Around the world in restaurants, cafes, and other commercial kitchens, there are the cries of managers dealing with sluggish pipes, overflowing grease traps, and drains clogged with FOG. We encounter these problems every day from clients whose grease traps have caused an emergency in the kitchen. Often, these things can be avoided by making sure you and your staff are following grease trap best practices in the kitchen, providing longer times between services and fewer grease-related emergencies.
1. Get Your Grease Traps Cleaned Regularly
The most critical advice we can give is to make sure you’ve partnered with a grease trap service company. You can work with them to figure out a regular service schedule, and they will have their own best practices to provide depending on your current system. Check on your grease traps yourself – especially after busy days – and remember the 1/4th rule: if it’s already a quarter full, you need to get it serviced.
2. Scrape Cooking and Eating Ware
A big part of best practices is reducing the amount of solids and oils that go into your wastewater and ultimately your grease trap. Make sure everyone who cleans kitchen and customer dishes scrapes or dry wipes the dishes, pots, utensils, and other cooking or eating ware before they spray it off with water. Instead of going down the pipes, those solids and grease will go into the garbage instead.
3. Keep Strainers in Sinks
Make sure all your sinks are equipped strainers, and they are properly used and cleaned out regularly. Think about installing larger strainers for the dishwasher to avoid clogging and constant emptying, and make sure food waste gets scraped out of sinks instead of pushed down the drain.
4. Don’t Overuse the Disposal
One major tool in the kitchen that can lead to drainage problems is your garbage disposal. Not only does it grind solids into a paste that will more quickly fill your grease trap, but it can also lead to Mechanically Emulsified Oil that your grease trap can’t catch, meaning you could be dealing with issues from your local treatment plant.
5. Deal Properly with Oil and Grease Spills
Fryer oil is a common waste item in kitchens, but it’s also becoming a hot commodity as waste vegetable oil. Talk to your grease trap service about their WVO services to get started. Also, make sure if your fryer or other oils spill, you properly clean up the mess instead of flushing it down the drain (and make sure those drains are hooked up to your grease trap).
If you’re looking for grease trap service in the Massachusetts and New Hampshire area, we hope to hear from you at Food Grease Trappers. We’re veterans of the grease trap world, and can help you train your employees on best practices, sell your WVO, and of course maintain your grease traps with quick servicing. Contact us today, or fill out a free consultation form online.
