A pail closet or pail privy or dirt closet was a room used for the disposal of human excreta, under the "pail system" of waste removal. The "closet" was a small outhouse (privy) which contained a seat, underneath which a portable receptacle was placed. This bucket (pail), into which the user would defecate, was removed and emptied by the local authority on a regular basis. The contents, known euphemistically as night soil, would either be incinerated or composted into fertiliser.
A Rochdale Corporation pail closet. The seated area is on the right. The chamber on the left was for the disposal of common household waste.
Diagram of a midden closet in Nottingham
A full pail, complete with lid (left), and an empty pail, ready to be returned. These are Rochdale pails, made from wood. Manchester's pails were made from galvanised iron, with India-rubber beading around the lids to seal them.
Cutaway section of a Goux pail, with mould
A closet is an enclosed space, with a door, used for storage, particularly that of clothes. Fitted closets are built into the walls of the house so that they take up no apparent space in the room. Closets are often built under stairs, thereby using awkward space that would otherwise go unused.
An open built-in closet
A typical modern wall-mounted space-saving[clarification needed] closet
Linen closet
![A typical modern wall-mounted space-saving[clarification needed] closet](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/Space-saving_closet.JPG/302px-Space-saving_closet.JPG)
