It’s important to do what you can to prevent porta potty vandalism, especially if you are renting porta potties and do not own them. Not only do vandalized porta potties reflect badly on your company or event, but people may even bring lawsuits against you and your company. Taking preventative measures to stave off vandals and addressing instances of vandalism protect your company or event’s reputation and can save you significant trouble and money.

Here is what you need to know about common instances of porta potty vandalism and what you can do to prevent porta potty vandalism from occurring.

Common Types Of Porta Potty Vandalism

prevent porta potty vandalism Canyon View Dumpsters Ogden UT

In an ideal world, people would be respectful of other people’s property, especially necessary facilities to seeing to natural needs. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Porta potties are often subjected to vandalism such as:

Tip overs
Graffiti
Fire/burning/melting plastic
Blowing up/explosives/fireworks

Why It’s Important To Prevent Porta Potty Vandalism

People associate vandalized porta potties with your company, so if someone has graffitied vulgar words or images on the porta potties you rent, people will assume that you don’t care enough to remove them, and think negatively about your event, park, or company.

While painted porta potties aren’t pleasant to use, people can still use them. Tipped over or burned porta potties on the other hand, are another story. You’ll need to clean up the mess safely and appropriately and get replacement porta potties.

This can impact workflow, especially in areas that are required to have porta potties or other bathroom facilities nearby, like construction sites, according to OSHA regulations.

Avoid A Lawsuit

You may find people bringing a lawsuit against you if your porta potties are vandalized with offensive images and messages and you do nothing to either prevent it or remove it.

Take the 1998 case against Foster Wheeler Constructors for racial and sexual harassment for a $1.3 million dollar settlement. Racist and sexist graffiti was found and the company was held liable for it.

By ensuring that you take measures to prevent porta potty vandalism and that you address any vandalism that occurs quickly, you can prevent the likelihood of someone bringing a similar lawsuit against you and your company.

What You Can Do To Prevent Porta Potty Vandalism

Fortunately, there are multiple things that you can do in order to prevent porta potty vandalism from occurring. Some of the steps that you can take are as follows.

#1. Stake Them Down

Staking them down and placing them strategically prevents people from tipping them over.

Consider the terrain. You want to put them somewhere dry and level, as sloped or wet ground or curbs makes it easier for people to tip them over.

#2. Put Them In A Well-Lit Area Or Near Cameras

Putting porta potties in a well-lit area can deter vandalism, as people don’t want to get caught in the act. So too can putting the porta potties near surveillance cameras. Plus, putting porta potties near cameras gives you video proof of any culprits who do try to vandalize them.

#3. Fence Them In

Fencing in job sites prevents vandalism, theft, destruction of work, and more. If people can’t easily access the porta potties, they are less likely to try to vandalize them.

#4. Lock Them At Night

Locking porta potties at night can prevent people can vandalizing the interior of them, as most vandalism happens at night. This does not prevent vandalism on the exterior, though. You would need to take other measures to prevent this.

#5. Talk To Your Employees

To prevent porta potty vandalism, don’t just think about random miscreants. Your own employees may be responsible for instances of vandalism. Sometimes, vandalism is from workers who are either angry or who think that they are being funny.

Reminding them that everyone uses the porta potties, that the porta potties are rentals and ergo someone else’s property, and how the things they write/paint could hurt others can make them more mindful of their actions.

#6. Put Them In A Central Space

Putting porta potties in a central space where there are lots of people at the event can prevent porta potty vandalism like graffiti, tip-overs, and blown-up bathrooms.

#7. Guard Them

Position some staff around the porta potties to keep an eye out for vandals and to help people know where the bathrooms are and to keep them clean and functional. If there is graffiti or pencil or markers on the inside, people can let your staff know and they can clean it up promptly.

These are some of the ways you can prevent porta potty vandalism from occurring.

