Grease Removal is Important for Your Restaurant

One of the most common waste products from restaurant operations is grease. This combination of cooking oils, animal fats, and similar material is produced in significant quantities from food preparation, cooking, and waste disposal. Grease can be a serious problem in restaurant sewer and drainage systems, building up quickly and causing major clogs that can be difficult to remove completely. Worse, excess grease can be a fire hazard. Applying industry best management practices for grease removal, drain cleaning, and clog prevention will keep your restaurant’s pipes clear and working properly.

• Grease Clog Prevention: Storm Drains Keeping excess amounts of grease from entering the drain system is the best method for preventing clogs and grease build-up.
• Cover outdoor dumpsters and storage containers: Cover any outdoor containers of grease or oil to prevent rainwater accumulation. Since grease floats, too much rainwater could result in a grease spill.
• Do not put grease dumpsters near sewer drains: By placing grease dumpsters as far away from drains as possible, there’s more time to clean up any spills before the grease gets into the drain system. Watch for any grease leaks from the dumpster and be careful to avoid spills while transporting grease to the container.
• Regularly clean kitchen exhaust filters: Keep kitchen exhaust filters clean to prevent accumulation of grease on roofs or other outdoor surfaces. This grease can flow into the storm drains during rainstorms.

Grease Clog

• Prevention: Sewer System Grease clogs in the sewer system can easily cause backups and overflows that create serious health hazards and unpleasant messes.
• Ensure employees are thoroughly trained in grease-handling procedures and prevention of grease clogs.
  Put up signs and warnings that indicate excess grease should not be sent down sink drains or put into the dishwashers.
• Wipe out pots and pans before putting them into dishwashers. This “dry wipe” procedure will remove excess grease and keep it out of the drain system.
• Establish a three-compartment sink that has separate areas for washing, rinsing, and sanitizing dishes, utensils, and related equipment.
• Use a chemical sanitizer and keep dishwashing water at a temperature between 110 and 140 degrees. If no chemical sanitizer is used, keep dishwashing water at a minimum temperature of 150 degrees.

Grease Trap Maintenance

Grease traps capture grease before it gets into your drain system. Regular maintenance, grease removal, and pipe cleaning are needed to keep grease traps working properly.

• Clean grease machines under the sink every week: If they are routinely more than half full during these weekly cleanings, increase the frequency of cleanings to at least twice weekly.
• Clean grease traps and interceptors regularly: Grease traps and interceptors should be cleaned regularly to ensure they’re working properly. Frequency of cleaning will depend on the size of the interceptor and the volume of grease it receives. It is especially important to keep grease traps clean to avoid clogs that can cause sewer line backups.
• Keep detailed maintenance records: Establish a maintenance log for grease trap cleanings and update it every time maintenance or cleaning is performed. Include the date of the cleaning, the name and contact information of the company that removes grease from the traps, and any significant observations about the process.

Grease Removal

Once a grease clog has occurred, it must be removed immediately to restore drain function. Contact your local trusted plumbing contractor or restaurant maintenance specialist for grease clog removal. Remember that grease clogs are often soft, so a drain rodding or similar procedure may only punch a hole in the clog and not remove it completely. Advanced techniques such as hydrojetting or pressure blasting may be necessary to completely remove the clog.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about Plumbing, HVACR, Fire Protection, and Alarm Systems in Mechanical, Commercial, and Residential settings. For more information on the importance of grease removal and drainage system clog prevention, and to view projects we’ve worked on, visit our website!