Grease Trap Maintenance: Best Practices for Keeping Drains Clean

One of the biggest cleaning issues in many commercial kitchens involves grease. In fact, more than half of the backups and blockages found in restaurants and other commercial buildings comes from “FOG” – Fats, oils, and grease. Keeping your grease traps clean can prevent a huge number of these issues and isn’t very expensive, but it does require regular maintenance.

Here are some of the best practices for preventing blockages caused by grease going down the drain:

Train your Employees

One of the biggest reasons why grease gets into your system is that the kitchen staff and dishwashers aren’t trained on grease trap cleaning and maintenance.

Some may know that grease shouldn’t go down the drain, but are too busy to really pay attention. Others think that the large industrial dishwashers used in many kitchens can take care of anything, so they don’t really do a good job of pre-cleaning them. This leads to a huge amount of grease, fats, and oils being left on plates and utensils. Teaching your employees to diligently wash everything before putting it in the dishwasher is important.

However, there are more issues than just making sure no grease makes it into the dishwasher. Grease can also be trapped in the mop and mop bucket. If that water is then dumped down the floor drain, it can go directly into your pipes because these drains are not always connected to a grease trap.

Clean Traps Monthly

You also need to make certain your grease traps are cleaned at least once every few months, maybe more often if you serve a lot of greasy foods. Ohio law states that restaurants should have their grease traps cleaned every three months.

There are a few signs that your grease trap needs to be cleaned more often. If you start to smell something and can’t find any other source, it could be your grease trap. It can begin to smell if it’s full or if it has started leaking.

Use a Grease Can

Finally, make certain that your employees know to always pour any grease from pans, trays, and anything else into a can rather than pouring it down the drain or dumping it in the trash (which could start a fire). These grease cans should be placed in the refrigerator so that the grease solidifies, then thrown in the trash.

To have your grease traps cleaned, make sure you give us a call at (937) 878 -5225 or email us today.

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