A grease trap is a plumbing device that is designed to intercept and trap grease as well as solids in your drain before they enter the water waste disposal. A grease trap will prevent fat, oil, and grease from reaching the water system and damaging the environment.
As a homeowner or a restaurant owner, it is important to know and thing or two about grease trap cleaning. Grease trap cleaning effectively will ensure that there is no build-up over time, and it will prevent the drain from clogging and a nasty smell emanating from the area. The grease trap is often situated outside your building, and you can access this fairly easy to clean and maintain it.
Today we are going to talk about the steps you should take to clean your grease trap and keep it working effectively.
Assess the situation
The first step to take when cleaning your grease trap is to remove the lid and look inside. To remove the lid, work cautiously and ensure that you don’t damage the gaskets. Now you can take a ruler and drop this into your grease trap to measure how many inches of grease you have to clean. If you are a restaurant owner you will also have a form to fill in from the EPA that records your FOG level.
Drain out the water
Now it is time for you to get rid of the water from your grease trap so that you can get to the grease and clean it out thoroughly. It is important to note that water and fat do not mix, and this will create a layer of water on the top of the grease trap for you to remove before you begin the cleaning process. You can use a bucket or a siphon to remove water from the grease trap. Be sure to save the water for later.
Clear out the grease
Now for the fun part. Once you have removed all of the water from your grease trap you will be left with a pile of grease at the bottom to remove. In order to remove the grease from your grease trap, you need to use a scraper to scrape out grease from the bottom, sides, and from the lid. This will take some time, and after this, you need to scrub any difficult-to-reach areas to ensure all grease is removed. Once the grease has been removed you can flush the screens.
Finishing off
Now is the time to take your water from earlier and pour this back into the grease trap. Once you have done this and the grease trap is clean you can replace the lid carefully.
How often should I clean a grease trap?
When thinking about grease trap cleaning, it is important to plan regular maintenance to keep it clean and running smoothly. Ideally, you should clean your grease trap every 1-3 months depending on the frequency of grease usage in your kitchen.
Use these steps to take care of your grease traps this year.