A portable restroom order is only as good as the questions asked before it is placed. This checklist covers the hauler's license, the placement, the count, the servicing, the accessible units and the written confirmation, so a customer can compare providers on the same terms and check the state's requirements.
Key takeaways
- Ask who pumps the unit and whether that business holds the DNR septage servicing license.
- Ask for the operator in charge and the certification the disposal method requires.
- Ask for the placement plan, the delivery window and the servicing schedule in writing.
- Ask how the count was set, and what happens if the crowd or crew is larger than planned.
- Ask for the accessible count and the route to each accessible unit.
- Ask for the whole order in writing before any payment or booking is made.
Who pumps the unit?
The business that pumps the unit must hold the DNR septage servicing license. The first question is who that business is, because it may not be the company you are dealing with.
A rental company may pump its own units or use a separate hauler. Ask which, and get the name of the business that does the pumping.
Ask for the license details and confirm them with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The license belongs to the pumping business, and it is the state's requirement under Wisconsin's septage rules.
A provider that cannot name the pumping business, or cannot show a license, is not a provider this checklist would place an order with.
Who is the operator in charge?
The operator in charge must meet a certification grade that depends on the disposal method. Ask for the name and the certification the work requires.
The operator in charge is the person responsible for the pumping and the disposal. The name is written on the order.
Ask what grade the disposal method requires. This page does not state the grade, because it is set by the DNR and depends on the method.
Ask where the waste goes. A named, permitted disposal site is the sign of a hauler that knows its arrangement.
Where is the unit going?
The placement is the first thing the provider should describe in writing: the spot, the ground, the access and the owner's agreement. A placement that has not been walked is not yet a plan.
Ask whether the provider has walked the spot, or whether a walk is booked before delivery. A spot described only on the phone is a spot that has not been checked.
Ask about the ground. Soft, sloped or wet ground needs a base, and a base is a line on the quote.
If the spot is public, ask whether the owner's or the office's agreement is needed, and who will confirm it.
How many units, and how was the count set?
The count should be explained, not just stated. Ask what crowd or crew figure it is based on, and what the provider does if that figure changes.
A count that is given without a crowd or a crew figure is a guess. Ask for the basis, and for the peak hour it is built on.
Ask whether the count covers the peak or the total, and how many visits are planned for the length of the rental.
Ask what happens if the crowd or crew is bigger. An extra unit or visit should have a stated lead time and a stated cost line.
What is the servicing schedule?
The servicing schedule should be written with its days and times, its extra-visit rule and its heat rule. A schedule that is only spoken is not one the customer can hold the provider to.
Ask for the visit days and times for the whole rental. Ask whether the visits are included in the quote or charged separately.
Ask about heat and peak days. A unit in direct sun for several days fills faster, and the schedule should say how the provider responds.
Ask for the record of each visit at the end, and whether a copy is available during the rental.
Accessible units and the route
Ask for the accessible count, its placement and the route to it, and for the daily check. An accessible unit at the far end of the grounds is not an accessible plan.
Ask how many accessible units the provider would place, where, and on what route. Ask who checks them each day.
Ask whether the accessible units are priced as a separate line, and whether a replacement is available on the same day.
Ask for the placement drawing, which should show the route to each accessible unit.
The written order
The whole order should be in writing before any booking or payment: the count, the placement, the delivery and pickup windows, the servicing, the accessible units, the repair route and any move or extra-visit charge.
A quote that is missing a line is incomplete. Ask for each missing line to be added before the order is placed.
Ask for the repair route in writing. Know who to call for a damaged unit and how fast a replacement can arrive.
Keep the order, the hauler's license details, the placement drawing and the visit record together. That file is the proof of what was agreed and what was done.
Red flags in a provider's first answer
The first answer a provider gives tells a customer a good deal about the rest of the service. A few red flags are worth noticing early, before the order is placed.
A provider that gives a price before asking for the count, the place and the days is guessing. A reasonable provider asks first and then gives a range.
A provider that cannot name the pumping business, or that says a license is not needed, has not answered the question the state's rules require it to answer.
A provider that will not put the placement, the servicing or the repair route in writing is asking for trust that the paper would otherwise show.
Green flags that show a careful provider
A careful provider asks about the crowd or the crew, walks the spot, names the pumping business, gives the visit days and writes the order out in full.
