How do I properly dispose of human waste from the bedside potty?

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How do I properly dispose of human waste from the bedside potty?

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My mother has to use a beside potty for number 1 & 2. We have been using potty bags we can just toss out. Well, today we got a call from our landlord stating the Department of Sanitation sent them a warning about human excrement being in the dumpster at our address. The dumpster is shared by 4 other homes, so luckily they didn't know it was us but told us to make sure we don't do that because the DOS warned them that if it happened again they would terminate their contract with them, and we wouldn't have garbage services. Now I am concerned. What am I supposed to do? She uses the bathroom daily, so we have to change the bag daily. I don't know how we are supposed to dispose of it now. We are thinking about just letting her use the bucket in the potty, and we just dump it in the toilet and clean it out each day. The bag was just so much easier and less time-consuming since we already have so many other things we have to take care of with her as well as work and other daily life activities. Any advice would be great. Thank you.

Home Care Hygiene Toileting

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We use the bucket that comes with the potty and simply dump it immediately into the toilet after each use. Rinse it out and wipe it with a Lysol disinfectant wipe. To keep any odors down, we put a cup of Lysol in the bucket and keep the lid closed. Works great.

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I use bags and liner pads, they are thin absorbent sponge-like pads that absorb liquid. Package says 1, but I use 2-3 (there are larger ones that work better)

Mom only uses commode overnight, she has minimal urine. I have a lined, covered trash can for these, and within a few days they’ve dried a bit. I toss a small cup of kitty litter in the garbage bag which reduces any odor.

Sammiy Medical Grade Super Absorbent Commode Pads - Value Pack 100 Count - for Bedside Commode Liners - Keep The Liquid Under Control - Eliminates Odors - Easy to Clean https://a.co/d/bGlQSaA

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Lunderg Commode Liners with Lavender Scented Absorbent Pads - Value Pack Medical Grade 150 Count Universal Fit - Disposable Bedside Commode Liners and Pads for Adult Commode Chairs & Portable Toilets https://a.co/d/gHommbW

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I would stop using the liners and just flush waste down the toilet. Once that plastic liner gets into the trash truck, gets compacted, and transported, it's not very likely the bag was intact by the time it gets to landfill. I wouldn't expose other people to to human waste. That makes for very nasty and dangerous work for the people who haul trash or work at landfills.

Kid diapers absorb liquids and people fold them in a manner to contain the poop. Your method is just a bag of liquid human waste. Save the plastic bags and put in the pot where it belongs.

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I'm sure people with babies,incontinent adults and pets throw bags of 'poo' in dumpsters and garbage cans. How else should diapers and doggie doo be disposed of? I wonder if a thin layer of baking soda or clumping cat litter would work in the commode bags.

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Think about a plastic bag of pee. You know it's gonna bust long before it gets to the landfill.

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Another though is the diaper compactor. I have not used one, so far. Have been looking into this. Checking google for info on these. Anyone who has used one let me know if you like this option

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That would work if this woman was wearing a diaper. The problem here is having a liner with feces and liquid going into the trash. When liner breaks during trash transport, there's the problem.

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we use bags as well. For #1 we take the bag to the bathroom where we have a pair of shears. Cut a small hole in the bottom of the bag. Let the bag drain into the toilet bowl before disposal.

For #2 it get a little trickier. Holding the bag over the toilet bowl I gently move the excrement to the opening of the bag and it drops into the toilet bowl. Never touching the residue inside, I move the residue from the outside gently shaking the bag to make the residue move to the opening and then drop to the toilet bowl.

Make sure there are no "non-flushable" wipes in the bag. We throw the "non-flushable" into a small waste basket lined with another bag. These often are store plastic bags that fit, even produce bags from the store. Amazon also sells small trach bag liners.

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I'm a Nurse in a busy hospital. Since Covid we have started lining the bedside commodes with disposable pads. They're like puppy training pads, but for people!
The kind we use in the hospital are big and ultra absorbent.
When the patient is finished We roll the pad and wipes in a ball and tie them in a small bag. It doesn't solve your BAG problem, but it's Way tidier. Nothing to leak. Like a baby diaper. And you could sprinkle some fabric softener beads to cover the odor.
Good luck !

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Ckloraw22: Flush the waste in the toilet and then clean the bedside commode once it is empty.

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I’ve always only dumped them in the toilet and cleaned the bucket each day. I know it’s not pleasant, but that’s part of caregiving.

