Fort Wayne Grease Trap Cleaning

A grease trap is a container located between a restaurant drain and the sanitary sewer lines. Their purpose is to stop fats, oils, and grease in kitchens from going into the sewer lines. They are either located inside or outside of a building, depending on the business size. Typically, large restaurants or school kitchens will have their grease trap outside. While places that require a smaller trap are normally located indoors.

Grease traps are important for restaurants because they stop fats, oils, and grease from solidifying inside of pipes. Which, in turn, stops food particles and debris from building up. Without one, a mass of buildup would grow until it blocks the flow of liquid, causing sewage to back up. Consequently, this causes damage to the city wastewater systems. That is why cities, including Fort Wayne (Allen County), require commercial kitchens to have a grease trap. Acceptable amounts of fats, oils, and grease in wastewater leaving an establishment are regulated, and fines can exceed $1000 if it doesn’t meet city requirements.

Grease traps slow down the flow of water coming from drains, allowing water and grease time to cool. In turn, this causes the grease to coagulate and float to the top. Other heavier solids then fall to the bottom of the trap. This allows the remaining wastewater to pass through the baffles in the tank and onto sewer lines. If you have a grease/solids fraction greater than 25% of the volume of the trap, you risk a greater degree of grease flowing downstream into your drain pipes. If this happens, you are more likely to have issues.

Most cities require monthly grease trap maintenance or cleaning. Depending on the trap size and your business volume, more frequent service may be necessary. Local Municipal Sewer Districts and Health Boards have specific compliance requirements. Our job is to help you maintain compliance, without interrupting your business. Maintaining your grease trap is a municipal requirement, not an option. No one wants a backup, especially during busy meal service. Not only are emergency drain cleaning services expensive, but a major disruption in service could also cause lost revenues and dissatisfied customers.

To have a well-functioning grease trap, routine maintenance is important. On top of regular grease trap cleanings, which are imperative, habits are key. These begin with your employees using good kitchen cleaning techniques.

There are a few things they can do to help avoid issues. Firstly, scrape dishes before washing them. Secondly, discard solid waste into the garbage instead of washing it in the sink. Then dispose of cooking oil into specifically designated containers. Used oil should never be discarded into any drain, sink, floor drain, toilet, or outdoor manhole. Doing so would cause blockages in the lines. Signs of lines being blocked include overflows outside or backed-up sinks indoors. Also, drains that flow slowly or have bad odors coming from them are a sign of a problem. If you notice any of these happening, please contact us. 

Every city has its own rules for what is acceptable in grease traps. Fort Wayne routinely visits different establishments and inspects their grease traps to see if they meet these standards. If they find anything wrong, they will fail the grease trap. Although this is frustrating, it is important to fix the problem. The first step is to call us and tell us why you failed. We will come out and pump the grease trap and clean it with our jet, in order to allow you to pass your inspection and operate normally again.

If you are not currently using us to service your traps, call today at 260-489-6021 for a free quote. We plan with you the number of services per year that best suits your business, whether bimonthly, monthly, or quarterly. After getting to know your business, we can adjust the schedule based on how your trap looks, and give recommendations for future services. You don’t need to worry about whether you will pass your inspection when you take care of your system the right way. Start with a jet clean you on the first service to get you off on the right foot, and then get regular service to continue to be in working order.