Outhouse

Outhouse with a traditional heart hole in the door

Outhouse in the building

School toilet from Portz around 1900 in the folklore and open-air museum Roscheider Hof

Row outhouse of the Bundeswehr (former Jägerslust military training area )

Outhouse is the colloquial term for a toilet without flushing water (dry toilet), in which the feces and urine fall into a box or pit and remain there until the pit or box is filled and the contents are disposed of. Alternatively, the pit - called a septic tank - is filled in and a new one is dug some distance away; this process is repeated cyclically ("wandering outhouse"). Outhouse toilets are to be distinguished from other dry toilets , such as compost toilets or dry separation toilets .

Historical

In ancient Rome , outhouse toilets with multiple seats (without a partition ) for use by several people at the same time were common. There, going to the toilet was considered a social affair, traders could talk about business, and today people still talk about doing business . The outhouse is a further development of Stehklos with a horizontally mounted bar for sitting (in the vernacular " Donnerbalken be considered").

In the past, outhouse toilets were common in cities with no sanitation . The feces were collected in cesspools and pumped out regularly. The convenience of these toilets was largely modeled on the water closet. Instead of washing, a flap at the lower end of the ceramic basin was opened and, if necessary, cleaned with a little water from a jug next to it.

The so-called "cantilever" is a special form of the outhouse. Located on the first floor, located mostly gable side directly above the manure pile, was in a bay-like cultivation of the so-called resignation or abortion . The soft late hay (Grummet) stored directly next to it was used for cleaning. The feces fell on the dung heap or in the case of castles and palaces in the open area. See also Aborterker .

archeology

In the archaeological area, septic tanks under an outhouse are called cesspools. During the Middle Ages and early modern times , in addition to their function as toilets, they were also used in cities to dispose of all kinds of waste. During excavations , everyday objects are therefore often found in them. These include mainly ceramic and glass finds. In many cases there are excellent conservation conditions for organic materials (e.g. wood, leather) in sewers, so that everyday objects can be salvaged here that would otherwise not have survived. The conservation is due to the location in the area of influence of the groundwater and the compact storage of the faecal layers. Since there is no ventilation, the decomposition of the sewer sediments is inhibited.

Outhouse today

Outhouses are still common today, especially in poorer countries.

Outhouses are also still relatively common in rural areas of Sweden and Finland. They are mainly found in connection with older buildings that are used today as leisure houses ( Stuga , Mökki ). The Swedish name is "Dass" or "Utedass" (outdoor toilet), which can be traced back to the article in the German term " das Haus". For proper disposal of faeces which ensures surcharge community . A disposal subscription can be limited to the summer months. Pit toilets are also set up on Swedish beaches or in Finnish national parks.

According to a decision by the LG Hamburg, an outhouse is sufficient for a holiday home on a natural plot of land without the landlord having to explicitly point this out.

Outhouse on railroad trains

Downspout toilet on a historic train

To this day, outhouse toilets ( downpipe toilet ; "open construction") are used in railroad trains. Feces and urine are drained onto the tracks through a flap and a rubber and / or metal pipe, which is why their use in train stations is prohibited. The advantage is that these toilets hardly need any maintenance. Aside from regular cleaning, the water tank above the ceiling needs to be refilled and toilet paper added. In addition, the thick downpipes are relatively insensitive to blockages. A disadvantage is the pollution of the sleepers, the embankment and the properties below bridges and viaducts with faeces.

On German trains, outhouses have now been largely replaced by vacuum toilets , which allow a closed sewage system.

Open toilets are an additional nuisance for workers on construction sites. At the construction site in the underground part of Zurich's main train station , the pollution from faeces even led to a strike by construction workers in autumn 2011. At the Swiss SBB , 42% of the trains or around 1,300 wagons still had open toilets in 2011, which should not be completely converted or replaced until 2019.

High-speed trains cannot be equipped with toilets of this type, as the fluctuations in air pressure that occur when entering a tunnel at high speed could push back the contents of the downpipe. In any case, an open connection to the outside would not be possible on high-speed trains with pressurized cabins .

literature

Exit, Häussgen, secretly room. In: Johann Heinrich Zedler : Large complete universal lexicon of all sciences and arts . Volume 1, Leipzig 1732, column 213.
Daniel Furrer: water throne and thunder beam. A small cultural history of the quiet place. 2nd revised edition, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 2007, ISBN 978-3-89678-248-9 .
Roy Palmer: The toilet also has its history (original title: The Water Closet. A New History, translated by Charles Glanzmann and Rudolf Kulzer). Pfriemer, Munich 1987, ISBN 3-7906-0067-9 .
Mila Schrader: Outhouse, toilet, quiet place . Edition Andersweit, Sudesburg-Hösseringen 2003, ISBN 3-931824-25-X . Digitized version ( memento from July 5, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 1.27 MB).