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It is understandable that bags of urine (which can rupture) are not welcome in the trash bin. It is a biohazard. Flush it down the toilet and come up with a system to clean and sanitize the container that is as easy as possible. Maybe have a spare so you can just dump the waste in the toilet and throw the soiled container in a sanitation bucket. You then put the second one in place if you are pressed for time.
Since my mother is bedridden, I do not have the same situation. But, when I remove her soiled diapers I put each one in a plastic grocery store bag and tie a knot before throwing them in her garbage pail. It helps keep the smell down before I tie up and empty her garbage pail bag in the outside trash. It double wraps the waste so it is not just loose. I know plastic grocery bags are not environmentally in favor, but at least I am using them for a purpose. Can’t save the world while I am a caregiver.

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Its eadybto install a “Y” where your water comes into the toilet. Screw on a sprayer and you can rinse your bucket right into the toilet

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My DDH was bedridden, permanent catheter and a colostomy bag. There is no way I could have disposed of those bags other than placing them in the trash. Regarding your landlord telling you Dept of Sanitation gave them a warning, I'm not sure I believe that. Personally, I think the landlord, not Dept of Sanitation, would prefer you not dispose of them in the dumpster. As many commenters have said, there are way too many legitimate situations where feces is thrown away in bags, whether it's babies disposable diapers, dogs, kitty litter, etc. Unfortunately, if your landlord has an issue with it, you have no other options. Being a caregiver is an endless task and adding one more issue can sometimes be a bigger obstacle than it should be. Hoping you find an easy solution.

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Seriously sounds like you have some garbage surfers that complained. There is no other way unless someone dug through the garbage. Between diapers and animal waste, it is what it is.

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You should not be using bags. Dump everything in the toilet and disinfect the commode. It's much easier!

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You dump it in the toilet and then clean out the portable commode bucket. After you dump it in the toilet, you turn on the faucet in the bathtub and put some water in it and then you go back to the toilet and you keep rinsing it out until it’s fairly well cleaned out and then you use toilet paper and baby wipes to finish wiping it and cleaning it and then you spray it with Lysol or some other disinfectant and you put it back in the commode. You are using a portable commode correct? I’m confused.

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I'm baffled by those insisting that the bedside commode contents absolutely must be dumped into a regular flush toilet.

What about camp toilets that have liner bags? The folks using them don't necessarily have access to a regular toilet into which they could dump any waste, yet it has to go somewhere. I'm assuming that somewhere is a dumpster or trash can.

Now, here's something that might be a helpful tidbit. Some of the bags sold for lining camp toilets have 2 layers. The inner layer has a type of gel built in that absorbs any liquid, making "oopsies" during disposal less likely. Perhaps using those in your mom's bedside commode would work as far as being able to dispose of them in the garbage containers.

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Excellent idea. This also adds to the obvious that even campers have to dispose of those bags in dumpsters. I'm thinking that gel might also have chemicals to reduce odor? I feel like your idea is the easiest. Emptying the potty bucket into the toilet, then sanitizing the toilet, specially if there's spillage, rinsing and sanitizing the bucket would be time consuming for caregivers whose daily tasks are already never-ending. Hopefully, ckloraw22 will find what's best for her. There have been a lot of ideas posted for her.

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I read all of the comments and I haven't seen this suggested... There's this stuff called Spill magic.. It absorbs liquids and makes them a gel.. It's basically what's in a diaper.. You could use some of that in the liners to absorb the liquid. It's like 9 bucks for a 3lb bottle.. In my experience that lasts quite a while. I've used it for our bucket potty when we go camping.

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I used to dump the contents into my toilet, clean the potty bucket, and then flush the toilet.

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Exactly! The easiest way...

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Use the bucket. Place a small amount of water with some soap/detergent in the bottom (makes it easier to clean). Dump in toilet. Hopefully, toilet is near shower. Get a handheld shower attachment that can "pause" the flow of water and a long hose so you can clean the bucket out easier.

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Im want to know what do you do with the poop depend diapers. You can not flush them in the toilet they have to be bag up?

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Dump solids into toilet, the rest, bag up.

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The potty liner bags are also supposed to be emptied into the toilet before disposal. They are meant to save time having to scrub the bucket each time, but not meant for bagging up waste and throwing it in the general garbage.

If you decide to stop using the bags, leave a small amount of water in the bottom of the clean commode bucket to help with future cleanups.