A careful provider explains the count and offers to show the basis for it. It is willing to revise the count when the crowd or the crew changes.
A careful provider names its disposal site and the operator in charge, and it describes how the load is kept separate.
A careful provider gives the customer a copy of the order, the placement drawing and the visit record at the end.
Keeping your own file on the order
A customer who keeps a file on the order is protected if a question arises. The file holds the quote, the order, the license details, the placement drawing and the visit record.
Keep the quote and the order together, with the date each was agreed. A change to either is recorded on a new version with its own date.
Keep the license details, with the name of the pumping business and the operator in charge. The details are confirmed with the DNR when the order is placed.
Keep the visit record and the collection note. The file is the proof of what was delivered, what was serviced and what was returned.
Split the responsibilities in writing
The renter and the provider each carry part of the job, and the order should say which part is whose before the rental begins.
The provider usually owns the unit and its servicing, and it owns the pumping, the disposal and the repair route. The renter usually owns the spot, the access, keeping the path clear, and signing the visit record when a visit happens.
The line between them is the one that gets argued about on the day. A spot the renter did not clear, a gate that was locked when the truck arrived, or a visit missed because nobody told the provider the event had moved earlier each belong on the order, with the party who handles it named.
The provider should also say what it does not do. A company that places a unit is not necessarily the business that pumps it. The order should name the pumping business, because the DNR septage licence is the pumping business's obligation.
What a site visit should establish
A site visit, in person or by a set of photographs, establishes the spot, the truck's route to it and the ground, and it prevents most of the problems the rest of this checklist covers.
Measure the room. A unit needs clear ground around its door, and an accessible unit needs a turning space and a level route. The visit records the width of the access and the distance from the spot to the building or the work it serves.
Note what is overhead and underground. Wires, branches, a sprinkler line, a buried pipe or a drain change where a unit can go. The placement is set to avoid them, and the note shows the crew did look.
Check the pumping access. The vehicle that empties the unit needs somewhere to park and a hose route that does not cross a walkway in use or a driveway that has to stay open. A provider that did not ask for that route has not walked the spot.
Pumping, waste routing and the state licence
Under the Wisconsin DNR septage servicing licence, the pumping business is the one that must hold the licence and keep the waste on a permitted route.
The licence covers the business that removes and disposes of domestic septage, and the DNR general permit text defines domestic septage to include the contents of portable restrooms. The obligation for the pumping and the disposal therefore sits with the pumping business, not with the renter.
The permit text also says septage may not be mixed with other waste. A provider should be able to say that the pumped material is kept separate and goes to a disposal route the business is permitted to use, and it should be able to say so without being pressed.
A renter does not need the route's permit numbers. A renter should know that the waste has a named destination, and that the destination is the pumping business's responsibility under the state licence and its operator rules.
Cold weather and the freeze question
The order should say how a unit is handled in cold weather, because snow and frozen ground change both the visit and the placement.
Ask whether the spot will be cleared of snow before a visit, and who clears it. A visit that cannot reach a unit because of snow is rebooked and written into the record, not counted as done.
Ask what happens to a unit set on frozen ground. A base or a board under a unit matters more in cold months, because ground that thaws unevenly can tilt a unit, and the placement should be checked after a thaw.
Ask who decides when a unit is moved in cold weather. The decision belongs in the order, with the provider and the renter named, so that a unit is not left in an unsafe spot while the question is argued.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to check the hauler's license?
Yes. The pumping business must hold the DNR septage servicing license, and the license details can be confirmed with the DNR.
What if the provider cannot say who does the pumping?
Do not place the order until it can. The pumping business is the one the state requires to be licensed.
Can a rental company pump its own units?
Only if the business that pumps them holds the state license. Ask for its details.
What should be in writing before I book?
The count, the placement, the delivery and pickup windows, the servicing, the accessible units, the repair route and any extra charge.
Is a low quote a good sign?
Not on its own. Check whether the quote includes the visits, the base, the pickup and the accessible units before comparing the total.
Who is responsible for clearing the spot?
The renter, usually, and the order should say so. The provider should say what access it needs and when.
Sources
This guide is general information for Milwaukee County homeowners, not a substitute for an on-site inspection. Prices are estimates. See our disclaimer.