Grease Trap Cleaning & Maintenance

Grease traps, or grease interceptors, are often unsung heroes for restaurants and food service businesses. Everyday they keep FOG (fats, oils, and grease) from clogging your plumbing and municipal sewer lines. But, should an issue arise or the trap be due for routine maintenance, call Jones Plumbing & Septic Tank Service! We provide quality and local grease traps cleaning service to Alachua, Levy, Gilchrist, Columbia, and Dixie County.


Grease Trap Cleaning

Florida law requires grease traps to be pumped and cleaned at least every three months. Not only does calling a grease trap cleaning company like Jones Plumbing & Septic Tank Service keep your food service business compliant, you’ll benefit from regular cleanings through:

Grease Trap Services

1. Eliminating Foul Odors

Along with FOG passing through the grease trap, so does food particles and waste. And as all these particles mingle and linger together inside the trap, foul odors develop. These odors can back up the pipes and drains connected to the trap, letting you and others know they’re there. Grease tank cleaning services from Jones Plumbing & Septic Tank Service get rid of these odors and keep your grease trap and tank working efficiently.

2. Lower Maintenance & Emergency Repair Costs

Regular cleaning allows wastewater to flow through with a nominal amount of FOG and reduces the amount of money you’ll spend on maintenance and emergency repair costs. Some of the costs you’ll be avoiding include calling a plumber during a busy time because a pipe is backed up or even worse, burst, due to a buildup of FOG.

3. Reduce Damage to the Tank

Decaying food, whether particles or solids, releases and creates gases, including sulfuric acid. This toxic element can damage the walls of the grease trap and possibly create a larger issue to repair.


Grease Trap Maintenance

Along with having routine grease trap service from Jones Plumbing & Septic Tank Service, there are a few steps you can take to help with the maintenance process.

  • Don’t pour FOG down sinks. They will congeal as they cool and create clogs and plumbing backups.
  • Keep a maintenance and repair log for the grease trap.
  • Use a scoop to remove grease from the trap once or twice a week ideally.
  • Develop and follow procedures for use and maintenance of the trap for yourself and employees to follow.
  • Never use additives and chemicals to clean a grease trap — most of these emulsify the FOG and allow it to enter the plumbing lines where it later hardens and clogs the system.

 

Grease Disposal Service

When you contact Jones Plumbing & Septic Tank Service for grease trap service, you’re receiving quality service and the guarantee all grease is disposed of according to municipal, county, and state regulations. As a grease hauler, the term given to a grease trap cleaning company like us, we transport all removed and collected grease to an approved recycling or disposal facility.

 

How Does a Grease Trap Work?

At its simplest, a grease trap filters the FOG (fats, oils, and grease) from the kitchen wastewater. The filtering begins as soon as the FOG start to cool and separate from water and floating to the top. Baffles help keep the FOG contained in one part or compartment of the trap while wastewater flows through a second compartment and out into the sewer line. Grease traps come in three main types, hydromechanical, gravity, and automatic grease removal unit (AGRU) and are frequently buried underground outside of the building.

Hydromechanical Grease Trap

Using heat and gravity, FOG separates from wastewater while the flow of water is controlled, allowing hot water to cool. Baffles keep the FOG inside the trap until it’s cleaned, which should be often for a hydromechanical grease trap.

Gravity Grease Trap

While most grease traps have two compartments, a gravity grease trap has at least two compartments. A large amount of water flows through a gravity trap and helps the FOG become buoyant and separate from the water inside the compartments.  

Automatic Grease Removal Unit (AGRU)

Mechanical and electrical skim FOG out of the water, giving them the most removal efficiency of the three traps. Food particles collect in an internal device while FOG accumulate in an external collection device.

 

Difference Between Grease Traps & Grease Interceptors

They both perform the same task — keep FOG from entering the plumbing — but grease traps and grease interceptors differ in one key area, the flow rate of wastewater. Grease traps can handle less than 50 gallons of wastewater per minute while grease interceptors can handle more than 50 gallons per minute. The other difference is installation location. Grease traps are usually installed underneath a commercial sink while a grease interceptor is generally located underground, outside the building.

 

Common Issues With Grease Traps

Large or small, any issue with a grease trap will slow your food service business down. At Jones Plumbing & Septic Tank Service, these are the most common issues we see with grease traps.

Clogs in Incoming and/or Outgoing Lines

If the incoming line is clogged, you’ll likely notice the lowest plumbing fixture in your business, such as a drain, backs up. A clog in the incoming line often stops the entire system from working. On the other hand, a clog in the outgoing line causes overflows in both compartments of the grease trap.

Full Trap

A full grease trap can quickly cause issues for not only your plumbing system, but issues for surrounding plumbing systems, such as municipal. A full trap will clog all parts and lines and require professional cleaning from Jones Plumbing & Septic Tank Service to clear out a full trap.

Crossover Clog

When the pipe connecting the two compartments becomes clogged, the wastewater and FOG level in the first compartment raises. Since the liquids can’t flow through the trap as they should, they often back up into drains connected to the trap.

 

Can You Use A Garbage Disposal With A Grease Trap?

It’s strongly recommended to not use a garbage disposal if you have a grease trap and/or septic system. While the blades may chop food products, including bones and eggshells, into smaller pieces, they create more waste in the tank than the microbes can efficiently decompose. Additionally, coffee grounds and food waste should be composted or put in the trash instead of into the garbage disposal.

 

We’re Your First Call For Grease Tank Cleaning

Grease tank cleaning goes beyond simply removing grease from a food service trap. By getting rid of residual grease from trap walls and deep cleaning all parts of the trap once the FOG is gone, we’re helping your business avoid downtime for a grease trap issue. Jones Plumbing & Septic Tank Service uses up-to-date methods and techniques to provide quality grease tank cleaning and disposal service.