Learn about the factors that go into this important estimate.

For most people, the portable toilet is a part of big events or outdoor places, like national parks. In these contexts, it makes sense to have portable toilets as the event isn’t permanent, so permanent restroom structures aren’t called for. These aren’t the only places where portable toilets can come in handy, however. It isn’t uncommon for smaller events to also need portable facilities. Even a particularly large house party can benefit from an extra toilet or two. Basically, if you are planning an event where there will not be access to indoor facilities, or if the number of indoor facilities is too small for your estimated attendance, you should consider renting portable toilets.But how many portable toilets should you get? You have to take into account several different things when making this calculation.

The first thing you need to decide is how many people, maximum, will be at the event at a time. If you’ve got 50 guests, you’ll need one toilet, if you have 100, you’ll need two, and if you have 1,000, you’ll need five. The longer the event, the more toilets you should provide. You can assume that your guests will need to use the facilities once every three or four hours. With smaller party sizes, one or two additional toilets will suffice, but with larger numbers, you’ll need to add considerably more.You will need to modify this basic number with the following conditions. For example, you also need to consider how many women will be attending the event. You should be ready to add one or two toilets to your total needs to accommodate your female guests if they are at least half of your total party.

Alcohol will also modify your numbers. Alcohol makes people urinate more often (30 to 40 percent more often, in fact), so the number of restrooms will also need to rise if your guests will be drinking. The number you need to add will vary based on the other factors involved, but you should plan for an additional 10 percent or more.If the portable toilets will be used to supplement the restrooms available, you can count those permanent facilities as part of your total. For example, if your home has two restrooms, you can decrease your calculated need by two. And don’t forget hand sanitation. People like to be able to wash their hands after using the facilities, but this is often ignored when arranging for outdoor facilities.

You may also need to consider persons with disabilities when making your porta potty plans. Of course, if you know for a fact that no disabled persons will be at the event, such as at a private party the guests to which you all know personally, you won’t need to make arrangements for them. For any event that will include guests you do not know, though, you should be prepared to accommodate guests with physical disabilities in the form of accessible portable toilets.

Original post by James Rendo