Restaurant owners who have recently started their business should know the location of their grease traps to ensure its proper maintenance. If restaurant owners fail to maintain their grease trap, they can experience a sewer backup that would disrupt the essential operations of their business in Mesa, AZ.
Picture a restaurant that is filled with customers on a Friday night. Everything is going great and the guests are giving compliments on the food. Suddenly disaster strikes. The drains of the restaurant start backing up and an awful smell starts to seep out from the kitchen. The restaurant manager and other staff start panicking. Customers start leaving as they can’t bear the awful smell.
Any restaurant can experience this scenario if the grease trap causes a sewer backup. If this happens, the restaurant will lose its customers and its profit. Therefore, it is essential to clean and maintain a grease trap.
In this post, we will discuss what a great trap is and how it can be properly maintained.
Grease Trap
Grease trap is an important part of commercial plumbing at Mesa restaurants and other commercial food service facilities. Restaurants are required to have grease traps or grease interceptors by building code.
A grease trap prevents grease, oils and fats from clogging sewerage lines and entering the water sources. The requirement, size and placement of grease trap is regulated by state authorities in Mesa, AZ. There are two chambers in a grease trap. In one chamber, the grease cooled to room temperature. When the grease cools, it solidifies and starts floating on top of the chamber. The fluid flows freely to the bottom of the chamber. The two chambers are connected by a crossover diagonal tube and this tube delivers liquid and water to the second chamber from the first chamber. The liquid and water then flow freely to the restaurant sewer system.
Where Grease Traps Are Installed?
Grease traps in a restaurant are typically installed near the dishwashers, sinks or other devices where food deposits and grease are mostly washed down drain. There may be one large grease trap in a restaurant or a couple of smaller ones. They can be installed inside or outside, under-ground or above-the-ground, depending upon the layout and design of the restaurant kitchen. Installing a grease interceptor isn’t simple. Containment levels and flow rates are calculated before installing a grease interceptor to determine the system that is right for a restaurant.
A grease trap can hold a specific amount of waste. However, periodic cleaning and maintenance is required to ensure that the trap works effectively. If the grease trap is not cleaned periodically, grease and water from the trap may start flowing out. Restaurant sewer service will be required if the grease trap isn’t working properly. Preventative maintenance is essential to ensure that the grease trap doesn’t clog up the restaurant plumbing.
Preventative Maintenance
Restaurant owners should prevent a sewer backup by ensuring proper maintenance of their grease trap. A few steps that restaurant owners can take to keep oil and grease flowing freely through their grease traps include:
Locate the Grease Trap
Knowing the location of grease traps can help restaurant owners prevent issues before they ruin their restaurant operations. As mentioned earlier, grease traps are located near the dishwashers, sinks or other devices where food deposits and grease are mostly washed down drain. If restaurant owners can’t locate their grease trap, they should call a plumber in Mesa, AZ. Once grease traps have been located, they should be inspected.
Clean the Grease Trap
Some grease interceptor manufacturers recommend cleaning a grease interceptor once every week. However, this isn’t a realistic scenario for restaurants. Therefore, grease traps in restaurants should typically be cleaned after every month. However, it is essential to inspect the grease trap once a week. If grease traps are a quarter full of oil and grease, they should be cleaned to ensure that grease or oil doesn’t cause a sewer backup in the near future.
Dealing with Grease Trap Overflow
The grease trap may overflow if it is not cleaned and maintained properly. If it overflows, the water flowing into the drains of the restaurant kitchen should be immediately stopped. Cat litter should be used to absorb spilled grease and a plumber should be called to inspect the restaurant plumbing. A plumber will know how to handle the overflow and prevent any damage to the restaurant’s plumbing. The plumber will clean the grease trap and sewer lines to ensure the trap doesn’t overflow again.
High-tech gear and equipment like video cameras are used by professional plumbers who provide restaurant sewer service in Mesa, Arizona. They will use the video inspection to determine if there is any waste or grease in the sewer lines that needs to be cleaned. Hiring a professional plumbing in Mesa, AZ for grease trap inspection and cleaning can help restaurant owners prevent sewer back-ups.
Final Thoughts
Sewer overflows in a restaurant can pose a serious health risk to employees and customers. Maintaining the grease trap of a restaurant and other commercial food service facilities is essential for preventing sewer backups and other plumbing issues. Restaurant owners may be fined if the local authorities find that the grease trap isn’t being properly maintained and poses a risk to the safety of people. Therefore, restaurant owners should properly maintain and clean their grease traps. If restaurant owners are unsure about how to maintain and clean their grease trap properly, they should contact a professional plumber.
At Mesa Plumbing Company, our professional plumbers can provide restaurant sewer service in Mesa, AZ to clean and maintain grease traps. Our experienced plumbers will use high-tech gear and equipment to inspect the grease trap and sewer line to ensure that there aren’t any problems.