How Porta-Potties are Designed and Maintained
Porta-potties are such a ubiquitous aspect of construction sites, large events, and other settings that you may have never given them a second thought. But have you ever wondered how they work? There are actually several interesting design features in porta-potties that make them effective and easy to use and maintain. Let’s take a closer look at how portable restrooms are designed and maintained.
Standard Features in Porta-Potties
The average porta-potty has a few distinct features. They have plastic components and support rails underneath for stabilization. Most have translucent roofs (often white) that let in some light. They also have non-slip floors to prevent falls and ventilation systems to vent odors from the holding tank. The holding tank itself can vary in size, with 60 gallons being one standard size. There is often a non-splash urinal, toilet paper holder, and a hand sanitizer dispenser as well.
There are a few other kinds of portable restroom setups that you may see around. Restroom trailers often have additional features like stairs, flushing toilets, finished floors, fully-functional sinks, counters, mirrors, and lighting. They often have an option for heating or air conditioning as well. They can even have shower facilities in some cases. See Moon’s lineup of restroom trailers here for more some examples.
Some portable restrooms are designed specifically for high-rise construction sites. Cranes can lift these units up to any level of a high-rise and placed for use. See Moon’s PolyLift line here for an example.
The Holding Tank
The holding tank is probably the most fascinating part of the porta-potty. There are several design features that make it a modern marvel. You may be familiar with the blue liquid you see in the tank. This liquid contains a few important things: biocides to kill microbes and bacteria, blue dye to hide waste, and fragrance to cover odors.
Experts clean out porta-potties with vacuum technology. To clean them, experts use large trucks with holding tanks and a vacuum attachment. They attach the vacuum hose to an output in the porta-potty and suck out the contents into a holding tank on the truck. They then fill the porta-potty holding tank with fresh water from another tank on the truck, and add the blue liquid.
However, there are a few things that can complicate the cleaning process. In some unfortunate cases, porta-potties can get knocked over, whether by accident or on purpose. This makes cleaning them much more difficult. Workers often have to flip them and manually clean the insides of units in these cases. Additionally, waste can spew out if a porta-potty is lying on its door side. Some items can also clog the vacuum hose if dropped into the holding tank too. Fortunately, experienced technicians like the team at Moon can handle these situations.
Moon Portable Restrooms has years of experience offering the best portable restrooms, restroom trailers, and handwashing stations available to customers across Kentucky and Southern Indiana. For more information, give Moon Portable Restrooms a call at 502-776-2199.
