For many food service business owners, the grease trap is an important part of business. It helps make sure that fats, oils and grease that come from friers, grills and other cooking implements are disposed of. You’re going to expect a lot of problems cropping up when you experience a grease trap failure in the middle of service.
Despite the importance of the grease trap to the business, many owners neglect to check it during their routine checks. Eventually, you’ll have to deal with a much larger problem than simply opening it up and checking it for any problems.
Your Business at The Mercy of A Grease Trap
In essence, food service is based around being able to produce high quality food to meet the demands of the customers. However, when an integral part of the waste disposal process starts to malfunction, the rest starts to go downhill pretty quickly. Your business might even need to close down in order for repairs to be done properly.
Slower Water Draining
If you notice that your grease trap is taking longer to empty itself, then you might need to get ready to open your grease trap for an inspection. It can be an early sign that there is a partial blockage in any of the lines or some parts are malfunctioning and corroded. This is the easiest way to spot a possible grease trap failure and isn’t as damaging when compared to the other signs of grease trap failure.
Overflowing Grease Traps
An overflowing grease trap can be a tremendous problem, especially during business hours. Months worth of FOGs can end up flowing into your business. A grease trap needs to be regularly pumped every one to three months in order for it to properly function. Failing to do this can cause easily cause overflows. Another reason an overflow can happen is if any of the lines or pipes in a grease trap become clogged.
Grease Trap Clogs
This is another way for your grease trap to get clogged. Blockages in the tight areas in a grease trap can easily prevent it from pushing FOG’s and sewage in the right direction.Grease trap clogs can happen in one of three places.
Crossover Clogs
Every septic tank is made up of two compartments. The first compartment separates solids from liquids while the second is the compartment that’s responsible for releasing waste into sewers. In between those two components is the crossover line. This line connects the two compartments and can be clogged after months of neglect. A blockage here overflows the separator compartment and can cause FOG’s to flow back into the kitchen.
Incoming and Outgoing Line Clogs
Incoming and outgoing line clogs can easily stop the entire grease trap from functioning properly. This type of clog can easily overflow both compartments in a grease trap. Proper maintenance is needed to make sure that this doesn’t happen.
Awful Smells
We don’t have to tell you twice of how terrible the smell of rotting FOGs is. The smell can easily drive away possible customers and forcing you to miss a day or two of business. All while you try to clean up the mess. It’s even worse in the kitchen where most of the smell will end up backing up. Not only is the stench terrible, prolonged exposure can even make you or your staff sick.