Whether you’re planning an event or managing a worksite, portable toilets are one of the best ways to keep your site fresh and clean! Providing portable plastic thrones means your guests and employees will have the facilities they need to get through the day.
One of the questions we get is people wondering how often portable toilets need to be emptied. It can take a fair bit of courage to peer into the holding tank and see where the level is at.
The good news is that you won’t need to worry about that – we handle it for you!
We take care of maintaining our portaloos while they’re in use. That means we’ll be there to clean and empty them on a regular basis and ensure your event goes smoothly.
But it never hurts to know more! So we’re going to go over the basics of portaloo maintenance to help you plan your next event.
How Often Do Portable Toilets Need to Be Emptied?
We usually recommend emptying portaloos once per fortnight if they’re being used by 10 people or less. The more people using a portaloo, the more often it needs to be emptied.
Here’s how often you need to empty a portaloo based on the number of people using it:
- Empty monthly for 1-3 people
- Empty fortnightly for 4-6 people
- Empty weekly for 6-10 people
- Empty more frequently for 10+ people
If you have a portaloo on a worksite or at an event, emptying it once per fortnight is a good starting point. In between emptying the portaloo you’ll need to keep an eye on the holding tank level.
Discuss a Maintenance Schedule with Your Portaloo Provider
Maintenance schedules are one of the things you’ll need to talk to your portaloo provider about. How often you need to empty portable toilets depends on a few things, including:
- How many portable toilets are onsite
- What sort of event or work is going on
- Whether food and alcohol is being served
- Whether the toilets need other types of cleaning
Emptying a portaloo’s holding tank is just one part of its maintenance needs. After emptying, the inside of the toilet cubicle is cleaned and consumables like hand sanitiser and toilet paper are replaced.
How Many Portaloos Do I Need?
This is the biggest factor in how often portaloos need to be emptied. It’s self explanatory – more toilets means less waste in each one!
Choosing the right number of portable toilets is simple. We recommend a minimum of 1 toilet for every 50 people at a one-day event. If it’s an overnight event with food and drink, you should hire a few extra portaloos for comfort and convenience.
We strongly recommend that you don’t skimp on the facilities. There’s nothing worse than guests queuing for one of our plastic thrones. If you’re unsure how many portaloos you need for your worksite or event, talk to our team and we can make a recommendation.
How Do You Empty a Portable Toilet?
Modern portaloos are designed to be as easy as possible to service.
Emptying them is usually done using a waste suction machine. The machine is a large vacuum that sucks the waste out of the portaloo and deposits it in a large storage tank. These tanks are mounted on the back of trucks so they can be taken away and safely disposed of.
The holding tank is then cleaned and filled with fresh water and the special blue chemicals. We then clean the inside of the cubicle to disinfect every surface.
It only takes a few minutes to empty and clean each portaloo. That means regularly scheduled maintenance won’t disrupt your day.
Signs it’s Time to Empty Your Portable Toilet
There are a few things to keep your eye on when you hire a portaloo for more than a week. Perform regular inspections and look for these signs that it’s time to have your portable toilet serviced:
- The blue chemicals are fading. Portaloos use special chemicals to break down waste, neutralise odours and kill germs. These blue chemicals usually show up when flushing the toilet. If the flush water stops looking blue or if the smell of the waste is starting to become noticeable, it’s time to empty the tank.
- When the cubicle needs cleaning. It’s a good chance to have the whole unit emptied and cleaned when the floor, sink and other parts of the portaloo start to look dirty.
- When supplies start to run out. Portaloos need plenty of supplies like fresh water, hand sanitiser and toilet paper. If those things start to run low, it’s time to contact your provider for a service!
What Happens If You Don’t Empty a Portaloo?
If you don’t empty a portaloo on time, they quickly become unusable due to an over-full holding tank (which can also lead to some pretty shocking smells).
Portaloos have a built-in holding tank. They can hold hundreds of litres of waste, but there’s a limit. Eventually, the waste becomes visible in the bottom of the toilet bowl.
The chemicals we use to kill bacteria and odour start to break down too. You can imagine what happens after that!
Can Portaloos Be Used While They’re Being Emptied?
Portaloos are taken out of operation while they’re emptied. This is because we need to flush the holding tank and replace the blue chemicals, which we can’t do while there’s a queue of people.
Don’t worry though. It only takes a few minutes to clean each portable toilet, so they’ll be back online in no time.
Keep Your Portaloos Clean and Tidy with Poles & Holes!
Portaloos have long struggled in the reputation department. But the reality is that modern portaloos are designed to look (and smell) clean for long periods of time. If you want to keep them that way, you’ll need to make sure you’re having them serviced on time! When you seek out portable toilet hire for events services from Poles & Holes we’ll work with you to figure out the best maintenance schedule for your needs. Whether you need portaloo hire Brisbane services for a small worksite or a large-scale festival, we can help. Contact us to discuss your requirements and we’ll figure out the right maintenance schedule for you!
