It doesn’t matter if you’re planning a large outdoor event or a backyard wedding, you’ll probably need to rent portable restrooms. Porta potties are a necessity for most, but as you may have noticed, sometimes they aren’t that clean. You may be wondering what is the best ways to keep your porta potties cleaner during your event, so we’re going to run through five quick tips to help you master the art of special event porta potty maintenance.
- Order Enough Portable Restrooms
We’ve all been to a concert or community event where the restrooms are “overused”. This situation is far too common in the special event world, and it usually happens because event organizers ordered too few restrooms for the amount of people that attended. The first step in making sure your porta potties stay cleaner throughout your event is making sure you’re ordering enough to take care of all your guests.The PSAI recommends that you order one portable restroom for every 100 attendees. The number of porta potties you should order only increases when you factor in things like the amount of time that attendees will be at your event, if alcohol is served and if there are more women than men. If you would like an estimated total of the portable restrooms you’ll need, check out our portable restroom calculator. The portable restroom vendor that you select will also be able to help you nail down the perfect number of restrooms for your event, so make sure to rely on their expertise as well.
- Place Porta Potties Strategically Throughout Your Event Space
So you’ve been working with your portable restroom provider on the perfect number of porta potties, and now you have to decide where to place them. If you’re trying to keep the porta potties as clean as possible for as long as possible, you won’t want to place them all in one spot. You’ll want to decide on strategic locations for restrooms so the usage is staggered throughout your event. This also prevents your guests from having to walk too far to find a restroom.When deciding on your restroom placement, think about how the typical experience of your event guest will go. You’ll probably want to place some restrooms in the parking lot of your event and by the entrance gate so they feel comfortable when entering and exiting your event.After getting inside the gates, guests will start to explore all of the different attractions. Consider placing large banks of 10-15 restrooms near the high traffic areas such as: food vendors, retail booths, event stages and beer gardens. These areas tend to keep people’s attention for long periods of time so they are more likely to need more restrooms.
After you get the large banks of porta potties planned out, you can place smaller 3-5 restroom banks in lower traffic areas such as the outer perimeters and the exit gates. All of this planning will help to even out the usage of the porta potties and keep them cleaner throughout the event.
- Order Additional Services
The easiest way to make sure your porta potties stay clean all the way through your event is to have them cleaned! Ordering extra services of your portable restrooms is a great solution if you are having a multiple day event or you don’t have a lot of space on your grounds for the number of portable restrooms needed to take care of your guests.Extra services involve a portable restroom service technician coming on site at your event, pumping out the contents of the restroom, cleaning all surfaces inside and outside of the restroom, re-stocking toilet paper and hand sanitizer, and re-filling the tank with fresh portable restroom deodorizer.Ordering additional services for your porta potties is something that does need to be planned in advance with your restroom provider. If you’re having a multiple day event, the best time to service would be either early morning before guests arrive, or late in the evening after they’re gone. If you are just having a single day event, you can request extra services, but additional planning will have to be made. Since service technicians have to come in with their pumping trucks, you’ll have to think about getting the trucks through crowds in order to reach the restrooms.
- Hire a Restroom Attendant Through Your Porta Potty Company
Hiring restroom attendants through your portable restroom company is like ordering additional services, but the service technicians are on site in case you need additional services. Your portable restroom provider will usually charge you a flat rate for a set time, or charge you hourly for the service.These attendants will periodically check all restrooms on site and service and re-stock the restroom when needed. Attendants work best for concerts that may run throughout a day and into the night, or overnight festivals that have restroom usage 24 hours a day. This service can provide you with a huge piece of mind during your event, since you know someone is taking care of thesanitation needs of your guests.
- Periodically Check Restrooms During Your Event for Cleanliness
If you don’t have the need for a full restroom attendant, you can always check the porta potties periodically throughout your event to make sure they’re clean enough. While checking your portable restrooms during your event you can check for things such as: the stock of toilet paper and hand sanitizer, the cleanliness of the outer appearance of the restroom and usage of the restrooms.Checking the stock of toilet paper and hand sanitizer can be a small way to keep your restrooms in good shape. If you’re worried about these products running out, you can purchase additional roils of toilet paper and hand sanitizer packets from your portable restroom provider. They’ll be delivered with the restrooms and you can easily swap them out during the event.You could also spot clean the outer appearance and clean up garbage around the portable restrooms to keep the area clean. If you do find that some restrooms have been used more than others, you could always direct attendees to porta potties that have been used less. If you find that the restrooms have been used to a serious degree, you could always secure the doors shut, or order an emergency service from your portable restroom provider. Keep in mind that emergency services will cost you, so it’s better to order services in advance or plan for more restrooms.
In the end, the best way to keep your porta potties clean throughout an event is the right advanced planning. First you need to order the right amount of restrooms for the people you’re planning for. You’ll also need to stagger the restrooms between high traffic areas and less trafficked areas to spread usage across all restrooms. Lastly, you can order additional services or restroom attendants to make sure everything runs smoothly.
On Site Companies is a portable restroom provider for the Minneapolis / St. Paul, Rochester and Mankato Minnesota areas, as well as St. Louis Missouri. For more information about porta potty rental options for your upcoming special event, you can email us as sales@onsiteco.com or call us at 1-800-210-8407
