How Do You Fix a Grease Trap?
Large kitchens, such as those in hospitals, restaurants, and other places, all have grease traps. A grease trap is essential in these kitchens because they create a lot of grease-containing wastewater. When grease traps aren’t working correctly, the kitchen manager or restaurant owner must search for “grease trap repair” and get service for their issue as quickly as possible.
What is a grease trap?
It is commonly asked, “What is a grease trap?” by those who haven’t worked in a commercial or industrial kitchen setting. Every kitchen, including your own, produces FOG (fats, oil, grease). Larger kitchens produce a lot more FOG than residential kitchens. A grease trap prevents grease from passing through the sewer system.
The grease trap is part of the kitchen’s plumbing system and comes in various sizes, depending on the size of the kitchen. There are indoor and outdoor grease traps, and those outdoors have manhole covers to protect them and the area around them. You’ve probably driven over them!
A grease trap has a baffle wall and connects to the main sewer line. The baffle catches the grease to keep it from going into the sewer line. When this isn’t working, that is when the kitchen manager or restaurant owner is on the Internet looking for “grease trap repair” that hopefully has a technician available immediately.
What happens if the grease trap isn’t working?
Someone must empty the grease trap regularly, and the technician or plumber who installs the unit will advise you of the recommended schedule based on the size of the kitchen and the amount of business. When you don’t follow this schedule, five serious issues can result:
1. BACKED-UP PLUMBING
The first immediate consequence you’ll experience when you skip grease trap cleaning and maintenance is backed-up plumbing from an overloaded grease trap of FOG. That backup of FOG prevents the strained water from flowing through the pipes to the sewer line, and it has nowhere to go but out and over the grease trap. As you probably know, this can be a nasty, unpleasant, and inconvenient situation for your own personal plumbing backups. It will cost more to have a professional technician for grease trap repair than the cost of grease trap cleaning. It is not worth skimping on the grease trap cleaning service! It can even cause you to close the kitchen for a few days.
2. FEES, FINES AND PENALTIES
A commercial kitchen failing to clean its grease trap is a health code violation, leading to fees, fines, and penalties by the local governing agency or the county or state. Regulations are established and put into place that require commercial and industrial kitchens to have their grease traps easily accessible for professional cleaning and repairs by those listed under grease trap repair’’ for the health and safety of the public.
3. SEWER PIPE DAMAGE
FOG build-up isn’t just a health concern for the public; it can damage plumbing pipes, too, just like in your own kitchen. FOG clings to the interior of pipes, creating blockages, and over time, the pipes begin to degrade with erosion. When that blockage is’ addressed, ‘ you’ll end up with expensive plumbing repair bills and searching for grease trap repair expenses.
4. ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY
If FOG is allowed into the wastewater system, it becomes an environmental danger. It isn’t just coating the plumbing pipes of the commercial or industrial kitchen; it reduces the wastewater flow, and then untreated wastewater escapes into the environment and can contaminate the public water system with harmful bacteria and pathogens.
5. BAD ODORS
For example, when FOG builds up in commercial or industrial grease traps in your kitchen, it will begin to smell as it decomposes. Then, the kitchen will start emitting unpleasant odors throughout the restaurant. Suppose you manage a public restaurant or even a company kitchen. In that case, you want to avoid this nasty smell turning off customers or employees.
What is the life expectancy of a grease trap?
With a quality grease trap and installation, proper maintenance, and grease cleaning schedules, the average lifespan can range between 5 and 7 years. The technician who services your grease trap will be able to give you a heads-up when it is reaching its end of life, so you will be able to schedule a replacement.
In Closing
The most important takeaway from this article is to understand that you should always pay attention to grease trap cleaning. With proper maintenance, you will be able to keep your grease trap functioning for many years, ensuring it can handle the fats, oils, and grease in your kitchen.