How do you know when your portable toilet needs to be emptied?

In the construction industry, it is common for portable toilets to be used, usually when the site does not currently have access to the main sewage and water system. This typically occurs during new build housing projects, although many other types of industries make use of portable chemical toilets on a regular basis.

How Do You Know When Your Portable Toilet Needs?

For example, festivals, outdoor catering events and functions all make use of temporary portable toilets, often over the course of the summer months.

Whatever the reason for requiring a portable toilet, it’s important to understand when and how they need to be emptied – and it’s not just for the convenience of customers and colleagues. Fall foul of the regulations and your company could be breaking HSE law.

As a rule, the HSE recommends that the use of one standard portable toilet should be enough to cater for no greater than seven people over a course of a 40-hour week. If your business has more than seven employees, it may be beneficial to call Letloos to arrange for the rental of an additional unit to ensure all regulations are being adhered to.

Understanding the process of emptying a portable loo

As is to be expected, portable loos fill up over time with continued use and require regular maintenance – however, there is more to the task than simply emptying the unit. Portable toilets make use of special chemicals which help to break down waste and ensure the unit stays hygienic, and these chemicals must be refilled when the loo is emptied. In addition to this, toilet rolls and hand sanitizers are also essential in ensuring your workforce remains happy and healthy.

How often should a portable loo be emptied?

BSI Standard (BS6465-1-2006) stipulates that portable toilets should be emptied once a week, and this is usually supplied as part of the toilet hire contract.

While the once-a-week guideline applies on the basis of seven people using one toilet, it’s worth bearing in mind that additional use or strain on the unit over the course of the week could mean more frequent emptying, and it’s worth discussing with Letloos to see whether your current service is meeting the demands of your team, and crucially whether it meets the demands of the HSE.

Most construction companies should have a good idea of how often their portable chemical toilets are in use, and from this, it can be easy to predict how often they will need to be emptied. If portable loos are being used at an event, the nature of the event will dictate how often they need to be cleaned and emptied. It’s worth considering how much food and drink will be consumed, as well as considering the event capacity and how long the event will run.

What does Letloos offer?

If your company requires a full-service portable toilet solution encompassing loo hire, shower units, hand-washing stations and more, Letloos can provide it. As a one-stop shop for all manner of portable loo requirements, Letloos caters for short-term and long-term construction site use, as well as providing temporary solutions for events.

With cleaning, tank emptying and replenishment of chemicals, toilet rolls and other amenities, it’s the sure-fire way of ensuring your facilities meet the demands of your employees, customers or clients – and with next-day delivery, if you’re experiencing issues with your current portable loo setup, the good news is that you won’t have to wait before things are back up and running to the standard your users deserve.

For further information on how Letloos could provide a first-class portable toilet emptying and maintenance service to your site or event, call 0800 368 8373.

Read More: Portable Toilet Hire Cost