Why the Porta Potty Won't Wash You Out

These days, we need to save both water and time, and one of the keys to saving both is by using portable restrooms. You may wonder, "How in the world is using the porta loo going to save the earth?" The answer is one flush at a time. In our homes we each flush the toilet 5-6 times a day, and a standard toilet uses nearly 19 gallons of water each day. High efficiency toilets use about half that. But with a porta potty a ten person construction crew can make it through a whole 40 hour work week and only use 6 gallons of water during that time.

When you look at what a porta john can save over a full year, the numbers are impressive. Portable toilets save 125 million gallons of water a year – with that amount of water you can fill Soldier Field twice. Talk about washing the White Sox. You also get more productivity out of crews who don't have to keep running inside to use the bathroom. One study showed that construction sites that used portable toilets had a return on their investment multiplied eight and a half times over.

Even though you see quite a few portable toilet on construction sites, that isn't the only place where they are useful. They are also great for outdoor events, whether it is a big concert, a festival or fair, or even that big wedding in the back yard. Face it, a couple hundred guests in and out of your home can put a lot of wear and tear on your personal pot, not to mention your water bill.

Between the convenience of having a toilet right where you need it, and the water saving green aspect, we should all look for opportunities to make use of the porta potty.

Biffs

8610 Hansen Ave

Shakopee, MN 55379

(952) 403-1221

www.biffsinc.com

6 Most Common Items that Fall in a Porta Potty

So you're at that big outdoor concert having a great time. The opener just exited the stage and you make a run for the porta potty to relieve yourself of all the "adult beverages" you consumed while tailgating in the parking lot before the gates opened. You enter the portable toilet and casually lean over the toilet seat to get a glimpse of what exactly is down there. Suddenly, you feel those sunglasses you have resting on your baseball hat begin to slip. You react, but it's too late - your shades are now one with the waste. That’s a crappy situation to find yourself in.

In fact, sunglasses are just one of the most common items that find their way into the porta potty. Here's a look at six others:

1. Cell phones: As you're sitting down to do your business, it's all too easy for your cell phone to slip out of your pocket and into the waste cesspool below. Or you could be one of those folks who tries to talk while doing your business. Multitasking just isn't meant to be done in a portable toilet.
2. Keys: Just like with your cell phone, these are just a pants shift away from slipping from your pocket.
3. Wallet: See reasoning behind Nos. 1 and 2.
4. Baseball hats: You know you lean over to see what exactly is down there before you go. Don't kid yourself, every porta potty user does it. That's when your cap is apt to join the party down below.
5. Beverages: The thing about porta potties is that there are often lines to use them. So why let your beer or beverage get cold elsewhere when you could be drinking it while you wait in line? Unfortunately, this is often a double-edged sword as it falls into the toilet once you're inside doing your thing.
6. Camera: You never know when a Kodak moment will strike. But items are hard to juggle in confined spaces when you're doing other business.

Whether you're at a tailgate, concert, graduation party, family reunion or some other outdoor site or activity, the porta potty is often considered a convenience. But take it from us - enter with caution and don't try to multitask inside. You don't want any items of your to enter the porta potty graveyard.

Biffs

8610 Hansen Ave

Shakopee, MN 55379

(952) 403-1221

www.biffsinc.com

A Brief History of the Portable Toilet

You might not realize this, but the next time you make use of a porta potty, you're going to be sitting on more than three thousand years of history. Portable toilets go back to the days of ancient Egypt, as hard as that may be to believe. Of course, they weren't always made of blue plastic. Join us as we take a portable restroom through time to learn the history of the porta potty!

The first porta-potties, as far as we can tell, were invented in Ancient Egypt and consisted of a stool with a clay pot underneath. These porta-johns were frequently used by high ranking officials, with whom they were frequently buried, just in case nature called in the afterlife.

Eventually, in the Middle Ages, we would see the most famous form of ancient porta-johns – the chamber pot. Chamber pots were usually simple metal pots that you could do your business into and then simply pour out the window when you had the chance. If you wanted to class it up a bit, you could also get hold of a glass chamber pot... Lord knows why you would want to, but that option was available.

