How to Rent a Porta-Potty: What You Need to Know

The typical information that most rental companies require when renting a porta potty is listed below.

• Proprietor or business name
• Addresses for billing and delivery
• Phone number
• Dates and window times for delivery and pickup
• Hourly length of the event
• estimated number of attendees or employees at a job site
• The following questions could be asked in relation to this information:
• the proportion of female attendees (Women’s restroom lines are often longer; increasing restroom units can cut down on overall crowd wait times.)
• Whether there will be food and/or drinks served (Eating and drinking make toilet use more necessary. Additionally, alcohol is a known diuretic that makes people urinate more frequently than they would with non-alcoholic beverages.
• payments details

 

Factors That Affect Porta Potty Rental Prices

1. Location
2. Availability & Seasonality
3. crowd size and event duration
4. features & add-ons
5. logistics, placement & access
6. maintenance schedule
7. regulations & permits
8. fees

 

• Location

Prices depend on where you live because rental rates vary from place to place.

When you go somewhere where things are more expensive, you’ll probably pay more. You’ll pay less in a cheaper area.

Transportation and delivery costs are also affected by where something is.

If your venue is far from the rental place and the company has to drive the porta potty 30 miles to get it there, the distance may make your cost go up.

• Availability & Seasonality

When a lot of people want to rent porta potties at the same time, prices might go up, especially for the most popular sizes.

Demand is higher on the weekends than during the week, and it’s also higher when it’s warm outside because more people are having events.

During these times, you might need to book further ahead to make sure the rental company has what you need.

• crowd size and event duration

The size of the crowd and the length of the event are the two most important things to think about when making the decision on how many porta potties to rent.

The more people who are coming, the more units you’ll need.

But also, the longer people stay, the more portable toilets you’ll need to make sure there aren’t lines outside or messes inside.

After figuring out the base ratio, decide if food and/or drinks, especially alcohol, will be served at the event site or nearby.

Your needs and the final price will be affected by these factors. We have added a table on this post so you can get an idea

• features & add-ons

The features of portable toilets range from simple to “I can’t believe it’s portable.”

The price goes up as you choose more and more extras. Here are the options most of the time:

Standard: It’s like a modern outhouse, but it doesn’t have electricity or running water.

Handicapped-accessible means that it is bigger than usual and meets ADA guidelines so that it can be used by people in wheelchairs or with other aids.

Flushing/deluxe: The toilet flushes and there’s usually a urinal, a counter, and a sink with running water, among other things.

Restroom trailers have private stalls with flushing toilets, heat or air conditioning, counters, lights, mirrors, sinks with hot and cold water, soap, paper towels, and other things.

You can add a number of features to your contract and put them in or near portable toilets to make them cleaner and more convenient for users.

These things are:

 

Handwashing stations are portable sinks with soap, paper towels, and running water.

Hand sanitizer stations are counters or kiosks with hand sanitizer dispensers that you can pump or that you don’t have to touch.

Porta potties often come with mirrors.

Urinals are added to some porta-potty models

Portable ACs or heaters: In some places that get very hot or very cold, the law may say that portable bathrooms on construction sites have to stay at a certain temperature. (This can also be a nice thing to do for people who come to an event.)

Some construction sites will also need high-rise, crane-hook, or rollable units that can be set up in tight, high, or otherwise hard-to-reach spaces.

Make sure to ask about add-ons before you sign a contract, since not every company has them all.

• logistics, placement & access

Rental companies have to spend time and gas money getting to your location for delivery.

This affects the price they charge, as does anything the driver has to deal with on the way, like detours, tolls, traffic or construction delays, etc.

Once the driver gets to your site, things like locked gates or cars that aren’t parked right can cause problems and cost you extra money.

Each portable toilet needs to be put on a solid, level, dry surface that is easy to reach and within 40 feet of an area where a service truck can get to.

(It also doesn’t hurt to put them somewhere easy for guests to reach.)

• maintenance schedule

If your project spans more than one time period (like a two-weekend event) or lasts for a long time (like a three-month building job).

you may need to include a maintenance schedule in your contract.

Each porta-potty is cleaned and sanitized by the rental company before it is sent out.

This is good to know in a time when cleanliness and sanitation are so important.

But if you rent porta potties for more than a single weekend event, you need a service and maintenance plan or you’ll have some very unhappy users.

 

During a maintenance visit, the service staff cleans and disinfects all the inside surfaces, pumps out the tank, and then fills it back up.

They also restock toilet paper, paper towels, soap, or hand sanitizer, this is generally included in the rent of the portable potties.

 

The rental company will usually come to your site once a week to clean a construction porta-potty or restrooms at a long event.

If you plan to serve food and/or alcohol at your event, you may need to schedule cleanings more often.

• regulations & permits

While many rental firms handle permits as part of the agreement, in some places you might have to handle them yourself.

Be aware that different work sites, private property events, and public facilities have different rules and permit needs.

Worksite – OSHA and ANSI regulations as outlined by the city, county, health department, and labor department are applicable to any work site, including construction sites.

Private property – These can include the regulations of the property’s owner or manager as well as any zoning or city, county, or other regulatory requirements.

public space, such as a park – You must abide by the rules set forth by the city, county, parks and recreation department, local zoning boards, and/or health department when on public land.

Check which laws and licenses your rental firm handles and which you are responsible for.

• fees

The porta potty’s delivery, installation, and removal are mostly covered by the rental fee.

A further portion is used to pay for supplies including soap, paper towels, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, blue tank liquid, and deodorizer.

These are some additional expenses that might be incurred:

A rental deposit is typically requested in order to safeguard the business against unforeseen cancellations or property damage. The business then typically refunds the money or deducts it from your final bill.

Damage waiver cost – Opting into the damage waiver (highly advised) is similar to purchasing rental car insurance in that it safeguards both you and the business in the event that a unit is damaged.

Payment for the reservation ensures that the business will have your unit available on the days you’ll need it.

Fuel surcharge – Mileage for delivery and pickup might be priced per mile or as a flat long-distance fee.

Garbage-handling charge — Waste fees pay for the business’s dumping costs at the facility for disposing of waste as well as the submission of associated documentation.

Cleaning and maintenance costs – Regular cleanings once a week typically have a modest standard cost, while more frequent cleanings may have a higher cost.

Porta-potty delivery on Saturdays or Sundays is typically subject to a premium fee to cover personnel overtime.

Expedited delivery price – A rental firm would probably charge an additional fee to expedite delivery, frequently overnight or within two days as possible, in situations where a porta-potty is suddenly needed and needed urgently, such as in a disaster relief scenario.

Late fees – You will be charged an additional price per day if you retain the units later than originally planned.