Dealing with human waste properly is just part of caregiving. Dumping waste into the toilet before disposal also applies to diaper use, be it for infants or incontinent adults. Many people are not aware of that either.

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I have found a little Listerine mouth wash left in urine containers sanitizes and eliminates odors. May be worth a try when not using the bags and emptying contents into the toilet.

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Oh, for crying out loud! Right on the potty bags are instructions that say, after use, carefully dispose of waste in toilet. My mom had a commode in her room. I never even knew “potty bags” existed. (IMO a dumb product) A commode is not that difficult to empty in the toilet, rinse, sanitize.

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You can get flushable liners, but these don't really save enough work to be worthwhile: you'll still want to rinse, clean and disinfect the bucket. It's nobody's favourite chore but it really doesn't take as long as all that.

I would be surprised if you can't check the regulations for your area online. Here, soiled material has to be double-bagged and can then be placed alongside household waste for disposal. There are also recognised colour-codings for waste disposal bags although these are mainly designed for clinical settings - e.g. yellow bags for clinical waste, purple for cytotoxic, tiger-striped for waste etc.

Start with that same Department of Sanitation, I should. You can't possibly be the only family who has to deal with disposal issues and they probably have practical advice to offer.

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My 93-yr-old mom was able to get from her bed to the commode, with some assistance. She would pee and or poop right on the commode. I would then empty the contents of the commode into the actual toilet & flush everything away— then, swish hot water and cleanser inside commode, tip that out into toilet also. Last step was to wipe commode w Clorox or Lysol wipes. Good luck, I hope this is helpful. It is NOT easy.

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I agree with granma1954, the bags are probably full of liquid and are easy to bust and contaminate the truck and the drivers. Diapers, litter, etc, aren't liquid, that's the difference. Just do like everyone suggested, keep a little water in the pot, dump in toilet, and then clean and you're done. No plastic, no complaints, and not anymore work than bagging up and taking out.

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Forget the plastic bag.
Place a bit of water in the "bucket", that will make cleaning it out easier.
As soon as she is done using the commode dump the bucket in the toilet and rinse it out, spray with a sanitizer if you wish and replace it back on/under the commode.
Do this each time. Not any more difficult or time consuming than taking a plastic bag, tying it up and bringing it to the trash bin.
If you still wish to use the bag then just empty the bag into the toilet then toss out the bag.

A comment about the bag...and the possible reason for DOS not wanting it.
There is a big difference between a diaper (baby) an adult incontinence product (tab type or pull up type) and a bag of loose urine and fecal matter.
The absorbent qualities of the incontinence products remove almost all moisture so there is less of a chance that there is liquid or fecal matter that will "contaminate" the inside of a truck as well as the possibility of workers becoming soiled if a bag breaks open.

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That was very helpful information that you gave, and thank you for doing it in such a nice, informative way unlike some people who have to respond to the author like she's an idiot.

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They have adult diaper genies. I am confused as to why the sanitation company would complain because people have babies and dispose their diapers in the garbage.

I tried to add a link but apparently you cant do that on this site. Go to Amazon and search for adult diaper disposal and you will find several options.

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i agree plus if you get the bags with the absorbent pad inside there is no liquid. Those pads are like the inside of a diaper. We kept a large metal trash can in the garage with a black bag. Twice a day we pulled the potty bags with the absorbent pad inside and toilet paper used for wiping. Tied them and put them in the garbage bin in the garage. On trash day we pulled the black bag tied it and put it in the trash. Trash companies do not like lots of small bags. My neighbor with a baby does the same as we did for parent. They did not like her small diaper gennie bags.

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Wow.
I am thinking of all those adult diapers that are filled and tossed into trash, presumably ( as well as the kittie litter, dog poo and baby diapers others have mentioned)
I use liners and dump into the toilet and then roll liner and place in adult diaper genie, but I only have urine to flush.
I can appreciate the idea of lining the potty with an adult diaper and disposing of it the same way ( since that is obviously
more socially acceptable to sanitation folks).
I do not have a hospital hopper in my bathroom for disposing of waste and cleaning potty buckets, nor even a deep sink to clean the bucket. I have tried to weigh all options and find the most sanitary option for my vulnerable humans.
My husband just turned 80 and I am close behind him. I expect some others are much older and more debilitated than us.

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OMG into the toliet stop using the bag

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How do I properly dispose of human waste from the bedside potty?

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