How to Clean and Maintain Your Cinderella Incinerating Toilet

Keeping your Cinderella incinerating toilet fresh and clean isn’t hard but it’s a little different than what’s required for a typical flushing toilet. Using the wrong tools and methods or not doing regular maintenance can damage your incinerating toilet and is one of the leading reasons for repairs. So this month on our blog, we’re going to talk about maintenance and how to keep your Cinderella incinerating toilet in tip-top shape!

The Right Tools

Cinderella offers a maintenance kit specifically for cleaning and maintaining their incinerating toilets, which we at Canadian Off Grid recommend. That way you know that you have the right tools for the job and you won’t damage the toilet when cleaning it.

Weekly

When you empty the ash container, it’s recommended that you clean the insert pan by filling it with hot water, letting it sit for 15-30 minutes, and then scrubbing out any residue left with the brush in the maintenance kit. Do NOT use any kind of chemical cleaners, even natural ones. The ash container insert is already sterile thanks to the incineration cycle so chemical sterilization isn’t necessary and cleansers can damage the insert.  

Once the ash container has been emptied and cleaned, it’s time to steam clean the catalytic converter, which is as simple as pouring about a liter of water into the ash container, replacing it into the toilet, and starting an incineration cycle. The water will boil away and the steam will clean out any debris in the catalytic converter. That process normally takes about 60-80 minutes.

For those who prefer a video overview, here’s the one that Cinderella posted about the proper cleaning and maintenance procedures:

In Case of Problems with the Hatch

Sometimes the bowl liners might get caught in the hatch of the toilet. Ryan made a video to demonstrate how to solve this problem.

Every 500 Cycles

Once every 500 cycles - which you know you've reached when you finish a box of bowl liners – you should clean the exhaust connection. To do that, you have to disconnect the toilet from the exhaust pipe (and inlet air pipe if applicable) and the electricity or gas source. Then clean the exhaust coupling with the flexible bottle brush included in the maintenance kit, making sure you’re reaching back all the way to the fan blades. Use a vacuum to clean out the debris in the exhaust coupling that the brush loosened up. Then you can reattach the exhaust connection and you’re good for another 500 cycles.

Also every 500 cycles or annually, whichever comes first, you should rinse the catalytic converter with warm water. You’ll have to disconnect the toilet from the exhaust pipe (and inlet air pipe if applicable) and electricity or gas source and move the toilet to a place where it’s okay to spill water such as a bathtub, shower, or outside. Remove the ash container. Tilt the toilet forward and use the funnel from the maintenance kit to pour 2-5 liters of hot water into the exhaust pipe. If you have access to a shower hose, that can make the job easier. The water that comes out will get clearer as the gunk gets washed out of the catalytic converter. Keep running water through until the water is running clear. Then reconnect the toilet, insert the ash container, and run an incineration cycle to dry the unit.

Annually

Lastly, once a year (or more often for year-round toilet use), you need to clean the exhaust pipe. It’s a great idea to do this at the same time that you rinse the catalytic converter because the toilet will already be disconnected from the exhaust pipe and the electricity or gas source. Once you’ve got the toilet moved out of the way, protect the floor under the exhaust pipe with a tarp or newspaper or old towel. Dismantle the pipe cap. This may require a ladder depending on your specific situation, so make sure you’re taking the proper safety precautions to prevent falls. Drop the sweeper brush with the weighted ball from the maintenance kit down into the exhaust pipe from the top. Pull it up and down to knock the ash and debris loose along the length of the pipe. When you’re done, replace the pipe cap and clean up the debris from the floor at the end of the exhaust pipe. Then you can reconnect the toilet and your annual maintenance is done!

For More Help

Cinderella has more instructions for cleaning and maintenance on their website.

They also offer a clear, one-page instruction sheet with diagrams that you can hang in your bathroom that explains how to operate the toilet to guests.

Or get in touch with Ryan at (905)-818-7364 or ryan@canadianoffgriddepot.com - he can answer any questions you might have and help with troubleshooting. Canadian Off Grid is always here to help!