What to Know About Winterizing Portable Restrooms

If you have portable toilets at an outdoor site that will remain active during winter, it’s important to take certain precautions over the season to prevent liquid waste from freezing and potentially causing damage to the unit. There are several methods of winterization you can employ that should do the trick.

Here’s an overview of what you should know about winterizing portable restrooms in Toledo, OH.

Preparing for a freeze

The methods you use for preparing your portable toilets for winter will depend on the number of units you’re dealing with, the dumping requirements in your area and the number of days below freezing you can expect to encounter.

If you live in an area where you know you’ll have long stretches of cold temperatures, it’s important to be proactive with an antifreeze formula. If you live in an area where freezes happen few and far between, you don’t necessarily need to be quite as thoroughly prepared, but it’s still important to know how to handle them.

Here are a few examples of some common solutions porta potty companies will use to protect their units against freezing temperatures:

• Brine solutions: One popular method is to use a sodium chloride brine solution made with rock salt. When placed into the waste receptacle, this will help to prevent the formation of ice. The down side of using brine is that it can be highly corrosive to steel and will not necessarily protect your tank if you have extremely cold weather (temperatures below zero). The tank should therefore be corrosion resistant. But if you can use it, this is the easiest way to protect your tanks.
• Various salts: There are several other types of salts you can use, either to attack existing ice or to prevent its formation. A methanol and rock salt mixture can be highly effective, or you can create a de-icing salt solution or crystal with magnesium chloride. Magnesium chloride is often more expensive than rock salt, but has a lower eutectic point, allowing you to get more protection at lower temperatures.
• Methanol: Methanol is more easily mixed than crystal salts because you just pour it into the tank without having to dissolve it first. Its non-corrosive nature makes it safe for steel tank trucks. It’s expensive, but also very versatile, and prevents you from having to mix up large batches of brine. However, there are some significant dangers associated with the substance if you use it incorrectly, so you need to be careful.
• Pellets: Some companies make pellets that feature a blend of several different chlorides. These pellets get dropped right into a fresh toilet tank. Simply scoop enough into the toilet and urinal after the tank has been freshly serviced and that will protect you from temperatures down to negative 25 degrees Fahrenheit.

For more information about some of the most common methods implemented when winterizing portable restrooms against freezing temperatures in Toledo, OH, we encourage you to contact Ace Diversified Services. We’d be glad to discuss your porta potty rental options!

Categorised in: Porta Potty Rental