All restaurants produce grease. It’s why most municipalities have rules making grease traps mandatory for any business that prepares food – and why more are passing these kinds of laws every year. And it’s why you’ve got a grease trap. However, you might find out your current grease trap isn’t meeting your demands, or maybe you’re trying to figure out what size grease trap you’ll need for a new location. Here are three factors that can impact your grease traps and might be why you produce too much grease in your kitchens.
Reason Number One: Deep Fried Everything
Your grease trap fills up with grease. That grease comes from your food, from both the amount of fat in the food and the oil it’s cooked in. As we talked about in our blog, Starting a Business: Factoring in Restaurant Grease Production, how much grease you produce is primarily due to what kind of food you prepare. A sandwich shop is going to have less fat, oil, and grease (three parts of FOGS – all the substances your grease trap catches) than a fried chicken place. If you serve a lot of fatty and deep-fried food, you’ll need a grease trap big enough to keep up – also you’ll need a good WVO service.
Reason Number Two: Grease and the Dishwasher
The second is going to depend on how you handle customer dishes in your establishment. There’s a reason that many fast-food restaurants serve their food with disposable containers and flatware: otherwise, all that needs to be cleaned. If you want to use reusable dishes and utensils, you’ll need to factor in that boost to grease as they are cleaned off. Also, best practices when it comes to cleaning the grease from preparation utensils and pots and pans will help.
Reason Number Three: Bad Wastewater Practices
Speaking of best practices, one of the biggest factors of grease production is how your kitchen is run with an eye to minimizing the strain on your grease trap. Here are a few ways you can stop grease from hitting your drain:
- Scrape Dishes and Utensils Before Washing: Remember FOGS? Solids are a part of that and will accumulate in your trap. Make sure your plates, utensils, and cookware are scraped clean of solids and grease before going through the dishwasher
- Keep Strainers in Sinks: Make sure all your sinks are equipped with strainers, and they are properly used and cleaned out regularly. Think about installing larger strainers for the dishwasher to avoid clogging and constant emptying.
- Don’t Overuse the Disposal: The garbage disposal is great at destroying solids and flushing them down the drain – exactly what you don’t want to happen. Make sure your staff knows when to (and when not to) use it.
Get some more kitchen tips in our blog, 5 Grease Trap Best Practices for a Commercial Kitchen.
At Food Grease Trappers, we’re experts in inspecting, cleaning, and maintaining grease traps and interceptors. We work with restaurants throughout New England to maintain their current grease traps and to help clients get new grease traps that meet their expanding needs. Contact us today for a free estimate on any of our services.
