A grease trap is one of the most crucial parts of your residential or commercial kitchen. In the absence of one, accumulating grease can cause a lot of problems in your home or business such as shut-downs, fines, and foul odors. It is smart to keep your grease traps maintained and in optimal conditions. However, to understand how to maintain a grease trap, we first need to understand what exactly a grease trap is and why it’s important.
A grease trap does exactly what the name suggests. It can be located either above or below the ground and is connected to the sink. It collects and separates fats, oil, and grease from the food. It is important to have a grease trap in your kitchen as it prevents the grease from entering your drain line. Here are some tips for maintaining and cleaning a grease trap in your home or business.
Inspection
To maintain your grease trap and keep it in optimal condition, you need to first inspect all the parts of your grease trap. Depending on where your grease trap is located, you need to open it and check for leaks, the flow, rusting, and other signs of damage. Usually, the signs of damage with grease traps are pretty easy to spot.
Cleaning
Cleaning a grease trap regularly is essential for your drainage system. If not maintained properly, it could lead to water damage in the kitchen and other parts of your establishment or home. You can clean your grease trap by using dish soap and tepid water to clear off excess FOG. Of course, nothing matches a professional cleaning but this is good enough for regular maintenance. Cleaning your grease trap with dish soap and water also gets rid of any bad odors that might be lingering in your kitchen.
Scraping Your Plates
Another way to maintain your grease trap is to scrape all the plates before you put them in the sink. Often food scraps are left behind and go down the sink and cause clogs in the pipes and put extra pressure on the grease traps. Make sure to scrape off any residue from your dishes before putting them in the sink.
Screens Under Sinks
The best way to avoid food scraps and other greasy residue from going down the drain is to use screens. Installing screens under pre-rinse sinks and three compartment sinks can benefit you a lot. This ensures any grease that might go in your pipes is first run under water and cleaned as much as possible to allow only trace amounts of grease to go down the drain.
Clean Any Spills
Be it a single-family home or a commercial kitchen, there are bound to be a few spills in the sink from time to time. However, you should always make sure that any spills are cleaned right away with a solution of vinegar and dish soap.
Have Your Grease Trap Installed Properly
A grease trap is an essential part of any kitchen and not having it installed properly can cause a lot of problems. That is why you should always have a trusted professional install your grease trap, get it to work properly and also teach you how to maintain and get the best out of your grease trap.
At Flamingo Plumbing, we understand that maintaining and cleaning a grease trap can be a tedious task but nonetheless, a very important one. If you are facing any issues with your grease trap, our team can help you. We provide many services including backflow control, septic tanks maintenance, and construction plumbing, so you don’t have to go anywhere else. Contact our friendly team today to know how we can help you with your plumbing problems.