Contemporary lines.

Aesthetics, rather than high-tech features, are at the forefront of this brand, but every model is built for lasting performance with American Standard’s proprietary microbe-inhibiting EverClean glaze additive and slow-close toilet seats. If you’re looking to remodel an older home, this brand is an excellent source of toilets and other fixtures that will help you maintain your bathroom’s historic character.

WoodBridge Bath

A relative newcomer to the bathroom fixture scene, WoodBridge produces a small selection of high-end toilets. The luxury B0980S Intelligent Smart Toilet offers an elegant low-profile design, integrated bidet with a warm-air dryer, hands-free operation, lighting, seat heating, deodorization, and a flushing system that’s both efficient and quiet. The more budget-friendly T-0008 toilet with a bidet seat shares many of the same features, although the design is similar to that of a standard toilet with an elongated seat.

Nameek’s

If you’re looking for a distinctive design and don’t need a lot of bells and whistles, Nameek’s imaginative bathroom fixtures could be a perfect fit. In the Ibiza, Mona, Next, and Noura collections, you’ll find square wall-mount toilets that stand out from the usual rounded designs. The Planet collection, produced by Scarabeo of Italy, features a spherical wall-mounted toilet that’s just as unconventional. Most of Nameek’s toilets include a soft-close seat, but are made from ceramic rather than more durable porcelain.

With no need for water, dry toilets make safe waste management possible where standard wastewater treatment systems are impractical. They’re ideal for homes in remote areas or regions where water shortages are common. Dry toilet systems vary in their requirements and the type of waste they produce. The system that will best meet your needs depends on your available space, source of power, whether or not you want compost, and your budget.

Composting Toilets

The most common type of dry toilet, a composting toilet, collects waste in a sealed chamber beneath the toilet seat. The system takes advantage of the natural decomposition process to turn this waste into nutrient-rich organic material known as compost. Because of this, composting toilets can process only human waste and toilet paper. Anything else can harm the microorganisms that break down the waste.

Human waste is mostly water. A composting toilet evaporates this water by using an electric ventilation fan to draw air through the collection chamber. The resulting carbon dioxide and water vapor are carried away through the vent system into the outdoor air.

The remaining solid waste material gradually moves down a sloping floor as it decomposes and more waste is added. It eventually passes into a hummus chamber where you can access the ready compost. Liquids drain away into an absorption trench. In most home systems, the composting chamber is installed below floor level, so the toilet can’t be easily moved. Small self-contained systems for tiny houses and mobile use are an alternative.

These toilets require some monitoring to keep the compost well aerated. In freezing temperatures, the decomposition process might stop, but it will start again when the weather warms up. When working correctly, they produce very little odor.

Every one to six months, depending on how often the toilet is used, you can remove the compost to use on your lawn, landscaping plants, and fruit trees, although it’s not suitable for edible plants.

Incinerating Toilets

Incinerating toilets collect waste in a holding tank below the seat and uses high heat to burn the waste to ash. Combustion gases are released through a vent to the outdoors. The resulting ash is sterile, so you can throw it away with your normal household trash. This convenience makes the toilets practical for locations where composting isn’t an option. To use the toilet, you’ll need to line the bowl with a manufacture-provided paper liner first, then press a button or pedal to release the liner and the waste into the holding tank.

Both electric and fuel-burning models are available, making these toilets ideal for remote areas. Electric models, which can run on mains power or batteries, can handle several uses before you’ll need to run the incineration process. The process lasts 30 minutes to around an hour. Depending on the design, fuel-burning models can store up to 60 uses before incineration is necessary. Because there’s more material to burn, the incineration process takes somewhat longer than for an electric model.

Typically, these toilets produce even less odor than composting toilets, although you’ll probably notice a slight burning odor when the incineration process starts. Spraying an aerosol masking foam into the holding tank helps keep odors down between incinerations.

The ash container should be emptied daily to weekly depending on use and capacity, but the process is faster and less labor-intensive than removing compost. Unlike composting toilets, they aren’t sensitive to temperature. Most models aren’t anchored to the floor, so they’re easy to move. You’ll only need to relocate the vent pipe. On the downside, they’re several times more expensive than composting models, but don’t provide compost that can benefit your landscape.

Urine-Diverting Dry Toilets (UDDT)

A UDDT collects urine from the front of the toilet, while solid waste falls through a hole in the back and collects in a separate chamber. A small amount of material such as soil, sawdust, sand, ash, or lime is then poured into the hole to speed the drying process, reduce odors, and help kill off pathogens. A ventilation pipe leading from the solid waste chamber carries away moisture and odors. When the solid waste chamber is full, the dried material can be removed and composted.

This differs from a traditional composting toilet, in which liquid and solid waste end up in the same chamber. With the two products separated and contained in sealed chambers, the toilet produces next to no odor. UDDTs are easy and cheap to build, making them popular in less developed areas.

The main drawback is that you’ll need to take care when using the toilet so that no waste material enters the wrong chamber. If this happens, the toilet can become clogged and fail, causing odors.

Freezing Toilets

These dry toilets aren’t common, but they can be useful in locations with mains power, but no sewage system. Waste is collected in a bag-lined holding chamber contained within the toilet system. Using the same process as an ordinary freezer, the toilet quickly freezes the waste to slow microbial activity and prevent odors.

