SPOKANE, Wash. — A Spokane entrepreneur has created a portable toilet design that doesn’t stink and it’s clean after each use. They’re called Tidy Huts and Bloomsday runners will see them this weekend.
Erik Nelson believes there's better ways of doing our business than using a bucket of water. So, he decided to reinvent the portable toilet. Instead of flushing his idea down the toilet, he stuck to it for about three years and created Tidy Hut.
"I would say it's more like an adult version of a diaper genie," Nelson said. "We picked the name Tidy Hut because I didn’t want to say toilet and I didn’t want to say poop. But, I wanted it to describe the experience.”
His number one and number two priority was to make the design odorless and clean.
“Women will love this because it’s clean," Nelson said. "You can sit on this and not worry about any crap on you.”
Here’s how it works: after doing your business, you pull the lever next to the seat. This flushes the contents into a medical grade bag. This high-quality bag and the pad that gets flushed into it locks in the stink. And each crank gives you a new film seat.
“The seat is clean each and every time, and that's a huge difference," he said. "There are no smells, you don't feel like any germs are going to touch you, especially with COVID. People just feel safe.”
Tidy Huts have already been used at outdoor weddings and race events. And this weekend, you’ll find them set up near the corporate cup start and finish line for Bloomsday.
“I think people will be delighted," Nelson said. "I think right now—it’s just that people don’t know there are other options.”
So don’t be shy, and give this reinvented throne a try.