Urinal and Bathroom Trailer History & How To Choose the Right One for Your Event

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Urinal and Bathroom Trailer History & How To Choose the Right One for Your Event

A bathroom trailer can be the perfect way to improve your worksite and can make everyone more comfortable. Finding the best company to deliver a bathroom, whether you want a urinal trailer or a traditional stall, can help make this easier.

Urinals are often cleaner, easier to use, and take up less space. Let’s take a closer look at the history of the urinal and how you can add this to your worksite or event today!

A Bit of Urinal History

When we need to use the restroom, we are used to having two separate bathrooms; one for ladies and one for gentlemen. We have learned what the symbols mean and then visit the specific restroom based on our gender, and we know that while the womens’ restrooms will only have toilet stalls, the gentlemens’ domain will most likely include both bathroom stalls and urinals. Most of us never stop to think about who invented the urinal, though.

In 1866 the first urinal was patented by Andrew Rankin. However, urinals were in use for ages before this date, in all shapes and forms. In fact, some history books will show you drawings of a primitive contraption-like urinal dating back to the Middle Ages. As civilization modernized, the urinals became more sophisticated and underwent many design and functional changes. These were considered the first public restroom, though they looked a little different than those we see today.

When was the Urinal Invented?

Urinals have been used since ancient times. Most were not as easy to use as the modern urinals that we enjoy today and often they were not sanitary, but their basic functions were the same.

The first public toilets were introduced in 74 A.D., where the chambers were right next to one another. There was not as much concern for privacy back at that time, but there were also standing versions. An early example of this was found in Sri Lanka, with the stone carved right where the feet should stand and a hole where the man was meant to aim.

In some of the more sanitary areas, there were some jugs of water present that can be poured down after the urinal was used. The design continued to change and in the 1800s, Paris, France installed urinals called pissoirs that were placed throughout the city of Paris and used by men on their way to and from work. The goal was to give them a place to go to the bathroom without going on the street or on buildings. This began to make its way into other European cities as well.

Modern Urinals and How We Use Them Today

Many of the urinals that we use today are waterless urinals. These are more efficient to work with and can be used in any location. Traditional urinals will rely on water to help push the waste down and make it leave the area. With a waterless urinal, the waste is removed thanks to gravity. This can still be sanitary and helps to save on the amount of water that is used.

If you plan to have one of these urinals around your worksite, it is a good idea to make sure that it gets cleaned out regularly to prevent odor. You can clean it similar to the way you clear a regular urinal, with an all-purpose cleaner, soft bristle brush, lots of water, and lots of elbow grease. The porcelain that is around the urinal will help to make cleaning a little bit easier. Use gloves rather than your own hands and safety goggles to keep yourself protected while you clean.

A waterless urinal will not smell as long as it is properly maintained. Since we are so used to water helping to keep urinals and toilets clean, it is hard to imagine that a waterless urinal will remain odorless. However, it’s important to realize that waterless urinals were built to remain clean and resist odor even without water. The reason that they do not smell is because they have an oil barrier which keeps the urinal airtight while preventing germs and malodorous gasses from seeping into the urinal. This also makes most of the waterless urinals pretty easy to keep clean.

Urinals will use less water than toilets. The waterless urinals are going to save the most water, but even the ones that utilize water will use much less than what you find with a traditional toilet. While a toilet will often use about 1.3 gallons each time you flush, a urinal can get by with a pint or less each time you use it. This makes it more efficient to use when you get a bathroom rental.

Due to the fact that urinals are easier to take care of, simple to clean, and take up less space, there are now female urinals as well. These are sometimes known as unisex urinals are SHE-INAL for women to use separate from men. Some are called urinettes as well. Sometimes these are different heights to work better for women.

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What to Look Out for When Renting a Urinal?

Urinals have come a long way from their primitive start, and many event planners, employees, bridal parties, etc. need to rent restroom trailers for their guests. If you are looking to rent luxury toilet trailers for your next event or for the worksite, it is important to find the right one. Not all companies are able to provide the high-quality urinals and bathroom trailers that you need. Some of the things that you should look for when renting a restroom trailer are:

  • How much room is inside: You do not want the bathroom trailers to be too small or your guests will feel cramped.
  • The cost: Think about how many guests you’re going to have to make a sensible decision about how many bathroom stalls you’ll need. There is no need to rent a larger and costlier restroom trailer if your crowd is smaller and you can serve them well with a more economically priced one. On the other hand, you want to think about ambiance at your event. If you’re putting on an upscale event, the difference in price between a basic restroom trailer and a luxury bathroom trailer is well worth it to impress your guest.
  • How sturdy the trailers are: Make sure the company you’re renting the restroom trailers from have a solid reputation and don’t cut corners on the restroom trailers construction.
  • Good service: Ask your friends who have recently planned or hosted an event for references. You can also do your due diligence on restroom trailer quality by reading reviews on different companies to get a feel for how well consumers are treated.

There are many companies that will offer bathroom trailers for your needs, but with VIP To Go, you can choose from a larger-than-ordinary inventory, and experience quick and friendly service at the same time.

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FAQ About Urinals and Restrooms

Do urinals need a cistern?

No, a waterless urinal does not need a cistern. The cistern is used to hold onto the water that is then used while flushing. In a waterless urinal, water is not used so a cistern is not necessary. If you see a cistern, this is a sign that you are using a traditional urinal rather than a waterless one.

How many toilets and urinals should I have at my worksite?

If you are looking to have bathroom trailers at your worksite, you are off to a good start. Employees — even at outdoor jobs — expect that they will have a restroom available when they need it. The number that you need will depend on how many people you  employ and whether they are men or women.

If you have a mixed workforce or mainly women working there, you will need one toilet for one to five employees, 2 toilets for 6 to 25 employees, and an additional toilet for every additional 25 employees. The numbers are a little different based on how many men are at the worksite. For men, you can have 1 toilet for 1 to 15 employees, two toilets for 16 to 45 employees, 3 toilets for 46-75 employees and so on. Women need more toilets due to clothing, anatomical differences, and menstruation. These require the women to use the bathrooms for longer, which requires more of them to facilitate how many women are at the worksite.

How often do I need to change a urinal screen?

These Urinal screens are disposable and should be discarded after the urinal block that is inside the screen starts to dissolve or break down. Since they will start to shrink as time goes on, this will give you an alert when it is time to replace them. The exact amount of time will depend on how much you use the trailer, but they should usually be changed every 30 days.

What is a high efficiency urinal?

If you are looking for urinals that will last a long time and save you money, you may want to consider a high efficiency urinal. These are more efficient than some of the standard units and will consume less water and energy than their counterparts. This can be nice for saving resources or when you are not close to a lot of power to make them work well.

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Glossary

  • Urinal: A urinal is a sanitary plumbing fixture used just for urination, often for males though there are female options available.
  • Waterless urinal: A waterless urinal is touchless and has no pipe for water intake. They will not flush, but instead drains through gravity. The waste is sent over to a water treatment plant.
  • Bathroom trailers: These trailers allow you to get urinals and toilets to your location, no matter where this is located.
  • Urinal screen: This helps to hold onto the urinal cake, which is there to help mask any odors from the urinal.
  • Urinette: One of the names for a female urinal.

Finding the right bathroom trailer will be an important step to helping make your next event a success or to make your worksite more worker-friendly overall and to provide the facilities that you need.. Contact us today to check out some of the products and services that we can offer to you at VIP To Go!