Van Life Tips | Portable Toilet Gels, Pellets, Pads & Litter Test | Van Life
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ค. 2024
- We tested 4 products used in portable toilets to see which absorbed the most liquid. We also compared three other factors: cost, storage, and waste. Who came out the winner? The results may surprise you.
These are affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you.
Lasyl Portable Toilet Solidifying Gel: amzn.to/3yAPeb6
Aunt Fannie’s Carpet Refresher for Cat Odors & Stains, Neutralizing Powder for Homes with Felines, Kittens or Other Pets, Lemon, 16 Ounce (Pack of 1): amzn.to/3CxYrT8
See the playlists on our channel page for other product and equipment demonstrations.
Time Stamps
00:00 - 00:56 Introduction
00:56 - 01:32 Products weights & measure
01:32 - 09:18 Absorbency test
09:18 - 10:07 Capture test
10:07 - 12:20 Cost comparison
12:20 - 13:32 Purchase frequency
13:32 - 14:23 Storage space
14:23 - 15:00 Solid waste footprint
15:00 - 15:41 The winner?
15:41 - 18:24 Odor control
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Website: www.freethemcgees.com
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#campingtoilets #vanlife #vancamping #vancampingtips #affordabletravel #vantoilets #vantoiletproducts #productreviews #portabletoilet #vanlifetips
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I am so grateful for people like yourself who take the time to do videos that thoroughly address the concerns of curious minds. You covered ALL of my concerns and helped me draw a conclusion that will serve me.
Thank you for your kind words. Our only goal is to present as much information as possible since different viewers have varying priorities when it comes to space, cost, and environmental impact. There are other factors to consider as well, but that is for another video. 🙂
Absolutely magnificent! Magical.
Thanks for the information
Excellent comparison. Tia!
Thank you!
Yes! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences with us.😅❤ God bless.
Thank you for the review! Just bought a tear drop RV and wanted some options for longer boon-docking w out using the black tank! Great job 🎉
What a great informative video! Thank you so much!
Glad it was helpful!
Wow, great video, sold
Thank you for this super thorough comparison! So grateful for folks like you putting in the hours to explore these topics for others on the road!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Good information! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching and the kind comment!
We are testing a mixture of the pine pellets and gel combined to make a single product that also controls odor from #2. So far we are not impressed with the results but will continue to test with varying measurements. The next test will be to use the two products independently. Using the Lasyl as the base for solidifying urine and urine odor control and then sprinkling the pellets that have been converted into sawdust over #2 when required. We'll keep you posted. 🚐🚽Edit: This test is designed for those of you who do not want to deal with a urine diverter and prefer a one bag method.
Wow that is so cool!!!! Thank you for posting, I didn't know about that product. ❤❤❤❤
You're welcome! It has performed great for us. We hope you have the same success!
thank u sooo much for this video ma'am
Most welcome 😊
Vinegar + water with a few drops of essential oil is best for odor control and the cheapest solution. I found adding coffee grounds to the pine pellets is the best for controlling smells to cover #2 (and the timing usually works out :) Biggest cost savings and amount of waste sent to land fill would be from simply using a urine diverter and not solidifying your urine. It's beneficial to dispose of urine on plants if you are in nature and easy to dispose urine in public toilets if you use smaller vessels for collection and you use a good amount of vinegar to remove the odor.
Wow, great review. My wife and I are going to use a Hassock toilet, and I was going to use pine pellets, but now I am going to order the Lasyl for our boondocking.
Glad it was helpful!
I use pine pellets for our cats. Once used they turn to saw dust. I set the saw dust in old pillow cases out in the sun to air out. Then we use it in the bag for #2 and it works great. We use a separator and pour the urine out separately.
Thanks, very informative analysis. Just got a standard minivan and will have many things to buy over time to do self sufficient trips. Lasyl could be a game changer for its weight, space. Eager to watch your video on bags next.
A minivan! That's fantastic! Minimal is the way to go. We've learned just how much stuff we don't need by traveling light. We hope you have some great adventures!
Great video. I have used the pine pellets with urine in a plastic bottle and even after a week in the hot desert, only a pine smell emitted from the container. I have not experimented fecal material, but I have heard countless times not to mix the two (fecal and urine) if you wish to control odors.
Hey thanks for your video, I love the facts!
For me...
It depends how you use the solutions and your gender might influence it too. As a solo male traveler, the pine pellets make a good poop choice since we are usually able to separate the urine with a urinal, from the poop, keeping the pee from making the poop smell even worse and not adding any liquids to the bag. Obviously you now need to carry a bag and a urine container for disposal, but it makes the bag (and the pine pellets) last longer.
