Nature calls for all of us! The average person spends more than two years of their life in the bathroom. The average bathroom break takes about 15 minutes.
This makes it extremely important to provide bathrooms for your workers. Portable toilets are easy to rent and bring onto your construction site.
However, you can’t find the first construction portable toilets you see. You need to follow OSHA standards for a portable toilet rental.
What are OSHA guidelines for portable construction toilets? How should you clean your toilets? Where should your toilets be located?
Answer these questions and you can make the most out of portable toilets. Here is your quick guide.
OSHA Rules for Portable Toilets
Standard 1926.51(c) provides OSHA’s standards for toilets at job sites. OSHA mandates that all construction sites have at least one portable toilet at the site.
If you have more than 20 employees, you need one toilet seat and one urinal for every 40 workers. If you have more than 200 employees, you need one seat and one urinal for every 50 workers.
You may be working in a building that has a functional bathroom. This bathroom can count toward this requirement. There is no limit on how many bathrooms you can have on-site.
You must take steps to keep the bathrooms clean. Each bathroom must have hot and cold running water or hand sanitizer so employees can clean their hands.
OSHA also has requirements that apply to all businesses and industries. You must allow workers to leave their stations whenever they need to use the bathroom. You cannot impose any unreasonable restrictions like locking doors or imposing time limits on bathroom use.
If your workers are exposed to dirt and grime, you should provide them with a shower. The shower should have hot water and soap so your employees can clean themselves adequately.
Sanitary Practices for Portable Construction Toilets
A portable toilet must be cleaned at least once a week. OSHA considers a dirty or unsafe toilet to be against its guidelines, and you can receive complaints and fines for not cleaning toilets. You can clean the toilet yourself, or you can hire a cleaning crew to clean it.
You should empty out the toilet whenever it is close to filling. You can dump the contents of the waste reservoir into a septic tank or another storage unit.
After emptying the reservoir, you can wash the toilet using a garden hose. Scrub all surfaces of the toilet thoroughly, including the outside of the toilet. If you’re worried about pathogens, you can use antibacterial substances to kill them.
You can let the toilet air dry, or you can use a dry towel to remove the excess water. Once the toilet is dry, you can add a few ounces of clean water to your toilet and spray some deodorant inside.
If your toilet tips over, you need to clean it up right away. Stand the toilet up while wearing a pair of gloves. Use a garden hose to clean up the inside and then spread disinfectant around the toilet.
Types of Portable Toilets
OSHA does not require you to use a specific type of toilet. You should look at a few options for portable restrooms for construction. A standard porta potty has a toilet, urinal, and hand sanitizer.
If your employees’ hands get dirty, you can buy a standard potty with a sink. The sink is outside the potty, so an employee can walk up and wash their hands without needing to go inside.
You can also get a handicap-accessible restroom. The restroom can double as a changing station, allowing employees to put on their work clothes.
If you have a limited height restriction, you can get a high-rise restroom. This is a toilet that has a ceiling that you can take off, allowing you to roll the bathroom into a confined space. If you’re worried about privacy, you can attach the ceiling.
You can buy portable urinals as well. Try to find private locations for them so employees feel comfortable using them.
Places for Toilets
OSHA requires you to make toilets readily available. This means that a worker should be able to get to one within 10 minutes of leaving their station.
If the construction site is small, you should consider placing the toilets toward the center of the site. Placing them off to one side can make it hard for workers to get to it quickly. Employees may also trip over obstacles or cross near dangerous areas on a long walk.
If you have a large construction site, you can place a toilet near each workstation or on each side of the site. At the end of the day, check on each toilet to make sure it’s clean and easy to use for the next day.
Put signs near your toilets so people know where to go. You can also give each worker a map with the toilets clearly marked.
The Essentials of Portable Toilets
OSHA closely regulates portable toilets. You need to have enough for all of your employees, and they must be clean.
Order at least one for every 40 workers. Clean your toilets at the end of each day and keep track of them during the day.
You can buy whatever toilets you want, and you may want a large toilet to serve as a changing room. You should place them in strategic locations so workers don’t have to walk far.
Don’t go far for great porta potties. Plummer’s Disposal serves West Michigan businesses. Get a free quote today.