Simple But Important Tips for Restaurants With a Grease Trap
Posted on: 31 December 2015
If you own or manage a restaurant or any type of diner or café, your kitchen will no doubt have a grease trap. This is a type of trap that goes over the drain in the kitchen and which is meant to catch solid waste, grease, certain oils, and the like, rather than allowing them to go down the drain and into the city sewer system. The grease trap needs to be cleaned on a regular basis and it's usually good to have a professional do this for you. However, note a few simple but important tips for restaurants with a grease trap so you know how to maintain it properly and keep it functioning as it should.
1. Clean your grease trap often
You may need to increase the number of times you have the trap emptied and cleaned throughout the month; don't let your local codes be the only guide for this maintenance. Those codes or regulations simply tell you the minimum number of times your grease trap must be cleaned and are not meant to direct you in how often your kitchen's trap in particular may need cleaning. If your restaurant serves a lot of foods cooked with oils, you may need the trap cleaned much more often than city regulations.
Note too that you want to ensure your bus staff is cleaning grease and solid foods off plates and dishes before they're stacked in the dishwasher. This will put those solid wastes in the trash rather than having them run off into the grease trap, causing it to clog and overflow.
2. Avoid using enzymes and other treatments in the grease trap
There are products advertised that say that they break down grease and other solids in the grease trap and allow them to then go right down the drain. Using these may seem like you would keep your grease trap cleaner, but in truth, they can actually be damaging to your kitchen's drains. This is because those enzymes and products may break up grease just enough for it to go down the drain, but it then clings to the plumbing pipes. Then, your drain could have more clogs and risk of backups.
Rather than using enzymes, schedule for a real grease trap cleaning as needed. The service company who cleans your trap may have recommendations about additional services to keep the trap cleaner and the drains clear, but avoid products that simply break up grease, as these can cause more clogs down the road.
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