Put down your shovel and stop digging! You don’t have to go old school any longer if you require portable restrooms. Whether you are a construction crew, planning a wedding, or throwing a party that’s at a location without facilities, there are many portable restroom options that you can choose from.
Porta Potties have been around for quite some time, and believe it or not; the company that you rent from can make all the difference. However, knowing what to look for and what type of company to work with when planning an outside event or project is key to getting the best portable restroom experience possible.
Knowing what options are available to you in the market is also important. Combined with best business practices, this info will give you the right information you need when renting your portable restrooms.
Providing the Right Types of Porta Potties
Before you start to look into local porta potty companies in your area, you should first assess the sanitation needs for your event or job site. Times have changed since the beginning of the portable restrooms industry, in fact, portable toilets are light years ahead of where they use to be.
Nowadays, portable toilets come in all shapes and sizes. Are you having a wedding or black tie event, or just a backyard BBQ? Do you just have a few workers of your construction site, or do you have a big staff. Figuring out the right type of equipment your event or construction site requires is the first step in choosing the right portable restroom company.
Portable Restrooms
Standard portable toilets are the iconic freestanding portable bathrooms found at various sporting events, construction sites, and outdoor activities. These particular bathrooms offer a single restroom and urinal for general use.
The benefit of a standard portable toilet is that they can be placed on just about any level surface. They are easy to deliver, easy to line up, and offer a fast and reliable way to accommodate guests, workers or event attendees.
Luxury Restroom Trailers
If you are looking for a bit more high-class porta potty then how about the high tech luxury restroom trailers? Have you seen these things? They are incredible. Most luxury restroom trailers are fitted with high-end stalls, including multiple stall rooms, full sinks, and climate control.
With flushing restrooms, running water hand sinks, and trash receptacles, these restroom trailers are much closer to a standard stationary bathroom. They stay cleaner than standard portable restrooms, and are an easy way to avoid odor and cleanliness issues.
The drawback of luxury restroom trailers is that it does require access to an electrical outlet, and a running water source (water spigot). Be sure to also speak with a trained salesperson to find out which trailer would be best for your event size, in order to avoid over usage.
Heated and Cooled VS Standard Restrooms
Now that we’ve touched on the types of restrooms available, one has to ask the question, do I go with climate control or not?
Special Events
What time of year is your event taking place, and what type of event is it? Is it a wedding being held in July? If so, you might want to consider one of our air-conditioned luxury restroom trailers. Your guests would probably appreciate a cool and cleaner bathroom environment when they’re all dressed up. Is it just a simple BBQ in the park on a nice August afternoon? Then a standard porta potty would be a sufficient portable restroom option that will take care of all of your needs.
If you’ve ever been in the Midwest in the winter, you also know how cold those events might get, yet people still like to hold tented outdoor events despite the conditions. In this case you could decide on a heated luxury restroom trailer partnered with a hot water SaniSink, or you could choose to rent a standard porta potty with an electric space heater placed inside.
Construction Sites
Climate controlled construction porta potties are a whole different ballgame. You might be looking into what, if any, climate control is required by law, and whether or not there is any benefit to using heated or air conditioned porta potties on site. In Minnesota, portable space heaters are required through OSHA, according to OSHA Revisor 5207.0800 “Privies shall be provided on all construction and engineering projects. Privies shall be placed inside of heated buildings wherever possible to do so. Where privies are not placed inside of heated buildings, provisions shall be made for heating privies to a minimum of heat that can be emitted for the installation of a 1,300 watt heater or other type of equivalent heater. Section 5207.0810 describes November 1st to March 15th as the winter season.”
So renting space heaters to go inside is a top priority to comply. Using bathroom trailers on the job site can also allow you to comply with OSHA heat regulations.
Once you’ve identified exactly which type of portable restroom that will do the trick for your party or construction site, this is when you start to choose the right porta potty company for the job. You can always give the restroom company a call and ask them if they can give you exactly what you need to make your party guests or job site workers happy.
Proximity to Event or Construction Site
A logistical way to help you make a decision on which porta potty company to rent through, is the proximity to your event or construction site. Most porta potty companies only deliver restrooms to locations inside of a certain delivery radius, or they charge high delivery costs for areas outside of their delivery range. Also, choosing companies close to your event space will allow the company to come out and fix any issues that need to be handled a.s.a.p.
Porta Potty Equipment Management
The only downside of standard portable restrooms is the stigma that comes with them. I’m sure everyone has walked into a poorly kept porta potty in the past, and guests or workers may cringe when they see them. However, if you choose the right porta potty company to service your event, your porta potty experience doesn’t have to be unpleasant.
The most common reason that porta potties get to be in such bad shape is you either didn’t order enough of them, or they’re delivered in bad shape to begin with. So when you’re looking for a porta potty company for your event, be ready to answer questions. Questions like how many people are attending the event, how long the event will last, and if there are other permanent bathrooms that will be available. For construction sites, they’re going to want to know how many workers you have on site on a regular basis. This will help the company determine the proper number of porta potties to send your way.
Also don’t be afraid to ask the tough questions of the porta potty company. Ask them if toilet paper and hand sanitizer come with the bathroom, and whether or not they use separate porta potties for construction sites and events. A good restroom company will include all necessary products with their porta potties. The best companies keep their event restrooms separate from construction porta potties.
Sanitation Practice
Most people are hesitant when it comes to entering a porta potty. Let’s be honest. But your guests don’t have to worry if you know how to pick your porta potty company.
The next piece of advice is to check the company’s inspection practices. For construction porta potties, parks and other long term rentals, the inspection practices are key. Make sure that the portable restroom company that you choose has processes in place to hold themselves accountable. This could be something like a service record sticker inside of the restroom. The service record stickers allow sanitation technicians to mark the date of every service done to the restroom, in order to keep a written record of porta potty services. You can ask about inspection practices before booking your portable restroom.
For special event porta potties, you usually only have the restroom for a short period of time, like a weekend, so service record stickers wouldn’t really be the best judge of sanitation practices. Rather, you can ask potential porta potty companies about their cleaning practices for porta potties. Are they cleaned, sanitized and stocked with all necessary items? This is the easiest way to make sure that your porta potty shows up in the best condition possible.
In today’s society, there are a plethora of restroom options available to you. Taking the time to do a bit of research on your end and finding the right company that offers what you need doesn’t have to be a long drawn out process if you follow these basic guidelines.
On Site Companies is a portable restrooms and luxury restroom trailer rental company that can provide you with rental equipment at any of our five branches. We are located in St. Paul, Rochester and Mankato Minnesota, and St. Louis Missouri. If you have any further questions about portable restroom rentals, or if you would like to book equipment rentals, you can call us at 1.800.210.8407 or email us at sales@onsiteco.com