The first portable toilets to look more like the modern porta potty finally showed up in World War I, when soldiers would relieve themselves in portable water closets marked "T. Crapper" for Thomas Crapper, plumber and inventor of the modern toilet.

At this point we might want to take a moment to point out that we are not making this up.

Outhouses, common throughout history and still found in some rural areas, are technically portable, though not totally. Typically an outhouse is placed over a hole in the ground, and when that hole fills up, dirt is thrown on it and the outhouse is moved over a few feet. If you're willing to dig a new hole every time you want to set your toilet up, then you could technically call this a portable toilet.

In Long Beach, California in the 1940's, wooden portable toilets finally showed up allowing dock workers to stay close to the job. These simple toilets were basically wooden portable closets with a seat and a drain in the bottom.

Finally, modern plastics made the porta potty a possibility. Lightweight polyethylene allowed for a more sanitary, slick surface that would result in toilets that could be easily transported while providing some privacy. Yes, the 1960's truly ushered in a new dawn for the portable toilet!

Biffs

8610 Hansen Ave

Shakopee, MN 55379

(952) 403-1221

www.biffsinc.com

Biffs: Portable Restrooms Where YOU Need Them

One of the most uncomfortable feelings in the world is to be at an event or on a jobsite, standing there with your legs crossed looking for a restroom. What's even worse is when you actually find one, you almost wish you hadn't. With Biffs, your jobsite, emergency site or event (whether small or large) can have clean and sanitary facilities so people can comfortably take care of business. Biffs has been a portable toilet supplier in the upper Midwest for over 25 years and has the supplies and services to meet, or even exceed your (and your guests or workers) needs.

Here are some areas that Biffs specializes in:

• Portable toilets for construction sites (including high rises)
• Portable restroom trailers for corporate events
• Porta Potty facilities for county fairs
• Portable Toilets for outdoor concert events
• Porta John facilities for long term and commercial sites
• Portable restrooms for parks and recreation facilities

With Biff's, you can actually offer people a real restroom instead of a fancy honey bucket. Biff's has trailer facilities that are as well-equipped as any restroom you could expect with multiple stalls, sinks and water tanks to take care of the most upscale corporate events. These facilities are completely self-contained and easily maintained whether you're taking care of 100 people or 10,000. Since Biff's works with an eco-lab, not only do you have clean portable facilities delivered where you need them but they've been disinfected and sanitized as well.

For job sites, Biff's does have the porta john style toilets for outside. However, they also have portable toilets and urinal stations which are easily moved from floor to floor during construction of apartment and office high rises and skyscrapers. Porta potty, urinal cans and "insider" toilets are available which are easily rolled onto elevators or lifted into place via crane. This saves personnel dollars since employees don't have to return to the ground floor to take care of personal needs.

For disaster sites, there's no better restroom solution than Biff's. Not only do they have the portable restroom(s) available to handle the largest emergencies, with Biff's changing stations, sinks, hand sanitizers and waste containers, every aspect of waste management can be easily planned for and accomplished with as much ease and convenience as possible. For long term facilities, Biff's also offers temporary waste tanks that can be easily swapped, enabling emergency management teams to create semi-permanent facilities without concern for sewage disposal. So no more digging latrines!

Biff's is also proud to offer restroom facilities for small events and functions as well. Whether you're looking to host a graduation party, birthday bash, family reunion or other event, you don't have to restrict those events to places where restrooms are already available or are severely limited. With Biff's, your event can happen virtually anywhere and your guests will have the restroom facilities they need for their comfort and convenience.

Since Biff's has been around since 1986, they've become so well known that portable outdoor facilities have become known as "Biffys" all over the upper Midwest. That's because people know that when they visit a Biffy, they're going to find clean, solid facilities they can rely on to take care of their needs. So, if you need a Biffy in a jiffy, Biffs is the place to go!

Biffs

8610 Hansen Ave

Shakopee, MN 55379

(952) 403-1221

www.biffsinc.com