Imagine for a moment you’re in charge of an area that needs to either house multiple people or provide amenities to various people. Yet, there are no running water or sewer lines anywhere near, and it’s not viable to connect to mains water or sewer options. This throws up several hurdles – the most pressing, waste management and toilets. How can you manage a site’s waste with potentially hundreds of people visiting it? The easy answer is a dry vault toilet restroom.
When considering a toilet system for your campground, eco-resort, mining site or road stop, many councils and businesses think of dry vault toilets. These are a non-flush toilet option that enables waste to be stored in an underground tank (typically plastic or concrete) to be held until they are full. Once full, they’re pumped out, and waste is then processed offsite.
Isn’t a dry vault toilet just like a septic tank?
Whilst there are similarities between these two types of toilets, a dry vault toilet differs from a septic tank system. Both systems store waste in an underground storage tank; however, septic tanks don’t typically have a restroom building constructed over the top of it.
The other main difference between these two systems is that septic tanks are typically constructed where there is an abundance of running water. This water is transported to the tank where the liquid then flows out through a series of pipes into the ground. Dry vault toilets on the other hand will typically just hold the waste for future processing.
Where are dry vault toilets used?
Dry vault toilets don’t require the use of water, therefore they’re a very popular toilet option for:-
- Campgrounds
- Caravan parks
- Roadstops
- Mining sites
- Remote locations
- Eco-resorts
- National parks
- Clubhouses
- Football grounds
Do you flush a dry vault toilet?
No. Dry vault toilets don’t use a flush mechanism as the waste will drop into the container underneath the toilet building. This is similar to how a composting toilet works in that waste is collected in storage containers, whereas dry vault toilets have the waste pumped out after some time. In contrast, composting toilets will break down human waste into a usable top-soil-like product.
What type of buildings can be built over the top of a dry vault toilet?
Dry vault toilets have particular requirements for the types of buildings that can go over the top of them. The design needs to consider the tank type, the pump-out and inspection point, the extraction pipes and accessible toilet requirements. Luckily our range of LooCubes are the perfect building for dry vault toilets, so if you are looking for toilet building options, contact us today.
Do dry vault toilets smell?
Like any piece of equipment, if it’s adequately maintained and everything is in working order, dry vault toilets will not smell. Dry vault toilets may run into issues if there isn’t a reliable septic tank servicing contractor available to pump out the tank when it’s full.
The other potential problem you may face is if the exhaust fans are faulty or vandalised – this may cause the toilet system to smell.
Besides that, dry vault toilets are a low maintenance toilet option for areas that don’t have access to mains water.
How often will you be required to pump out?
This will depend on the size of your tank and the frequency in which the toilet is used. Obviously, if there is higher usage, this will fill up the tank quicker and may lead to more regular pump-outs.
If you would like to know more about our vault toilet buildings, please contact us.