Most operate at a temperature between 0 to 7 degrees, a little warmer than the average freezer. When the toilet is full, you can empty it into a composter for kitchen or garden waste to get compost for use on non-edible plants.

Freezing toilets don’t need ventilation systems, so they’re entirely self-contained. That makes them easy to install and highly portable. Heated seats and other features protect you from the cold of the holding chamber. The purchase price is typically a little less than for an incinerating toilet, but still higher than a traditional composting toilet. These toilets freeze slowly at room temperatures above 75 degrees, so they’re not ideal for unairconditioned homes in hot climates.

Whether the traditional options aren’t practical for your home or you just want to reduce your water consumption, a dry toilet offers a safe, convenient alternative for managing your sanitation needs.

Incinerating toilets offer many of the benefits of composting toilets without the fuss of having to tend compost. They run on electricity or fuel and produce little waste, so they’re convenient for remote locations and mobile uses where running water isn’t available. The main drawback of these toilets is cost.

How Incinerating Toilets Minimize Waste

Powered by electricity or a fuel such as natural gas or propane, incinerating toilets produce heat that burns liquid and solid waste into sterile ash. Because they don’t use water, they don’t need plumbing or a sewage system.

Electric models are either battery operated or plugged into a wall outlet. Fuel-burning models can be installed anywhere with a fuel tank or permanent fuel line. These models also use a 12V DC battery to power the control panel and ventilation fan. Most models are self-contained, with the incinerator under the seat, but some allow for an incinerator located outside the toilet.

Before using the toilet, you’ll need to line the bowl with a manufacturer-provided paper filter, which helps keep the bowl clean. Then use the toilet normally. When you’re done, close the lid and “flush” either by pressing a button or stepping on a foot pedal. This releases the waste and the bowl liner into a chamber below.  

With an electric incinerating toilet, how often you need to run the incineration cycle depends on the model. It varies from one to six uses. To start the cycle, just press the start button. The process takes from 30 minutes for liquid waste to around an hour for solid waste.

Depending on the design and the size, a fuel-burning model can typically accommodate between 30 to 60 uses in the holding tank before you need to start the incineration process. After each use, you’ll spray an aerosol masking foam into the holding tank to hold down odors. An indicator light tells you when the holding tank is full.

When you’re ready to incinerate, add a package of anti-foam agent to reduce the risk of the liquid waste boiling over. You’ll then need to put the cover plug on the incineration chamber, then activate the incineration cycle. The process lasts for one to four hours, depending on the size of the load, and you won’t be able to use the toilet during this time.

In both electric and fuel-burning models, the waste is incinerated in a closed chamber, and exhaust gasses are discharged outdoors through the exhaust pipe. Each use of the toilet produces around a tablespoon of ash, which must be cleaned out regularly. The ashes are sterile, so you can throw them into your household trash.

Pros: Convenient and Waterless

Flexible

With no need for plumbing, these toilets can be used almost anywhere. Models are available for fixed locations, such as homes, and mobile uses, such as RVs and boats. For fuel-burning models, options include natural gas, diesel, propane, and kerosene. These toilets aren’t fixed to the floor, so it’s easy to move them if you decide to remodel your bathroom.

Most work reliably in unheated buildings, even in temperatures below freezing. That means no worrying about frozen pipes or keeping compost warm, although propane-fueled models need protection from extreme cold.

Waterless

Incinerating toilets cut down on your water use, lowering your bills. They’re a clean, hassle-free option for remote buildings without running water. In areas with water shortages, they help conserve clean water for more important uses.

Easy Maintenance

Unlike composting toilets, incinerating toilets don’t require you to tend the waste by turning or adding chemicals or by taking the processed waste outdoors. To maintain an incinerating toilet, you’ll need to empty the ash periodically, clean the blower motor every three months and replace it when it wears out, as well as clean the exhaust and ventilation pipes and the catalyst once a year.

Low Odor and Low Noise

Incinerating toilets produce a slight burning odor just after the incinerator starts up, but this dissipates quickly, and it’s less than the odor from a composting toilet. Depending on wind conditions, you and your neighbors might notice some odor outdoors from the exhaust vent, but this soon dissipates. Choosing the right venting location keeps odors to a minimum. The typical model operates at around 55 db, the same noise level as a percolating coffee maker.

Cons: Higher Costs and No Landscaping Benefits

High Costs

The purchase price of an incinerating toilet is around two to three times higher than that of a composting toilet. The lower water bills are offset by higher power or fuel costs. The average electric model uses around 1.5 kWh per incinerating cycle. So at two cycles a day, that’s more energy than a typical refrigerator uses in a day. Some composting toilets use just as much electricity to run the ventilation fan.

No Compost

While you won’t waste water, you also won’t get the environmental benefits of producing nutrient-rich compost for your landscaping plants. The incinerator’s heat burns away most of the nutrients in the waste, so the ash isn’t much good for your plants. The process also produces greenhouse gases, making these toilets less eco-friendly compared to composting models.

More Frequent Cleaning

With an incinerating toilet for a family of four, you’ll need to empty the ashes anywhere from daily to weekly, depending on the system’s capacity. With a composting toilet, you can go 1 to 6 months without the need to empty it.

If you’re looking for an environmentally friendly way to deal with waste when plumbing isn’t available, an incinerating toilet is one of the simplest solutions.