Grease Trap Cleaning: What It Is, What to Expect, and Why It's Essential for Your Restaurant

The grease traps or grease interceptors in your restaurant perform an unpleasant but essential task: they trap fats, oils, and grease (FOG) and keep them out of the municipal sewer system. These plumbing devices slow water flow to capture and remove grease using baffles and screens.

Grease trap cleaning removes the built-up FOG waste and other food particles from grease trap units. While cleaning out a grease trap on your own is possible, it’s challenging and messy. Roto-Rooter’s professional grease trap cleaning experts have the know-how and experience to clean your grease trap safely, correctly, and with minimal mess. 

What should you expect from Roto-Rooter for commercial grease trap cleaning? We’ll give you a preview of the experience here and some critical info about why grease trap maintenance is essential.

How Does a Grease Trap Work?

A grease trap collects FOG particles before they enter your city’s wastewater system. FOG particles in municipal sewer systems can coalesce into massive congealed “fatbergs” that clog pipes, leading to backups and overflows. The largest fatberg on record was a 130-ton, 820-foot-long monstrosity found in the sewers of London, England that took weeks to remove with high-pressure jets and manual labor. 

There’s a common misconception that grease traps somehow dissolve FOG. That’s not true. Instead, grease traps take the following steps to capture FOG particles:

1. The trap slows wastewater flow, giving FOG particles time to cool and solidify.
2. FOG particles float to the top of the trap, while food particles sink to the bottom. 
3. Baffles in the trap prevent FOG from entering the outlet pipe. 
4. Wastewater, now FOG-free, flows out of the trap and into the sewer system.

What is the Difference between a Grease Trap and a Grease Interceptor?

Grease traps and grease interceptors do the same basic job. The difference is one of scale. Grease traps are small, typically with a capacity of less than 250 gallons, and often installed in the floor beneath commercial kitchen sinks. Interceptors have 5,000+ gallons of capacity and are installed outdoors, usually underground. 

Why Do You Need Regular Grease Trap Cleaning?

Restaurant grease trap cleaning is a must, whether you’re in fast food or fine dining. Here’s why:

1. Prevent Clogs and Backups: Grease can build up quickly in your drain pipes and cause backups – something you absolutely do not want, especially during a busy mealtime. Restaurants that run food scraps down the garbage disposal have a high risk of backups, because food particles fill up the grease trap.
2. Maintain Hygiene and Safety: Grease clogs can cause pest infestations, foul odors, and other threats to a clean and pleasant restaurant. Such issues can impact your compliance with local health code standards without proper handling.
3. Extend Grease Trap Lifespan: Cleaning your grease traps helps keep them in good condition. Buildups in grease traps can cause traps to break down faster, potentially requiring costly repairs.
4. Compliance with Health Codes: Most local governments require restaurants to clean their grease traps regularly. Failure to keep up with grease trap cleanings could mean a fine or, in a worst-case scenario, a shutdown by local health authorities.

How Often Should a Grease Trap Be Cleaned?

Clean commercial grease traps every one to three months. Restaurants that use a lot of oil and grease, such as kitchens with multiple large fryers, might need their grease traps cleaned more often, even multiple times a month. Small individual grease traps underneath kitchen fixtures, such as sinks, might require cleaning as often as once a week.

What Best Practices Are There For Grease Trap Maintenance?

These basic tips help you use your grease trap more efficiently and reduce grease trap odors:

• Don't pour grease down sinks or toilets. It will harden and stick to your pipes. Food particles then stick to the grease and create clogs.
• Dispose of waste cooking oil correctly in a cooking oil receptacle. Contact a grease disposal company to have your grease dumpster picked up. In some areas, you can use a grease recycling company, which uses old cooking grease to make biofuels and other useful products. 
• Avoid or limit garbage disposal usage. Food particles can fill up your grease trap, so the less you put down your sink, the slower it fills up – and the less often you need commercial grease trap services. 
• Don’t flush your grease trap with soap or degreasers. Doing so liquefies the grease and sends it into the drainage system, which goes against the purpose of a grease trap. For smaller grease traps, you can remove the screens and soak them in dish soap and hot water to dissolve grease, capturing the grease instead of washing it down the drain. Scrub the screens after to remove FOG buildup, then replace them in the trap.

What to Expect During Grease Trap Cleaning

Commercial grease trap cleaning is a messy, foul-smelling, and time-consuming chore. While employees can sometimes clean small grease traps, it’s almost always worth investing in professional grease trap cleaning for larger traps. Participating Roto-Rooter locations that offer this service will pump and clean your grease trap on a predetermined schedule based on the unique needs of your facility, lessening the chance that you’ll forget to call and risk a clogged or overfilled grease trap shutting down your kitchen.

When you contact Roto-Rooter’s grease trap cleaning services, here’s what you can expect:

1. Scheduling: Use our online scheduling tool to book a service call with our professional plumbers. Alternatively, call us 24/7 at 1 (800) GET-ROTO for backups and other emergencies.
2. Inspection and Quote: Our technicians personally inspect the condition of your grease traps and provide a detailed, up-front quote for grease trap cleaning/pumping. Not all Roto-Rooter locations offer this service, so confirm that your local Roto-Rooter does. 
3. Pumping and Cleaning: For the actual cleaning, our plumbers use a powerful and specialized pump to remove grease from the trap and into a storage tank built into the truck. They also clean the baffles, screens, and any other elements of the grease trap that need attention.
4. Inspection: The technicians inspect your grease trap to determine if any parts aren’t working correctly. If your grease trap needs repair, they’ll discuss your options and can usually complete repairs on the spot and without delay.
5. Waste Disposal: Another upside of working with Roto-Rooter: We handle grease trap waste disposal!* No more wondering where to dump your grease trap waste — our liquid waste pumping and transport service will safely dispose of your grimiest grease and foulest fats at an approved and licensed waste receiving facility.

* Service not available in all Roto-Rooter markets

Do you dread spending hours mucking out a clogged, smelly grease trap? You’re not alone — and Roto-Rooter is here to care for your commercial grease trap cleaning and FOG removal needs. Schedule your grease trap cleaning online today and let somebody else brave the stink.

Please note: Not all Roto-Rooter locations offer grease trap cleaning services. Service offerings vary by location. Check with your local Roto-Rooter location to learn which services they provide.