Porta Potties Verses Portable Restroom Trailers

I’m Roman I have over 15 years of experience in the portable sanitation industry and also co-own Fancy Flush a restroom rental agency in Santa Rosa, CA.  In this article we’ll be discussing the differences between a plastic portable toilet and a portable restroom trailer. 

A portable toilet or “porta potty” as they’re commonly known is a cheap plastic box with a plastic tank with an open top and a toilet seat.  It provides a basic level of privacy and sanitation for the user.  These units are quite cheap and easy to produce, they’re very reliable as they’re very simple and designed for public use.  They are also known as a “Chemical Toilet”, they use a chemical enzyme tinted blue that treats the odors produced by human waste.  It’s not a perfect system as anyone who’s attended a large public even can attest to but it’s certainly much better than nothing.

A portable restroom trailer is a newer more expensive idea which has been getting more and more popular in the USA since the early 2000’s.  They’re akin to an RV and use much of the same components.  They’re purpose built trailers that do not contain any living space other than bathrooms.  They have many components and luxuries that a porta-potty lacks, faucets with running water, flushing toilets, interior lighting, and most have climate control.  They’re very similar looking to a bathroom in your home, they use no chemicals to treat the waste, they simply flush it into a holding tank which prevents the user from looking or smelling any waste.

Choosing the right rental toilet for your application is a matter of what standards you and your guests have and your budget.  A portable toilet is great for people who are grateful that they have a bathroom at all and for those on a shoestring budget.  They’re also very environmentally friendly believe it or not, as they use almost no water at all.    These are ideal for public events, small remote events and locations where space is an issue.

If when you or your guests think of porta-potties as dirty smelly blue boxes you might want to consider a more upscale flushing VIP toilet.  A VIP restroom is a great for small events where you or your guests standards are a bit higher.  These restrooms are a bit pricier than your typical porta potty and some of the airplane style versions have less capacity than a typical porta potty.   These restrooms typically don’t include climate control so they may not be ideal for conditions hotter than 90 degrees.  These work best at wine tastings, small weddings, supplements to existing bathrooms etc.

If you need a bit more capacity, room, or climate control then your best bet is a portable restroom trailer.  These are designed to look and feel like your bathroom at home, and are sometimes decorated with photos, candles, flowers and other decorative items to make it feel more cozy.  Best of all these are climate controlled so you don’t have to worry about it getting too hot or cold in there.  They’re more expensive to buy and thus are priced higher than your VIP toilet or porta-potty options however they’re perfect for weddings, birthday parties and other upscale events.  These are the bathrooms movie stars use in Hollywood and on locations throughout the world.

Roman Schmidt, Co-Owner
Fancy Flush
Santa Rosa, CA 95407
www.fancyflush.net