Agreed! If Hubbie was a single man, he'd have the same setup as you. Us ladies always make things more complicated! It's what we do best! ;) Thanks for watching!
This was a great test. Just ordered the bottle and I don’t mind paying extra for an odor free toilet. But I always go beyond what’s necessary so I’ll do the pellets and the gel. Going to check out your other videos too. Greetings from Las Vegas-Catherine
The pine pellets are great for #2 odor control and can be purchased in smaller quantities than the 40# bag. However, the price per ounce goes up exponentially. We recommend that everyone find that right balance between space and cost that works for them. For now, we keep cedar shavings for the #2 situations which serves pretty much the same purpose with less weight. Just a note: During the course of testing different products to add to/or over the Lysal (for #2), we've noticed that some odor control powders interfere with the absorption rate of the Lysal, so we are still on the hunt for a product that is highly effective in odor control (for #2) but more compact than pellets and shavings. If we solve the problem and conquer the cost, space, waste, and odor control dilemma, we'll let everyone know. 😉
@@freethemcgees Thank you for your reply. As I mentioned I go beyond what is necessary I recently purchased those gel absorbent pads that go into portable toilets but it does the same as the Lysal. For whatever reason we would need to use inside our home if we have plumbing failure it’ll work too but again just another backup. The 3 is 2, 2 is 1, 1 is none doesn’t pertain to me as I go by 10 is 9, 9 is 8 and etc….my husband doesn’t get it but it makes perfect sense to me, lol!
Thanks for the information. I personally rather use the pine pelets, you just have to use more. They can be used on the lawn afterwards as compost for non edible plants...
Pellets! easy and cheap
Yes they are! A little on the heavy and bulky side but definitely the cheapest option.
A little dab will do you dont need alot@@freethemcgees
Thank you for doing this. I'd love to see what the pine pellets do with more of them. Also what a mix of pine pellets and Lysel does.
We recently made a mixture of the pine pellets (after we turned them to saw dust, as recommended by a viewer) with the Lysol and a little carpet freshener (strictly for the pleasant odor). We're testing them for absorbance and odor control for those who don't want the hassle of dealing with a urine separator. We'll post the results after testing it a few times.
@@freethemcgees thank you
In use them in my class b rv rather than water going in the black tank. Two scoops last 24 hours with no odor or leaks, and the texture is like damp sand. I line the toilet bowl with a good quality trash bag. But, for space, I may try the Lasyal.
We are just building our composting toilet... from what we had watched on TH-cam it is necessary to separate the urine from the poop - it is the mix that makes it all smell... this is how we are going: the urine is in a separate jug, and the poop is going to be covered with the pine pellets - they are sitting outside in the sun in garden trays - I am turning it into sawdust and then dried before we venture off. The pellets/sawdust cut the oder and the urine gets emptied each day, the jug rinsed. The bag with the poop needs to be emptied once a week. Wish us luck! Should also mention it is a 5 gal bucket in a nice built box, not a bought composting toilet where you have to find a dumping place for the bottom holder.
Sounds like a great system. I like the idea of turning the pellets to sawdust. I can see that working much better for coverage.
We are on our first trial run - 2 weeks and home in 2 days - love the toilet! Really impressed by the pellet sawdust! The only thing I am going to change is to use Dr Bonners peppermint soap with water dilution to spray the urine separator after use.
I'm sorry I missed this reply. I've heard that keeping the funnel clean and sterile is a must when using a urine diverter and Dr. Bonners seems to be the go to, so good choice! PS - I've passed along the hack to turn the pellets to sawdust instead of leaving them pelletized! This was a great hack!
This was great! Thank you! Where and how do you dispose of the used gel?
It can be tossed anyplace you would normally dispose of pet waste. We do take care to make sure our bags are sealed well, as a courtesy to others using the same receptacle.
@@freethemcgees thank you!
Absolutely wonderful and cool video!
How much lasyl do you use? Also, what bags do you use for toilet? (Sorry if I missed in video)
We use 1 capful at a time and that usually does the trick for the entire day plus. We have a video on how I make the bags we use here: th-cam.com/video/K2pyyADRERc/w-d-xo.html
thank you for the video .... just to clarify, the lasyl DOES work to contain /dehydrate / solidify poop? I use the pine pellets for cat litter do I already had those on hand and yes those trap oder well and dehydrate poop for a faster compost and breakdown of bacterial
IMHO the lasyl does NOT do an adequate job controlling poop odor at all. It's awesome for urine, and extremely compact, but pine pellets are the best for odor when it comes to 💩. We'd hoped to find a more compact and lightweight solution, but nothing does the job any better so far.
@@freethemcgees thank you very much! I too was looking for a more space saving option. I guess I will stick with the pine. Appreciate it. Happy travels
I fill my potty with the skulls of my vanquished enemies!
