By Justin Bradley
When your commercial kitchen’s grease trap does its job, you hardly notice it. But when you start having problems with your grease trap, you can’t ignore it. Prevent these four common problems to have with grease traps.
1. Foul Odor
Although your grease trap takes in fat, grease, and oil, it should never smell bad. The trap’s air-tight seal should prevent odors from escaping. If the grease trap smells bad, it might have a loose gasket—or the trap might have odor-emitting debris that you need to remove.
2. Overflow
Another common problem people have with grease traps is overflow. This disgusting problem can happen when you don’t pump out the grease trap’s first compartment, so the contents overflow into the second compartment. Do routine maintenance on your grease trap to prevent overflow. But for bigger clean-up tasks, don’t hesitate to hire a professional to efficiently remove the gunk.
3. Crossover Clog
The crossover pipe runs from the grease trap’s first compartment into the second compartment. The pipe allows mainly water to go into the secondary compartment. But grease and food debris can build up in the crossover pipe, causing a clog. When this happens, the liquid level in the first compartment will rise because the water can’t exit through the pipe.
4. Outlet Clog
After water exits the crossover pipe, it moves through the outlet pipe to make its way to the sewer. The outlet pipe can become clogged over time if debris enters it from the crossover pipe. The outlet pipe can also clog when the primary compartment overflows and pushes debris into the secondary compartment. If both of your compartments overflow, this is a sign that you probably have a clog in your outlet pipe.
Clean out your grease trap regularly to minimize the likelihood of clogging problems. Taking care of your grease trap helps to keep your business sanitary and protects your sewer line. If you get a clog, act quickly to clear it up.
