{"id":5387,"date":"2019-12-04T11:39:01","date_gmt":"2019-12-04T17:39:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zters.com\/?p=5387"},"modified":"2025-09-19T22:41:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T22:41:19","slug":"ask-angela-how-do-we-winterize-portable-toilets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zters.com\/blog\/ask-angela-how-do-we-winterize-portable-toilets","title":{"rendered":"Ask Angela: How do we winterize portable toilets?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Angela Phillips is a Senior Account Manager III at ZTERS Waste Solutions. She helps customers with some of their most challenging site service issues, and she answers your questions here on our website. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hi Angela: Is there anything we need to do to winterize portable toilets? We\u2019ve got porta potties on a jobsite, and it\u2019s scheduled to run through the winter. We don\u2019t want to end up with a frozen mess, you know? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Angela: With winter coming, this is a great question. We hear this every year from customers in cold climates and construction managers preparing their jobsite for winter<\/a>. In most cases, your vendor is going to handle any portable toilet winterizing for you. In fact, whether you want it or not, many portable toilets come prepackaged with winterizing chemicals and a winterization fee of $10-20 per billing cycle per toilet. That’s already built in when you rent. But that’s not always the case, so it\u2019s good to know what to do with toilets in winter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first part of the answer is it depends on where you\u2019re\nlocated. If you\u2019re in the South, or in areas that don\u2019t freeze very often, you\nprobably don\u2019t need to do anything special. One or two days of freezing weather\nlikely won\u2019t cause a problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if you\u2019re in an area where temperatures regularly drop below freezing, your portable toilet vendor<\/a> will need to come out and winterize porta potties. This is something we help our customers schedule, but you can also bring it up to your vendor before the temperature drops. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what\u2019s involved in porta potty winterizing: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In most cases, the vendor drops a special chloride pellet\nmix into the toilet each time it\u2019s serviced. These pellets protect the porta\npotty from freezing in temperatures as low as -25 degrees Fahrenheit. These\nneed to be refreshed weekly, so your service schedule needs to be regular for\nthis to be effective through winter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What about places where temperatures regularly drop below\n-25 F? In some areas it makes more sense for vendors to simply swap out the\ntoilet. Each time they service, they\u2019ll remove the existing toilet and drop off\na new one. This is a pretty expensive option, though, and it can be labor\nintensive. This isn\u2019t common, but you may see this depending on how cold it\ngets in your area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Need a Portable Toilet?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Speak with an account manager for a free quote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
(888) 251-2660<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A more common version of the swap-out is the tank swap-out.\nSome portable toilets now have smaller collection tanks, and these tanks can be\nswapped out instead of removing the entire toilet. With these porta potties, a\nvendor will just remove the existing tank, insert a new tank, and you\u2019ve got a\nclean, non-frozen porta potty through winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For most jobsites in the U.S. you\u2019re going to see the\nchlorine pellet method. There are some other things you can do to help prevent\nfreezing, though. For example, move porta potties to a protected area that\nlimits their exposure to wind. Place them against a wall or pack sandbags\naround the base to help prevent winter winds from freezing the contents.\nWind-chill is a major reason porta potty freeze in the first place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also invest in small space heaters that are specifically made for porta potties. Check with your vendor on whether they recommend this method for your particular toilets. Placing them in an enclosed area would be ideal, if that\u2019s possible. Even renting a storage container<\/a> is a great option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One last thing to consider in winter is whether to swap out your single portable toilets for a restroom trailer. Restroom trailers<\/a> are larger and can be ordered with multiple stalls inside. If you have the space and electrical access, they can be heated and are way more comfortable for crew members. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We help contractors and project managers find winter solutions for construction sites every year. Give us a call if you have questions about your winter service options. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Angela Phillips is a Senior Account Manager III at ZTERS Waste Solutions. She helps customers with some of their most challenging site service issues, and she answers your questions here on our website. Hi Angela: Is there anything we need to do to winterize portable toilets? We\u2019ve got porta potties on a jobsite, and it\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":3295,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[49,52,60],"class_list":["post-5387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to","tag-ask-angela","tag-construction","tag-portable-toilets"],"yoast_head":"\nAsk Angela: How do we winterize portable toilets? - The Site Savvy Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vendors typically handle winterizing portable toilets. 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