(and kitty litter)
Oh My! That's hilarious! This has got to be the funniest comment I've read so far!🤣🤣🤣
Hmmm, I'm wondering if you happen to have unfortunately picked up a bad bag of pellets because we've been using them for a couple of years and they not only absorb quickly but a lot! However, that was quite a lot of water, imo, and I think it would have been more fair to use the amount that most people put out each time they do "number 1". Our "Luggable Loo" gets used many times/day and the pellets always absorb and expand. Sometimes we have sprinkled a few more in but again, they continued to expand with every use and I also noticed that when you went back and gave each container a shake, that the pellets looks almost completely dissolved which is something I have NEVER seen them do and why I wonder if you may have just gotten a bad bag. Normally, they would have been totally expanded. We had also initially tried the kitty litter and you're right, it failed.
Thanks for your thoughts, and sorry for the long response. I hope to explain why the test was performed in the way it was.
I hear what you are saying, it did seem to be an unfair test due to the amount of water, but to use less water just so the pellets would perform better, would not have been a controlled experiment. The reason I say this, is that the puppy pee pads (equal weight) and the powder (half the weight) had no problem absorbing that amount of water, whereas the kitty litter and the pellets (with equal weight to the puppy pads and double the weight of the powder) could not. The point of the experiment was to find out which product was the most absorbent overall by weight - as to figure out the other factors, (cost per ounce needed & end volume of solid waste produced) and I thought the results were pretty conclusive.
As for the amount of water I used, I explained that it was equivalent to the amount of urine produced by a single person in a day. So yes, pellets would work, but you would have to keep adding them, as you said, meaning the weight of the material needed to absorb the same amount of liquid would have far exceeded the puppy pads and powder. This would result in much more product having to be used, and a larger volume of material to be discarded by the end of the day. Since I had to decrease the amount of powder product by half to perform the test in a half gallon jar also demonstrates that its absorbency rate is superior - even to the puppy pads.
That said, the pellets win the smell test hands down and for covering the odor of #2 - nothing we have tried comes close! I even use them in the bottom of my Iguana enclosures at our home, given iguanas have a very low liquid discharge, the pine pellets last quite a long time and their habitats do not smell like a zoo. We also use them (or cedar shavings) to help mask the smell of #2 in the portable toilet in our van, by sprinkling them over the top. As suggested, by a viewer, this works best if you turn the pellets into a powder first. And also, they are cheap, albeit bulky. So, I agree they serve a purpose and definitely have their place in the portable toilet world - lot's of people use them - it's just not the most practical or compact go to for urine.
All of that said, for urine, which is the bulk of our solid waste (we attempt to only #2 in an emergency as there are usually bathrooms at trailheads, stores, gas stations, parks, restaurants, etc., this helps us keep odor control issues in the van to a minimum) we have yet to find a product that performs as well as the powder.
I hope this brought a little clarity that may not have been explained sufficiently in the video. Happy Travels!
@@freethemcgees Got it, thanks!
I would need to know exactly how this winning product would relate to actual use in a potty and as far as smell tests. Those tests would have to involve the substances that have been missing from the tests.
There is a short discussion on odor control at the 16:15 mark. This is based on our use of the product. Hope this helps.
have you tried the carpet cleaner with #2s yet?
Yes, it works okay-ish and you have to use A LOT. Cedar shavings and pine pellets work better.
Well the lasyl be heavy when fully all soak up? Thanks
The weight will be almost equivalent to the amount of liquid introduced. One gallon will be a little over 8 lbs. respectively.
Two things:
1. I believe the pee-pads did as well as they did because they are filled with a product similar to the Li-syl (at least my dog's are).
2. You tested water, not urine, so might the chemical reaction for both pellets and litter be different with urine versus water?
Still, I appreciate that you did some testing for us. Thanks😊
Because we use the lysal on a regular basis I can attest to the reaction with urine being consistent with the reaction with water. We use the pine pellets in the bottom of our animal cages and there seems to be no different of a reaction with animal waste either. And I agree, my assumption was the same as yours as to why the puppy pads performed so well. I know the test is not perfectly scientific, but I did the best with what I had to work with. 😉❤️
.@@freethemcgees Thanks for the input
how is the lycel disposed of
You can throw it in the trash just as you would any diaper, dog waste bag, puppy pee pad, or adult incontinence product. The product is degradable.
Wallpaper paste granules?
That's a new one for us! Have you tried it? If so, how well did it work?
Have you found anything else for deodorizes the pop smell?
Did the EcoGel product deodorize poo smell sufficiently? Maybe it’s worth the cost if nothing else can do it
I would say it helps some, but at about the same level as pine or cedar shavings and it would have to be used the same way - by adding more gel to cover the solids.
