Rental of portable toilets started around a hundred years ago. From a tiny industry, it has grown massively and, today, there are some 1,400,000 porta potty rentals in existence. So how did this happen? What is the history of the portable restroom? Let’s take a journey through time.
The Early Beginnings
During the 1940s, shipyards were thinking of ways to get maximum productivity out of their staff. Hence, they introduced portable toilets, so that employees would not have to waste time walking great distances to go to the toilet. The first time this happened, a portable toilet was actually installed on a ship that was being built. The rest, as they say, is history. Demand grew exponentially and before long, porta potty rentals companies started to develop.
The Earliest Portable Toilets
The very first versions of these toilets were wood and each was a bespoke model. During the 50s and 60s, more and more companies were trying to set up in this field, and various names were started to be employed. The “porta potty”, however, stuck in popular culture. Suddenly, these toilets were found everywhere, most notably for emergency services, construction sites, various festivals, government projects, weddings, sports events, production companies, movie sets and any other thing that you could think of where the location was public.
New Improvements
Nowadays, the toilets aren’t wood anymore either. Rather they are plastic devices, but various other improvements have also been added. These include:
- Toilets on trailers, so that railway or highway workers can take them with them.
- Portable toilets that self-compost.
- Hands-free toilets, used mainly at festivals, to increase hygiene.
- Luxury toilets that include mirrors and vanity cupboards.
- Full changing stations.
- Toilets that are powered by solar energy.
- Toilets with advertising facilities.
The sanitation business has been completely transformed over the past 60 years or so. Once upon a time, a wooden station with a bench and bucket was enough. Now, however, people are going for the real “royal flush”. Some of the porta potties include trailers with a marble interior, family changing rooms, hardwood flooring and even some with built-in televisions.
As the cherry on the proverbial cake, in 2009, a portable toilet was created for President Obama. This received the prestigious Cintas award for America’s Best Restroom and everybody suddenly wants one.
Furthermore, porta potties aren’t just potties anymore either. You can now get urinals, as well as full restrooms with showers and baths. They exist in various sizes, including some that have a side for men and a side for women, rather than having to install two. They are completely energy efficient, particularly those that run on solar power and those that self-compost, meaning they don’t damage the earth in any way. Indeed, some people are now considering purchasing these units to set them up at home, rather than renovating their own bathroom. After all, these portable restrooms are so luxurious that they are better than anything that can be installed in a regular bathroom. Plus, they can be hooked straight to the sewage and power mains, so there are no difficulties there either.
For more information on this booming business, please click here.