If you have a composting toilet, you know about keeping the “pee container” clean. The various toilet manufacturers recommend using either vinegar or sugar to keep the container odor-free and to keep deposits from building up in the bowl and tank. We tried both and felt that vinegar was by far the better. We’d put about a half inch of white vinegar in the urine container after we’d dump it, and then spray down the bowl with a 50/50 vinegar/water mix after every time we used it.
This worked okay, but there were a couple of problems. First, solids would collect in the container, despite our best efforts to rinse it out. Second, while we took several gallons of vinegar with us to the Bahamas when we last went, we didn’t have room for enough for three months. And it turned out that gallons of vinegar were VERY expensive in the Bahamas. We ended up using the less satisfactory but way more affordable sugar for the second half of our trip.
Then Sean, a reader, left a comment on my Composting Toilet article, telling about Urine Digester. It’s a bio-enzymatic liquid designed for treating pet accidents in carpet and the like. We definitely prefer it to vinegar or sugar.
Urine Digester has several advantages:
- It is equally effective as vinegar in stopping urine odor; more effective than sugar.
- It smells better in the head when spraying it after using the toilet.
- It is more effective than vinegar or sugar in preventing any deposits building up in the toilet or urine container.
- We use way less Urine Digester than we did vinegar. One gallon will last close to 3 months.
We fill a spray bottle 50/50 with Urine Digester and water. When we empty the urine container, we put about a cup of water in and swish it around, then empty. Then we give three or four sprays with the Urine Digester inside the container and it’s good to go. Then every time we pee, we spray two or three squirts in the bowl after. This both cleans the bowl and adds a bit more Urine Digester to the container.
A gallon of Urine Digester costs about $20 but lasts close to 3 months. In the US, pretty equivalent to what three months’ worth of vinegar would cost. But it’s decidedly cheaper than vinegar in the Bahamas (we paid almost $20 for one gallon on Eleuthera). Further, we don’t have to carry nearly so much with us, which is always a huge benefit on any small boat.
The only place I’ve found Urine Digester is Amazon:
- Urine Digester, 1 gallon, original scent
- Urine Digester, 32 oz, original scent
It is also available in quart bottles, which would last about 3 weeks of full-time use, and also in other scents.
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Bill on SV Denali Rose says
Thanks, Carolyn. It is good to hear about the bio-enzymes that work for their intended purposes.
I can’t find an unscented version of Urine Digester. How strong is the scent of the version you are using? [Asthma keeps us wary of scented products…] We want to give it a try.
RE: Urine jug odors and scale: As you mentioned, we too had little success with sugar; vinegar was better. But the odor [when emptying] and scale issues still remained.
Experiments lead us to Oxyclean powder [unscented of course…]. We add ~ 1/2 tsp to the jug after emptying and rinsing. There are absolutely no odors, and no scale build-up. [The first application will remove residual odors and scale as well.]
And we already have Oxyclean on hand for laundry…
I hope Nilodor releases an unscented version of Urine Digester in the future so we can add it to our arsenal… Meanwhile we make do with the no scent Marine Digestit and Clean Potty bioenzymatic ‘cleaners’.
PS: One of my next projects is replacing the urine jug on our Nature’s Head with a hose to a holding tank much lower in the boat. Urine Digester may be perfect for keeping that tank treated. Stay tuned…
Ana SV AMI VOS says
Great advice here and from Bill, above. Just a comment with vinegar, you can buy concentrated acetic acid from amazon and make your own vinegar percentage. From 30% to I think 100%.
Carolyn Shearlock says
I’ve written before about concentrated vinegar: it sounds like a great space-saving alternative but is EXTREMELY corrosive.
Sailing Cyclops says
Oxyclean is the best choice, in my couple years of experience. I began using vinegar, but found that it left crystals in the collection container, didn’t prevent pink slime mold from growing inside the urine drain area, and (of course) smelled like vinegar. Oxyclean solves all of those problems, and one tub of it will last a year or more, while taking up next to no storage room. If any Oxyclean powder is evaporated onto the bowl, a spray of vinegar will dissolve it immediately. I find that I do this every 4-8 weeks, so very little vinegar is used.
Sailing Cyclops says
Update, I’ve switched to using a wash bottle instead of a sprayer. A wash bottle is a squeezable soft plastic bottle with a very thin outlet “spout”, typically used in chemistry labs, and they are very cheaply available on Amazon. Its directed stream works better than a spray bottle, as there’s no overspray.
Donna Blaszcak says
I’ve been using this product ever since I saw your write-up about it, and it works great. However, unfortunately this product has been out of stock at Amazon for a while : (
Carolyn Shearlock says
I got some last March and at that time they were “temporarily” out of the gallon bottles, so I bought a quart. Here’s the link: https://amzn.to/39Z4p0M They’re in stock.
Deneen says
Will this product affect the urine when used (diluted) to fertilize plants in garden? What about oxyclean….same question.
Carolyn Shearlock says
Yes, both will.
Trish says
Thanks for the post.
Would this product dissolve crystals that are already there?
Carolyn Shearlock says
Yes to some extent, but either Marine Digest-It or Super Digest-It are even better: https://amzn.to/442VhDc
Read my article on either one: Marine Digest-It: Holding Tank Treatment for Boats OR Super Digest-It Safe Drain Opener for Boats
Trisha Forrest says
We have a composting toilet. Just began to use the Marine Digester. What a dramatic difference.
Thank you so very much
Trisha aboard Sovereignty