You may have seen portable restrooms in public spaces like parks, outdoor weddings, or other similar occasions. You might be asking yourself, how do portable restrooms work? Well, that’s simple, and we will explain the full concept below. Their main purpose is to serve people in areas that otherwise wouldn’t access a restroom. They are convenient, making sure you can help yourself wherever you are.
Portable restrooms, also known as a porta-potty, chemical toilet, or porta-john, are stables at any large outdoor event. Portable restrooms work by flushing away waste like conventional toilets, except they don’t use sewers. They have a holding tank below the seat. Because the waste sits in the tank until it’s emptied, many chemicals are used to break down waste, kill germs, and reduce smells.
There are two types of portable toilets; portable flushing toilets and non-flushing portable toilets. A portable flushing restroom uses freshwater to get rid of the waste. The water comes from a separate hidden tank, and you flush it by putting pressure on the lever using your foot. Non-flushing toilets, also known as porta-potties, don’t use any water. The waste is directly deposited into the holding tank with chemicals to keep the odors and germs at bay.
How do portable restrooms work?
If you need portable restrooms at your event, you can order them and have them installed wherever you want them. Portable toilets have a holding tank under the seat where poop is stored. Chemicals in the holding tank help kill germs, break down waste, and prevent odors.
Most portable restrooms have;
- Flushing mechanism
- Toilet seat
- Holding tank
- Pressure system
Depending on the number of people using these portable toilets, a dedicated cleaner will clean them on averagely once a week or after every 100 uses. To empty the holding tank of these toilets, the workers connect a vacuum directly to the output hole (if it has one) or holding tank. The workers vacuum the waste into a large tanker truck equipped with a waste storage unit.
After emptying the portable restrooms, the workers will refresh the holding tank with an enzyme solution, dye, and some freshwater. The cleaners will also spray down the walls, floors, seats, and urinals to clear any bacteria and poop that might have been splashed anywhere else in the toilet. After cleaning up, they will also restock sanitizers, toilet paper, paper towels, and other hygiene supplies.
The tanker truck that takes away the waste takes it to the municipal treatment plant and other waste from traditional toilets.
What kind of events are portable restrooms used at?
Most outdoor events have many guests and most likely help in places with no toilets or only a few toilets compared to the number of guests. portable restrooms are mostly used by guests in certain events which include:
- Sporting events: At sporting events, no fan wants to waste time in lines at the restrooms. That’s where portable restrooms come into play. They help provide convenience at such events. Also, when ordering portable toilets for a sporting event, it is best to keep in mind that most people will be rushing to the washrooms during intermissions and half-time, which could create more congestion than accounted for.
- Outdoor weddings: The lack of permanent toilets (or enough permanent toilets) at an event means you will need portable toilets to serve more guests efficiently. When ordering outdoor toilets for a wedding event, you should consider whether you will be providing your guests with alcohol because that will mean more trips to the bathroom. Also, since guests come dressed their best, it would be nice to order portable toilets with mirrors, vanities, and a tap.
- Festivals, concerts, or fairs: Attendees in such events appreciate using clean toilets. The availability of portable toilets will be a big convenience to you and the attendees as they will not waste a lot of time walking around looking for washrooms. Festivals involve a lot of eating, and to determine the number of portable toilets to order; you can check the number of tickets bought to make sure the toilets will serve all the guests efficiently.
- Corporate events: Outdoor corporate events require portable toilets, not just regular ones. There have to be enough toilets in such events since no one wants to delay and people are very concerned about their looks; meaning that you will need first-class rental toilets to cover all their needs.
- Construction site: Most construction sites don’t have permanent toilets, and if there are any around, they could take a lot of time from your employees since they will need to walk long distances back and forth. This walk will waste precious time that they could spend speeding up the amount of time the project takes. Portable restrooms at construction sites save time, improve work productivity, and enhance employee cleanliness since they come with handwashing stations.
When ordering these portable toilets, it is necessary to remember to account for easily accessible toilets for people in wheelchairs and the disabled. Any type of outdoor event hosting many guests is better off if you have portable toilets. They will generally prevent your guests from staying in line for way too long at the toilets instead of interacting and doing what brought them there.
Also, when you have portable toilets, you can order a number that will serve the guests in your event. When there are enough portable restrooms, the workers will maintain sanitary standards. Also, no one wants to wait in toilet lines for way too long as it wastes their time. For example, at a sporting event, people always want to go to the toilet and come back as quickly as possible so they can keep enjoying the game.
How long does it typically take to set up and take down portable restrooms?
The period it takes to set up a portable toilet depends on the type of portable restrooms you have ordered and how many of them you need. If the portable restrooms don’t require much, the setup for each toilet could take as little as two minutes because all that’s needed is wheeling the toilets from the track to the site. Two minutes is enough if the track is close to the site.
But other portable restrooms that require more than tissues papers, and sanitizers like corporate portable restrooms will require approximately five minutes to set up. Also, the location of your event will determine how long it takes to set up the restrooms. If your event is in a windy area, the service providers will take more time setting it up so that it doesn’t tip over during your event, which could cause a lot of mess.
Taking down the portable restrooms could take time because the loading tank has to be emptied by the workers and the toilets cleaned before loading them onto the tracks. But this depends on the company. Some companies load the units without cleaning out the loading tank and clean them at their place. With such companies, loading doesn’t take too much time.
3 Reasons Why Portable Restrooms Are So Convenient
Portable restrooms are convenient for events holding a great number of people. Below we discuss three reasons why portable restrooms are so convenient.
It makes hosting a big party possible.
When hosting a big party on your lawn or yard, having portable toilets is the way to go. Guests won’t have to walk a long way to access the toilets inside your house, which gives them more time to interact with each other. Also, this means it will save you a lot of cleaning time since guests going indoors to use the toilet means they will bring in debris, mud, or dirt.
Having outdoor portable restrooms means that you won’t misplace some of your stuff accidentally, pets won’t get lost as they will be indoors, and nothing will break in your house by accident. Also, your guests won’t have to wait for each other outside the toilets as they won’t be sufficient enough for all of them.
Offers comfort to attendees
During events, guests are more comfortable participating and interacting when they don’t have to worry about eating or drinking. They can see restrooms around where they can help themselves out. For example, if you are having an open bar at your wedding, don’t you think not having portable toilets could cause a lot of chaos?
It will also keep the grounds you’re holding your events clean and sanitary. Not having a toilet in sight for attendees could cause some of them to relieve themselves unhygienically, which will reflect badly on you as the host. Let people eat and drink comfortably because they know there’s somewhere they can relieve themselves.
Increases employee satisfaction and productivity on site
When your construction workers don’t have to go far away to access a bathroom, they tend to spend much of their time working and not walking to the loo. It will also save plenty of time spent on toilet breaks when the portable toilets are close to the site. Besides offering convenience, portable restrooms also offer accommodation for disabled employees and have washing stations to maintain cleanliness.
When employees have to walk for even half a mile to the bathroom, that means every bathroom break will take 30 minutes. But when you have portable restrooms, you can move them every time you move to a different project to cut down on time used in bathroom breaks. When an employee doesn’t have to worry about how much time they spend going to the bathroom, their productivity improves without rushing through work to complete it by the end of the day.
Conclusion
Now that you have a clear interpretation of how portable restrooms work, it’s high time you get one for your next big event. These restrooms are very convenient, and you have a range of portable restroom types to choose from. You can select regular ones for construction sites or festivals and fancier ones for weddings and corporate events. Some restrooms even regulate temperature to prevent your guests from feeling like they are being suffocated by thick air if you have your event on a sunny day.