Tips, tricks and techniques to keep your port-a-potty rentals safe during hurricane season
On the East Coast, the warm June weather marks the beginning of hurricane season. This means we’re at risk of violent winds, tropical storms and relentless flooding till mid November. For the five or six months of hurricane season, construction sites and outdoor workstations in at-risk areas are especially prone to becoming disaster zones.
Getting all your equipment out of the site in time poses a logistical challenge. Flying industrial machinery can cause severe damage to surrounding properties. If your area is at risk during hurricane season, you need to secure your everything on site. This includes equipment, machinery – and port-a-potty rentals.
Think about it: you are liable for any damage to a rented facility in your possession. This includes any damage a portable toilet may cause to its surroundings when hurled by wind 50 feet in the air. It’s in your best interest to keep your rental safe and secured before the storms arrive.
Being a company based out of Florida, we know too well what it’s like to experience the force of a hurricane. We’ve compiled our knowledge to give you this guide on how to prepare your port-a-potty rentals for hurricane season.
Before the Storm
Preparations for hurricanes should begin early enough for you to draft a plan to properly evacuate your work area. This will ensure you have enough time to prepare a safe location where you can move all your equipment. To keep your port-a-potty rentals from becoming airborne, try some of of these tips:
1. Use Your Garage
If you have room in your garage, you can place your portable toilet inside so it’s safe during a tropical storm. First, you will need to completely pump out any water to empty out the port-a-potty. Then, lock up the portable unit and let the door face one of the inside walls in the garage.
This might not be plausible in all cases. Your port-a-potty rentals might have just arrived, and you may not have enough time to clear out storage space. Nevertheless, securing your portable toilet rental in a garage or other enclosed spaces is the best.
2. Tie ’em Up
Using a strong rope, strap, chain, or cable, try typing up your port-a-potty rentals before keeping them somewhere safe. Tying the doors shut prevents the wind from catching inside the portable unit. Strong winds may be able to hoist the toilet into the air if left in the projected path of a hurricane.
If you can’t move the port-a-potty to an enclosed space in time, try one of these options. You might be to tie it to a tree, dumpster or telephone post. Ensure the door is facing the tree, to avoid giving the wind access to the interior of your portable unit.
Another thing you can try is propping your tied-up portable toilet against the leeward side of a building. No guarantees, but if you keep the door facing the wall of the building, your port-a-potty has a good chance of surviving hurricane season.
3. Weigh It Down
If you are expecting an especially large hurricane, prepare adequately! Try to find an enclosed area nearby to store your equipment and rentals. In the case you don’t, placing weights inside your port-a-potty rentals might be your best option.
Although it’s possible to anchor your port-a-potty to the ground with stakes to prevent it from tipping over, this anchorage is less than ideal in case of a hurricane. Use sandbags or other heavy objects to weigh down the portable unit and safeguard it from the violent winds of hurricane season.
Note that the wind can still pry open the door of a weighted port-a-potty if the door is not firmly tied up to keep it shut. Keep the door shut, and facing a wall, preferably one that is not in the direct path of the storm.
4. Barricade Your Port-a-Potty
In the absence of an enclosed space, or any suitable weights for anchorage, you can use heavy machinery and a nearby wall to create one. Barricade a small area where you can keep a few port-a-potty rentals, ensuring their doors are tied firmly shut.
Practically every attempt you make at keeping your port-a-potty secured during hurricane season will require you to block the door in some way. You don’t want an airborne toilet spewing human waste all over because the wind was able to creep into your portable unit.
You can prop the door against a wall, but an even better method is to tip the port-a-potty over until it is “facedown”, with the door lying against the ground. If the area is properly barricaded, your port-a-potty rentals should be safe and secure until the storm is over.
After the Storm
The first thing to do after the storm is to assess your port-a-potty rentals for any damage. If your units are still pretty functional, congratulations. If one or two gets damaged by the storm, notify us immediately. We will try to service, or replace your rental as quickly as possible.
Doodie Calls services the entire nation in times of disaster. When you need us, we will be there. At Doodie Calls we’re committed to providing excellent service for our customers. After the storm, it’s our responsibility to help you get your port-a-potty rentals in tip-top shape and ready for use.
However, if you’ve done a good job securing your port-a-potty rentals before the tropical storm arrives, you should still have functional portable toilets on site. Keep these tips in mind for next hurricane season if you don’t want to be caught unawares.
Need Portable Toilets? Contact Doodie Calls!
As the leading provider of portable toilets in Florida, we know how to deal with hurricanes. We ensure that all our port-a-potty rental orders are delivered before the start of hurricane season. If your area is in the projected path of a hurricane, we pump out all the water from the portables so they are empty and easy for you to move to a secure location. At Doodie Calls, one of our core values is excellent customer service – it’s what we are known for. If you need portable toilets restroom trailers, hand washing sink rentals, bunk and laundry trailers, contact us at +1 (813) 800-POOP, or click here to request a quote.
