What is a Grease Trap?
Restaurant grease traps are in place to properly dispose of oil and fats that are used in commercial kitchens. Restaurants and commercial kitchens use grease traps to prevent grease and oil from entering the ocean. Improperly dumping oil down drains can cause build up in pipelines and sewers. This can cause costly repairs and cleanings. Here is an ultimate guide to restaurant grease traps.
Septic tanks can handle many kinds of waste, but you must think about what you’re putting down your drains when you consider your plumbing system. If you don’t maintain your grease trap, all the grease and cooking oils will build up and create a foul odor. This can be perturbing for employees and customers, and it increases your risk for a grease fire. A neglected grease trap may also leak grease into the municipal water system. This is bad for the community and can result in a fine for your establishment.
A grease trap that doesn’t receive proper maintenance can cause:
Odors
If there is too much grease in the trap, it will start to emit very unpleasant odors. This could hurt business at your restaurant, as the smell may be strong enough to turn customers away. Your employees can also be affected by a full or clogged grease trap, as they will be subject to the foul odors while they are trying to do their jobs.
Fire Hazards
A grease trap that hasn’t been cleaned can create a dangerous fire hazard. Full grease traps can catch on fire very easily, and grease fires may spread quickly and be more difficult to put out than other types of fires.
Financial Problems
If making your restaurant a cleaner, safer place isn’t incentive enough for you to have your grease trap hydro jetted, consider that a full grease trap could lead to fines. When authorities find grease in the water supply, they can determine where it is coming from. If your restaurant is the source, you could be looking at hefty fines.
Grease trap replacement estimated costs:
Grease trap replacement costs are the same as the costs of the initial grease trap installation. That’s why it’s crucial to have this solution properly installed the first time. The cost varies from one plumber to another, and especially so, from state to state.
Although the cost of tools and equipment needed for restaurant grease trap replacement doesn’t differ much on a national level, other costs involved in the math depend on a broad range of factors that tend to be different as you move from one place to another.
Here’s what goes into grease trap replacement costs:
- Local labor hourly costs
- Average costs for materials and equipment
- Costs of surface preparation, components, and machinery
- Clean-up fees
- Local costs for permits required for installation
- Local building and inspection fees
- General contractor fees
On average, a small grease trap installation costs between $250 and $1500.
Get Reliable Resturant Grease Trap Maintenance Services
We believe that providing our customers with the right tools to understand their restaurant grease trap situation can help them save money on after-hours service calls. All situations are unique so there is never really a one-size-fits-all answer.
At A-1 Septic Tank Service Inc. we know that running a restaurant can be stressful and grease traps are probably not at the forefront of your mind. We offer routine scheduled maintenance for grease traps. This way, you can focus on other important aspects of your business. Having scheduled maintenance not only saves time but also decreases the need to spend extra money on emergency grease trap service calls.
We are a family-owned and operated business. For over 65 years we have been providing the greater San Francisco Bay Area with fast and dependable septic and non-hazardous pumping services. A-1 Septic Tank Service, Inc. is committed to always delivering a safe, quality service and has built its reputation on honesty and integrity. We are ready to take your call!