How fast can you get units out after a disaster?
Speed depends on how far the trucks have to travel and what the road access looks like at your address. Ann Arbor is our home base, so most calls inside city limits move fast once we confirm delivery clearance. Crews need about 60 feet of straight clearance behind a roll-off or trailer to set equipment down safely, and that same clearance rule applies to a restroom trailer rental or a stack of standard porta potty rental units heading into a damaged neighborhood. If a water main break has torn up a driveway, tell the dispatcher before the truck rolls.
For an apartment building or shelter with no working restrooms, an emergency porta potty rental is usually the fastest fix while plumbers or the city sort out the water system. We also stage handwashing station rental units and portable sink rental carts alongside toilets, since 29 CFR 1910.141(d)(2) requires soap and towels or a hand-drying device at any washing station, not just sanitizer. Nearby communities get the same response: Ypsilanti sits 6.4 miles east and Pittsfield is 6.1 miles south, both close enough for same-day delivery when a storm knocks out service across the area. Scio, 6.6 miles west, and farther-out spots like Westland at 22.7 miles and Taylor at 30.0 miles, still fall inside a normal service run.
What do shelters and relief sites actually need?
A shelter housing families needs more than a row of toilets. It needs an accessible unit, handwashing, and often a place to store donated supplies or gear until volunteers can sort it. ADA accessible porta potty units matter here: ADA Standards section 213.2 requires that at least 5 percent of any cluster of single-user toilets be accessible, and never fewer than one. That accessible unit needs a 60 inch turning circle under ADA Standards section 304.3.1 and a door opening at least 32 inches wide per ADA Standards section 404.2.3, since wheelchairs and mobility aids move through shelter sites just like anywhere else.
Worker and volunteer counts still drive toilet math the same way they do on any job site. OSHA 1926.51(c) sets 1 toilet per 20 workers or fewer, then adds a toilet and urinal per 40 workers once headcount passes 20. A relief site staffed by fifteen volunteers plus a rotating crew of contractors might cross that threshold fast, so it pays to recount daily. For overflow storage, ice, water and donated supplies, a storage container rental or a 20ft storage container keeps a staging area organized instead of piled on pavement. Debris cleanup afterward often calls for a roll-off dumpster rental or, for heavier storm debris, a 30 yard dumpster rental.
Should you rent by the day or set up a longer contract?
Short answer: match the rental term to how long the disruption actually lasts, and check pricing before committing to a longer block.
| unit | day | week | month |
|---|---|---|---|
| standard | $100-$350 | $130-$500 | $125-$325 |
| ada | $200-$400 | not typically offered under a week | n/a |
| dumpster | $51-$112 | $426-$778 | not typically offered under a week |
A single-day rental covers a burst pipe that gets fixed by evening. A week or month makes more sense for a shelter running through a longer outage, or a cleanup that stretches past a few days. For pricing detail beyond this table, see porta potty rental cost and monthly porta potty rental. If a temporary fence needs to go up around a damaged structure or a debris pile, a temporary fence rental or chain link temporary fence keeps people out of a hazard zone, and OSHA 1926.202 requires barricades to meet ANSI D6.1 wherever they're protecting workers.
Placement matters too. Ann Arbor Porta Pros follows the same porta potty placement guide logic during a disaster response as on any construction job: stable, firm, slip-resistant ground per ADA Standards section 302.1, and clear routes at least 36 inches wide under ADA Standards section 403.5.1 so nobody's tripping over hoses or debris to reach a toilet. If you're not sure where units can legally sit during an emergency, our porta potty permit requirements page walks through what to confirm with the city first.
How many toilets does a shelter or relief site need?
Use OSHA 1926.51(c) as the baseline: one toilet for 20 people or fewer, then one toilet and one urinal per 40 people above that. A shelter sees swings in headcount by the hour, so recount often. See how many porta potties do I need for a fuller breakdown.
Can you deliver on short notice during a storm?
Yes, usually. Ann Arbor Porta Pros prioritizes disaster calls, and being based in Ann Arbor means most deliveries inside the city and nearby towns like Ypsilanti and Pittsfield can happen the same day, road access permitting.
Do you provide handwashing stations separate from toilets?
Yes. A hand sanitizer station rental is not a substitute for soap and water under 29 CFR 1910.141(d)(2). We supply standalone handwashing units alongside toilets for shelters, cleanup crews and relief staging areas.
What happens to debris after a disaster cleanup?
Roll-off dumpsters handle storm debris, damaged furniture and construction waste from repairs. Check what cannot go in a dumpster before loading, since hazardous material often needs separate handling.
Is septic service available if a tank floods or backs up?
Yes. Septic pumping service and emergency septic service cover flooded or backed-up tanks. A typical residential tank is pumped every 3 to 5 years under normal use, but flooding can force an off-cycle pump-out sooner.
Next step
Get a delivery date
Tell us the address, the dates and the headcount. We size the order and confirm the route.