How to Maintain a Commercial Grease Trap?

A commercial grease trap is an integral part of a mechanical system for separating water from fat, oil, and greases. Grease traps can save restaurants up to 4% in operating costs annually because these traps catch oils and other substances that would normally be sent down the drain, causing clogs when they reach the municipal sewer. These fats, oils, and grease are wasted as they could be recycled for use in animal feeds; grease removed from restaurant kitchens can be converted into biodiesel or other biofuels.

Greases traps are therefore environmentally friendly as well as a cost savings device for commercial kitchens.

Commercial grease trap maintenance is one of the primary responsibilities of commercial kitchen management, and for good reason: Grease traps produce a variety of extremely unpleasant odours when not properly cleaned. Even worse, they can attract pests and other vermin who feast on scraps left behind in the pipes. Unfortunately, many managers do not deal with their grease traps until the odours become unbearable or issues such as vermin make their way inside the building.

How to maintain commercial grease traps and pump stations

(1) First step is to clean the entrance and exit grates of the grease trap/ pump station by hosing them off with water. Daily cleaning, one should try to keep waste from building up on these grates so that they do not clog the system. The more build-up there is, the less effective your drainage pipes will be. And if your plumbing gets backed up, it could cause damage to your equipment and/or wastewater discharge permits. So daily inspection of both entrance and exit grates along with timely clean-up is very important in keeping your system running smoothly.

(2) Secondly, visual inspection is also another practice you should do in maintaining commercial grease traps and pump stations, they can clog up if exits and entrance grates are blocked or grease build-up is occurring on them over time. This can cause backups to your drainage lines and damage equipment.

(3) Thirdly, maintain them by making sure that pumps, pipes, and other related fittings are regularly inspected for corrosion at least once a year by service providers such as local drain cleaning companies to ensure smooth operation of the system.

(4) Finally, another important practice is to have additional pumps installed periodically along with your commercial kitchen grease traps so if one pump has an issue, it does not take down all of your kitchen systems. You could also replace older pumps that might be harder to find parts.

Grease traps prevent clogs and contaminants in the sewer lines that could affect water flow, waste treatment plants, and more. Thus, grease traps play an important role in kitchens that serve commercial food. Therefore it is quite necessary to maintain a commercial grease trap.