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.
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.
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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.
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.
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 !
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.