A Tour of 4 Outhouses ... stroll down memory lane

Not quite sure if it was because we were poor … or that we lived in the country … or the combination of both … but I remember our back yard having one of these outhouses …  and also a well that you had to prime … I was about 4 or 5 years old …

The outhouse design was not so fancy … but the seating area is the same … but I remember something about using a white lime powder …

HERE Lime is of great value in a privy or outhouse. The type used for outhouses is calcium hypochlorite, or Ca{ClO}2. This unrefined white powder, made by running chlorine gas into slaked lime–which is the lime used by masons–is often mistakenly called “chloride of lime.” It is the best type of lime to use for outhouses as its germ-killing properties are identical to those of household bleach. There are two ways to use lime in an outhouse–on the walls and in the pit (every so often).