Canyon View Dumpsters & Toilets is here with porta potty rentals to meet your needs, whether you need to rent them for a work site or an event. Contact us today to learn more about our porta potty rentals.

porta potties myths Canyon View Dumpsters Ogden UT

Porta potties have a reputation for being gross, smelly, and ill-maintained. This can make people reluctant to use them. It can make people think that renting them for an event makes them look bad. However, this isn’t always the case.

Of course, it’s up to either you or the company you’re renting from to ensure that the porta potties remain sanitary places. That is a caveat to all of this, because if you don’t maintain the porta potties, then you can make the following myths realities.

That said, there are some persistent myths about porta potties that aren’t true when the porta potties are taken care of properly.

#1. Porta-Potties Are Unsanitary

Portable Toilets Canyon View Dumpsters Ogden UT porta potties myths

As previously mentioned, this depends on whether or not you’re maintaining them. However, if you’re on top of maintenance, they can stay clean. If you are renting, the company will clean and sanitize the porta potties between each use.

#2. Porta-Potties Are Smelly

They definitely can be when they are not cleaned and maintained. In order to keep them from becoming smelly, ensure that you have plans in place for waste removal and regular cleaning.

Porta potties can also have vents, in order to get fresh air in them.

#3. Porta-Potties Can Only Be Used For Informal Events

With their reputation, you may think porta-potties are best for construction sites, concerts, or food festivals. You may think that using them at a formal event will instantly turn it trashy.

However, there are special types of porta potties that give more of a traditional bathroom experience. These are ideal for weddings and other more formal events. Restroom trailers have running water, stalls, mirrors, nice floors, and more. This helps to maintain the atmosphere of the event by ensuring the guests have a clean, put-together place to see to their needs.

#4. Porta-Potties Are Trashy

If there are no restroom facilities in the area or you are not allowed to use the restroom facilities in the area, porta-potties provide a way for people to see to their needs in relative comfort. They’re infinitely better than squatting in the woods or having to leave a place in order to find an open restroom.

#5. Porta-Potties Aren’t Maintained

So, this is where it depends. If you purchased the porta potty, then it is up to you to maintain it. If you rent it, the company may or may not offer maintenance. You will want to check with them prior to renting so that you can make arrangements for maintenance if needed.

If the company does offer maintenance, it will be done on a regular basis, like every night at a multiple-day festival.

If they don’t, you will need to make arrangements to ensure it is clean.

Portable Toilets Ogden UT Canyon View Dumpsters porta potties myths

#6. You Can’t Wash Your Hands

This is another way people think porta-potties are gross and unsanitary. In truth, porta potties typically have hand sanitizers you can cleanse your hands with. You could also rent a handwash station for people to use when they come out of the porta-potty.

Some porta-potties have sinks in them that you can use, as is most often seen in restroom trailers.

#7. Porta-Potties Don’t Have Amenities

Another common porta potty myth is that they only have a toilet and nothing else. This isn’t always the case. Indeed, they can have the amenities of an indoor bathroom. This is especially true with restroom trailers. Some porta potties have sinks, lights, mirrors, and more.

For those without sinks, you can get handwash stations to place outside of them. That way, people can easily wash their hands and keep everyone cleaner and safer.

#8. Porta-Potties Aren’t ADA Friendly

It’s true that not all porta potties are ADA-compliant. However, there are indeed ADA-friendly porta potties out there. They have the space needed for people in wheelchairs to get in and out and to maneuver around them.

#9. Porta-Potties Will Tip Over

They can tip over if they are not secured, either from strong winds or people being malicious. However, they can be staked down and strategically placed in order to prevent this from happening.

porta potties myths Porta Potty Rental Canyon View Dumpster and Toilets Ogden UT

#10. Porta-Potties Can’t Hold Enough Waste

There are actually guidelines that you can follow in order to ensure that you rent enough porta-potties for your event. OSHA has regulations about the number of porta-potties needed at worksites. So long as you have enough porta-potties and you have them regularly maintained, you should be fine.

Do You Need To Rent Porta-Potties?

