How to Clean and Care for Your Grease Trap
If you own a restaurant, then chances are that you have a grease trap. Grease traps are important since they catch and hold oils and other materials that could potentially clog your drain.
However, if your grease trap stops working properly, it could cause some serious problems. Fortunately, you can keep your grease trap in good working order by properly cleaning and maintaining it. By following some basic care and upkeep tips, you can help your grease trap last a long time and work correctly for as long as possible.
Clean Your Traps Frequently
One of the biggest mistakes that people make is not cleaning their grease traps often enough.
At a minimum, grease traps need to be thoroughly cleaned out at least once every three months. However, if your grease traps are used extensively, you may want to clean themeven more often, perhaps as often as once per month.
A professional company that services grease traps can give you a good idea of how often your particular trap needs cleaning. However, at the bare minimum, you should stick to the once every three months rule.
Avoid the Use of Unapproved Cleaners
In an effort to try and save money, people will often use cleaning solvents or other general cleaning products to try and clean their grease traps.
However, you should never use any product not specifically designed to work with grease traps. Other cleaning products may not properly break down the grease inside the trap, which could end up causing some plumbing issues.
If you're ever in doubt about whether or not a product is safe to use, contact a professional before proceeding.
Don't Forget the Lid and the Sides
When you clean out your grease trap, be sure that you do not neglect the lid of the grease trap or the sides.
Often, people will clean out the bottomand empty the oil, but they'll still have a dirty trap that may not work as efficiently. If you have a hard time reaching these areas on your trap, consider using a wet/dry vacuumto help you remove all debris and sludge.
Clean Your Pipes
Cleaning just the grease trap itself is not enough. If that's all you do, it will get dirty again right away. You can enjoy a cleaner grease trap for longer, however, if you also clean out the intake and outtake pipes.
To do this yourself, you will need to remove both pipes and then thoroughly clean out all material. A pressure washer or hose is often used to do the trick. However, this step can be time-consuming and difficult, which is why you may prefer to have a professional septic service do it for you.
Check for Blockages When You Clean
Finally, whenever you clean out your grease trap, make sure that you also use the time to check for any blockages or other issues with your grease trap.
A good way to do this is by sending water through the trap after cleaning to ensure that it flows through. If it does not go all the way through, then you likely have some kind of blockage or other issue. When you notice an issue like this, you will need to seek professional servicing for your grease trap.
Cleaning and maintaining a grease trap is not easy. However, it is definitely necessary if you want your grease trap to work correctly. If you run into any problems or if you'd rather have a septic professional do the cleaning and servicing for you, don't hesitate to call on the experts at AAA Pumping Service, Inc.
