All About Grease Traps: A Common Source of Drain Cleaning Concerns

Restaurants, gas stations with car washes, laundromats, and similar businesses cannot operate without installing a critical component in their plumbing system: a grease trap/solid waste interceptor. The installation of a grease trap is needed since these businesses have to dispose of potentially harmful wastes down the sewers, which can cause threats to public health and safety.

Grease traps are special devices that collect grease and prevent it from going down the drain. They can only be installed by licensed plumbers. The very nature of the grease trap’s job makes it a typical point of focus for local plumbing companies like Capital Plumbing and Heating, Ltd.

Which serves Edmonton and nearby areas. When grease traps get filled to capacity with grime, clearing them out is a very unpleasant job, but very necessary in commercial establishments, such as restaurants. Furthermore, the job doesn’t only require clearing the trap; it also involves appropriate disposal of the removed debris.

That said, many restaurant owners are not sure about how often grease traps should be cleaned. With the nature of a full-service food establishment, the amount of grease that goes down the drain is much more than in a typical home. Due to the massive amount of grease, fat, and oil which gets flushed down the drain daily, grease trap manufacturers recommend that a trap be cleaned - completely drained, and scraped free of all solid wastes and grease—about once every few days. In several communities, local laws demand that grease traps are cleared at least once a month.

In addition to preventing clogged drains, regular grease trap cleaning is also critical for other reasons. For one, the waste that grease traps collect is not ordinary waste: it requires special disposal and cleaning procedures since it takes a long time to naturally break down and decompose.

During the lengthy process, the grime can become rancid enough to breed harmful bacteria, which may be released into the air and lead to an unhealthy environment. The amount of grease in restaurants makes this situation a far greater possibility compared to average homes.

Drain backups are the least of one’s worries with a clogged grease trap. Professional drain cleaning services operating in the Edmonton area can help keep these major sanitation and health issues at bay while ensuring that businesses can keep their operations going.

Capital Plumbing & Heating Ltd.

With over 20+ years of industry experience, Capital Plumbing offers the best in the business if you need expert plumbing, heating, cooling, or HVAC services in Edmonton that you can trust for the long term.