Contact us here Canyon View Dumpsters & Toilets! We offer porta-potties, both ADA-accessible and not, as well as restroom trailers and handwash stations.

porta potty placement Canyon View Dumpsters Ogden UT

When renting porta potties for your event, it’s important to know not just how many you’ll need, but also where you’ll place them. You may assume that you can simply put them all next to each other on the side of your event space. However, it’s common for people to make mistakes with porta potty placement.

To avoid lines blocking traffic flow, discontented guests, and potential trouble with the law, knowing proper porta potty placement is a must. Here are some of our top tips to help you determine how to place your porta potties around your event.

#1. Ensure They Are On Level, Stable Ground

The last thing that you want is for there to be a risk of the porta potties tipping over. They must always be placed on dry, level ground – that will stay level. Ideally, they would be placed on a paved surface. However, if this is not possible, you want to place them somewhere that won’t become unstable with mud or junk or what have you.

Depending on where your event is located, there may be the possibility of placing them on sidewalks. To do this, you will need to get a permit, as sidewalks are usually public property. You don’t want to get into trouble for placing a porta potty somewhere you needed a permit for.

#2. They Must Be Easily Accessible

You may be tempted to put your porta potties somewhere out of the way, in order to avoid people having to see them. However, when considering porta potty placement, you must ensure that they are somewhere people can easily access.

This is why the temptation to place all the porta potties in the same spot isn’t the greatest. It is better to spread your porta potties out throughout the event so that there is always one close by when people need to see to their needs. No one wants to have to trek all the way across the event space when nature calls.

#3. Maintenance And Delivery Trucks Must Be Able To Access Them

Part 2 of accessibility includes the trucks that deliver, clean, and remove the porta potties. They must be able to easily access where you want to place your porta potties. If you want your porta potties placed somewhere the truck can’t access, you’ll be forced to pick somewhere they can.

Something that can make determining porta potty placement easier is finding somewhere within 25 feet of where the delivery and maintenance trucks can park.

#4. People Must Be Able To See Them

No one wants to be in a pickle and have no idea where the nearest restroom or portable toilet is. It’s understandable to not want your porta potties front and center, but people still need to be able to spot them when they need them.

On this note, it’s generally best to for porta potty placement to be around food and beverage and seating areas. However, you don’t want them to be too obvious, as this can ruin people’s appetites. Have them near people, but not in the middle of the area. Being able to see a porta potty off to the side shouldn’t ruin the experience and is easy to see.

#5. Don’t Forget About The Weather

You may have an eye on the weather for what it means for your event, but have you thought about what it means for porta potty placement too?

This ties into the first point about dry, level ground. If you place porta potties on grass or dirt, these areas can become unstable in the rain. Mud also makes it more challenging for guests to get to the porta potties. Plus, rain can come through the vents, making the inside of the porta potty slippery and wet and altogether not a good experience.

Wind is another crucial elemental factor to keep in mind. Strong winds could tip porta potties over. As such, you want to ensure that the porta potties are secured, either to the ground or against a wall or something similar.

If there is rain or snow in the forecast, consider whether or not the event space has overhead coverage. This isn’t always possible, but if it is, this would be a good spot for porta potty placement.

#6. They Shouldn’t Block Emergency Equipment

Canyon View Dumpsters Ogden UT Portable Toilets porta potty placement

Never place porta potties in the way of fire hydrants or other emergency equipment. You never want porta potties blocking traffic in general, but you want to be especially sure that they wouldn’t prevent emergency vehicles from having enough space to enter and navigate the location. This is usually something that the law requires.

Do You Have Further Questions About Porta Potty Placement?

These are but 6 tips for how to place porta potties around your event. If you have any questions about porta potty placement or you would like to rent portable toilets for your event, Canyon View Dumpsters & Toilets is here to help! Contact us today to learn more about our porta potty and dumpster rentals.

« Previous Page

Common Types Of Porta Potty Vandalism