Are you an owner of a busy commercial restaurant? Then you likely have had your share of grease trap experiences. Sometimes, these experiences aren’t good. One huge reason that causes this is maintenance. If you never accord your grease trap proper maintenance, you could experience unpleasant odors, increased fire risks, drainage clogs, and health issues for your customers and staff. You can also incur a loss of revenue because of closure, penalties from a local authority, and the repair costs involved. Therefore, you must regularly maintain grease traps to avoid the above issues. Can you recall when you last gave your grease traps a proper cleaning? If you cannot recall or even wonder whether grease traps are cleaned, then it is time to call your reliable plumbing company for a cleaning service. To ensure you know when the time for cleaning your grease traps is due, below are five signs:

5 Surefire Signs It Is Time to Clean Your Grease Traps

Any business owner or homeowner likes and enjoys saving money. Instead of saving it by not having a plumber clean the grease traps, you can save money and enjoy many benefits by doing the reverse. This means cleaning the grease traps whenever you notice either of the signs below:

Whenever the Restaurant Drains Are Slow Moving or Backing Up

Ask any plumbing company, and they will tell you that poor grease trap maintenance is the main reason your restaurant sink drains are clogged. But why does this happen? When fats, oils, and greases, abbreviated FOG, or even waste foods, accumulate in the grease trap, they solidify. With time, the trap starts getting full of dense grease. When the grease trap works normally, you can see into or through it. However, if the trap gets full, the grease stiffens at the top, forming some cap.

With all the dirt and grease buildup, water flow through the sink drain becomes hard, resulting in a slow waste movement. The backed-up drains could result in other issues. At worst, you could temporarily close your restaurant until you address the issue. Hence, if you notice that water is not draining properly within your drains, then you should have a plumbing company clean the grease trap immediately. However, ensure that you have a regular plumbing service to prevent this.

Whenever Grease Reaches a Quarter or More of the Total Liquid Depth

The plumbing company and experts recommend cleaning the grease trap whenever the solids reach 25% (a quarter) or more of the wastewater depth. At this range, cleaning the grease trap is easy and uneconomical. If the container is full of surplus FOG, important functions, and processes may be impeded or even slowed in your kitchen. It is an EPA rule that grease traps should be cleaned at 25% full for safety and health concerns. Establish a robust grease trap maintenance plan with your most reliable plumbing company to ensure you don’t exceed the maximum. Otherwise, as the introduction explains, you’ll deal with various issues.

Whenever You Notice a Foul Smell from Your Kitchen

Are you smelling unexplainable odors from your restaurant kitchen? That is a sign that all is not well. After all, the only smell that should be coming from your kitchen is the aroma of the nice foods your staff is preparing for your customers. If these smells do not disappear even after you remove the garbage or clean the kitchen, that could mean that the grease traps are full and require cleaning from a professional plumbing company. The grease trap smells often result from accumulating food wastes, cooking oils, solids, sludge, and grease over time. Thus, you must consider cleaning the grease trap if you notice a stench that seems not to leave even after eliminating every other possible cause.

It Has Been Too Long Since You Last Cleaned Them

Sometimes all you require is time as a sign. Can you recall the last time you had your grease trap properly cleaned? It could be about time you have it cleaned if you need help remembering or if it has been over three months. According to best practices, grease traps need to be cleaned by a plumbing company at least once after every three months. Yet, you might need to clean it more frequently— at least once per month, if you run or manage a busy restaurant. By doing this, you may operate your kitchen per the Department of Health and EPA guidelines for trap cleaning while avoiding grease trap-related problems.

Whenever You Find Grease Where It Shouldn’t Be

Have you noticed grease around your restaurant kitchen? That is usually a sign that an experienced plumbing company should clean your trap. But could this happen? When your grease trap becomes clogged, the extra grease might be forced to escape via the easiest exits. This could include water lines, sinks, sewer pipes, and kitchen drains or sinks. Whenever this happens, you will notice grease everywhere, including where it shouldn’t be.

Thus, when you notice this sign, you must check whether the grease traps are the culprits. If it is, then you should hire a plumbing company and have the traps cleaned. The professionals will also clean where you notice the grease. Keeping the grease traps clean is good for your health, staff, and customers. Additionally, it ensures that your restaurant can remain open and pass health inspections. Moreover, grease trap servicing is always less expensive than repair.

Grease traps should be cleaned after every three months. Otherwise, the FOG will accumulate, resulting in other plumbing issues elsewhere. Rather than clean the traps yourself, rely on something other than professionals. Contact us at Clarksburg Plumbing for a grease trap cleaning service. Our technicians will work with you one-on-one and offer professional service to leave your grease traps clean. Call us now and experience top-notch services.

See our previous blog on this topic here.

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