The Owner Built Home & Homestead
(Page 19 of 23)
It should be mentioned in this connection that a very
common cause for unsatisfactory results . . . is improper
height of the toilet seat. It is usually too high. An ideal
seat would place the body in the position naturally assumed
by man in primitive conditions. The seat should be low
enough to bring the knees above the seat level. Williams,
Personal Hygiene Applied, p. 374.
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The high toilet seat may prevent complete evacuation. The
natural position for defecation, assumed by primitive
races, is the squatting position . . . When the thighs are
pressed against the abdominal muscles in this position; the
pressure within the abdomen is greatly increased, so that
the rectum is more completely emptied. Our toilets are not
constructed according to physiological requirements. Aaron,
Our CommonAilment , p.66.
The Thailand government has had a long-established program
of improving rural latrines at Chiengnai. Perhaps the most
recent achievement in this area has been the development of
a water-seal squat-type (squatting plate) toilet bowl that
any farmer can build for less than a dollar's worth of
material. The Thailand Ministry of Health sells a
2-component cast aluminum master mold from which countless
numbers of units can be built. I secured a couple of these
Chiengnai molds for our owes experimentation—and to
loan out to people interested in building their own toilet
bowls.
The finished toilet bowl is quite satisfactory. It takes
about one quart of water to flush the unit—as opposed
to 4 gallons for the conventional water closets. The bowl
can be maintained clean and sanitary without difficulty.
And most important of all, the use of this bowl
necessitates a natural evacuation posture.
The use of a squatting plate suggests a re-evaluation and
redesign of the complete bathroom facility. The room I
propose is in effect a four-foot diameter shower stall. A
single flexible water inlet—of the type commonly used
in Denmark—supplies showering, lavatory washing and
bowl flushing. A single drain disposes of all wash and
flushing water through the bowl trap. (Ideally, a solar
water heater and storage facility directly overhead
supplies consistent warm water needs.) Directly below the
squatting plate an excreta-disposal compartment is
provided.
There are two basic methods of excreta disposal: The
compost privy and the septic tank. The first process is
aerobic and requires oxygen in its fermentation
process of decomposition. The second is anaerobic
and consists of a putrefactive breakdown—in places
where oxygen does not have access. We must choose between
fermentation and putrefaction in our attempt (1) to reclaim
the nutrient and fertilizer value of waste, and (2) to
dispose of excreta waste in a sanitary manner.
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