How to Deal with a Tipped Porta Potty

Porta potties are commonplace in new construction areas so that workers can do their business on the job. But once the workday ends, most are left unsupervised on the job site, meaning that they’re susceptible to a variety of elements, notably vandalism. Specifically, one popular porta potty prank is to tip them over, creating a mess of human waste inside of its confines. This is done mostly for kicks by teenagers, much to the ire of the workers who return to find it toppled over the next day. (It’s worth noting that porta potties can also tip over due to weather and high winds, of course.)

But this begs the question – just what should you do in the case of a tipped porta potty? Here’s a look at how to respond and some tips to prevent it from happening in the first place.

Dealing with a Tipped Porta Potty

If you get lucky, the tipped over porta potty might have landed in a way where there was minimal – or no – sewage leakage. But that’s not often the case. In fact, in most cases, the culprits make sure that there’s sewage leakage or else it was an unsuccessful prank. So here’s a look at what to do if you encounter a tipped porta potty.

• Stand it back up: You’re obviously going to have to clean it out, but standing it back up is the important first step.
• Get the garden hose out and spray the inside of the unit down good to wash all the waste away from it.
• Disinfect: Sewage is gross and you could get really sick from it if it’s not cleaned properly. That’s where sanitizers and disinfectants come in handy. Use them after you’ve done an initial clean and follow directions on dwell time before rinsing.

Now, while the above are DIY steps to recovering and cleaning a tipped porta potty, it’s worth mentioning that many rental companies will ask you to call them immediately upon it being tipped over. As part of their service, many companies will clean it out themselves or swap it out with a new unit, so check with who you rented from before you go about things yourself.

With that in mind, there are also a few ways you can prevent a porta potty from being tipped over. Many units now come with tipping prevention systems, allowing units to be fastened to phone poles or structures. In some cases, they can even be staked into the ground if wind and weather are the main factors that you’re dealing with.

Needless to say, discovering a tipped porta potty isn’t very much fun. Luckily, we can potentially accommodate such situations with advance notice. Be sure that when you contact us to order porta potties, you mention any circumstances that could result in a tipped porta potty unit. But, in case it will take too long to get a replacement, it’s good to know how to handle the situation until help arrives!

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