Here is a detailed explanation as to why this is an impossible task: There is no way to get rid of the smell completely, IMHO. Even in composting toilets, the decomposition of the material releases gas as a natural process. This gas gets trapped inside your toilet and/or van. The only way to control this buildup is to have a good ventilation system hooked to your toilet and vent the gases outside of the vehicle. Think about how pit toilets are designed with an updraft system for ventilation.
Therefore, the main task is simply to mask the odor as much as possible. For odor control Eco Gel works great for liquids, but only "helps somewhat" with solids. Pine pellets do a fair job with solids, but do not have a great absorption rate with liquids. In short, you have to pick your battle because you will never be completely odor free unless you can use electric fans and a "chimney" to vent out all smells and they will need to run almost continuously if a fair amount of solids are involved.
The good news is, after a while, with the use of some odor masking medium, you do become partially nose-blind to the whole mess. It's sort of like living with pets. You won't notice it as much, but everyone else will. LOL!
In another video we talk about making our own bags. The reason we do this is to give ourselves the ability to change the bag more frequently without a lot of added cost. #2 does not stick around in our van for long at all! This has, by far, been the best solution we have found: The gel for liquids, covering solids with pine or cedar, discarding a bag if it becomes impossible to cover the odor adequately which will happen no matter what! Think burrito vs pasta. ;)
Keep the urine separate from the poop!
Is the lasyl a one shot deal or will it keep working
It will keep working up to 1/2 gallon (max) of liquid. For large buckets you can always keep adding powder until your bucket is full. However, I do not recommend throwing a lot of TP in with it as the paper seems to hinder the absorption process. It might be because the paper blocks the liquid from making good contact, or it could be the weight of the paper hinders the expansion process. I'll have to do additional testing to see if I can nail that down. My solution has been to keep a little baggie for the paper and when it's time to replace the toilet bag I toss the paper in at the end.
Does the lasyl control odor?
It does an okay job of absorbing urine odor. It hasn't been an issue for us. But we do change the bag every few days so we don't get caught with our pants down ;) However, leaving it in hot environments for extended periods of time, or using the powder to a point of over-absorption will affect the performance. It DOES NOT control the odor caused by solid waste. We recommend adding pine pellets or pine shavings for solids on an as needed basis. If we find a product that checks all of those boxes we'll be sure to let you know.
I found some Aunt Fannie’s carpet refresher at TJMaxx last night for $5.99 and picked some up. How has it been worked for you? I really enjoyed watching and learning from all of your toilet videos! Very thorough.
Nice find! ~ It gives the van a nice fresh scent, so we are sticking with it for now. However, it's not as strong as the lemon scent from the expensive Eco Gel product so we're still sealing and changing the bag after #2. In short, the search continues.
Even though the Pine Pellets aren't the best choice for absorbing and holding liquid, they are pretty good for #2 odor control if sprinkled on top to cover the "pile". That said, they tend to be a little strong in close quarters. The fumes they put off irritate MY eyes, but I haven't heard that complaint from anyone else so it might be an individual sensitivity. Thanks for watching!
What good was the smell test with just water??
You're right! Absolutely no value other than to see if we liked the smell before the product becomes contaminated! Great point! LOL!
Thx!
Why would you want to solidify urine? When you solidify it you need to throw it out. That just adds to waste in a landfill. Why not just collect your urine in a container and dump it in the weeds? And just use pine pellets for #2.
With cat litter the end product is too heavy compared to the pine pellets.
Good question, as I know a lot of people do this. Contrary to popular belief, urine is not sterile and poses a public health safety risk. Urine contains any of over 100 identified bacteria; these bacteria can cause disease outbreaks and effect biodiversity.
Biodiversity: Urine should be diluted with water at a rate of 1:5 to 1:8 to reduce the risk of damage to vegetation and when this is not reasonable one should do their business on rocks or gravel.
Public Safety: Due to the contamination risk in high use areas enough concern has been generated that the NPS and BLM have issued statements concerning the proper disposal of ALL human waste products and not only encourage, but at times (in sensitive areas) require that all waste including urine and paper be a part of your leave no trace practices.
I hope this answers your question. And YES! Strongly agree with you that pellets are superior to Kitty litter!
I don’t believe that that was a very fair test. you used an ounce of dry stuff and half a gallon a liquid. thats not a real world test and I think that this whole video you did was totally biased towards the lasyl stuff because you’re an Amazon affiliate for that product. Nobody pees half a gallon at one time and that’s not actually how regular people use the dry material that you used when they are out camping or enjoying the outdoors.
I know I can’t be the only one that saw how ridiculous and biased this test was.