Grease Trap Cleaning Frequency

It can be overwhelming numerous aspects to keep in mind when running your restaurant, and the responsibilities can pile up. One concern that many owners ask over time is the frequency of grease trap cleaning. It’s easy to neglect the importance of this task, but you shouldn’t skip cleaning out your grease trap. Here’s what you need to know about the frequency you should clean out your grease trap.

Things to Keep in Mind

The timing of cleaning out your grease trap depends on a few factors. Before creating a cleaning schedule (we’ll cover that in a moment), you should know the capacity of your trap, how often it is used, and the seating capacity of your restaurant. The most important thing to remember is that grease trap cleaning is necessary for business maintenance. In fact, you could face potential fines if you fail to clean it regularly. Moreover, a dirty grease trap will put your customers’ health at risk.

Creating a Schedule

Most grease traps should be cleaned out every 1 to 3 months, depending on usage. To know exactly how often your establishment needs to clean the grease trap, consider the “1/4th rule.” In simple terms, the grease trap should be cleaned out when it’s a quarter full. The fats, oils, grease, and solids (FOGS) inside the trap can start to produce unpleasant odors if left too long, so draining it out at one-quarter of its capacity will avoid those odors. Additionally, the more FOGS there are in the trap, the less effective the trap becomes; you could face backups in the lines or slow sink drainage if left unattended for too long.

Legal Considerations

Some states have specific legal rules regarding how often restaurants must empty out grease traps. The exact law will depend on your location, but a common rule is that traps must be cleaned out once every 90 days. This means that regardless of whether it hasn’t reached the ¼ rule, you’ll still need to clean out the grease trap once every three months. Make sure to confirm with your local regulations and industry standards to avoid unknowingly violating them. It’s a good idea to hire a professional service is a great way to manage your grease trap cleaning since they are familiar with the regulations. Additionally, they bring the right tools and expertise to provide an even cleaner trap.

Cleaning out a grease trap is no fun task, and as a busy restaurant owner, you have enough to worry about. Leave the job to the professionals at Level Plains Plumbing Services handle your grease trap needs. We’ll service your traps quickly and efficiently so you can concentrate on your business.

Give us a call now at (888) 860-0649 to request a free in-home estimate.