Outdoor Toilet Interior

This is the interior of the most recent model of the Sanisette outdoor toilet, as seen through the open door of the device. This particular Sanisette is on the boulevard de la Madeleine, not far from the Opéra Garnier.

You can see that a conventional-looking toilet is the main fixture in the Sanisette. The seat is heated in cold weather. The white panel behind the seat opens during the cleaning cycle, and the seat is scrubbed, washed, and disinfected.

Above the toilet is a lavatory (the opening in the wall marked Lave Mains) that automatically dispenses soap and water when you put your hands into it (there is a photocell that detects the presence of your hands); after fifteen seconds or so, the water and soap are turned off and replaced by a hot-air dryer that dries your hands. The water from the sink is clean enough for washing hands, but it is not drinkable (in this respect it is similar to the lavatories in trains and aircraft).

On the upper left is a toilet-paper dispenser. You can throw the paper directly into the toilet after use, as it is fully biodegradable (it is a very thin tissue paper). On the right, partially obscured by the wall of the Sanisette, is a sanitary wastebasket, intended mainly for sanitary napkins or tampons (although no dispensers of either of these are supplied); it will accept other papers, but it is not intended to receive cigarettes!

You can see a mirror above the sink, provided for your convenience.

The door is just barely visible on the lower left. It slides open on its own when you enter, and then automatically closes when you are inside. There is a handle on the inside (but not the outside) that you can turn to open the door again when you are finished. The door will open on its own after about fifteen minutes (the time limit for use of the Sanisette), so beware!

Once you leave the Sanisette, the door will close and the cleaning cycle will start. After a minute or so, it is ready for the next customer.

One other precautionary note: The Sanisette is not intended for use by small children alone, or by anyone who weighs less than 35 kg (77 lbs) or so. The device detects the presence of weight on the floor to know when the Sanisette has been vacated, and if a person using it is too light in weight, the cleaning cycle may start while he or she is still inside. Some small children have been injured in this way, so they should be accompanied if they must use a Sanisette (this also prevents them from being trapped if they can’t figure out how to open the door or can’t reach or turn the handle).

Click directly on the photo to see a larger image (twice this size). Photographed on May 10, 1999.