If you run a food business, you will need a clear direction for controlling the grease and used oil. One of the compliance requirements is installing a grease trap
There are two types of grease traps. The first one is small and it can be installed in small kitchens, under the sink.
The second type is big and you install it outside the kitchen, on the ground. It looks like a regular manhole but it is designed in such a way that the grease floats on the water for easier extraction.
Usually, these underground traps are large and they can hold many gallons before they need emptyingInstalling a grease tank is just the first step. You also need to ensure the grease trap cleaning is done in good time.
7 reasons why cleaning the grease trap is important
Food businesses need to be clean. If you do not, customers will shun your business and go to eat elsewhere.
Leaving a grease interceptor dirty and full is one of the ways of causing spillovers, and this causes a health hazard.
Here are five important reasons to keep the interceptor clean:
1. Keep the nasty odors away
If the grease trap is full, the bacteria eating into the grease and old oils will cause a horrible smell. Odor is gaseous, so no matter how tight the lid is, it will certainly seep out through the smallest space.
A horrible smell and a restaurant or other food business does not go together. That is why you need to clean the grease interceptor in good time.
If you have an indoor interceptor, the smell will be worse since it is inside the kitchen. However, this doesn’t mean you should neglect cleaning it at all. It too will start spreading a horrible odor to your business.
2. You can avoid municipal fines
The regulations require food businesses to install grease traps in their business. They also require them to maintain and clean them properly.
For the small grease interceptors installed inside the kitchen, you don’t need a professional company to clean it.
Just train one or two of your employees and they can do the job easily. When the commercial property inspector comes along, he/she will find everything sparkling clean.
3. To avoid damaging the tank
The grease interceptor is a tank with metal walls. Since it is exposed to water all the time, it can corrode if you neglect giving it the best care.
As the FOG – fats, oil and grease stay longer inside the tank; they start to release hydrogen sulfur gas. This gas will then turn to sulfuric acid, which can corrode the metal parts of the tank.
That is why the FOG should not stay too long inside the trap. As soon as the tank is about three-quarters full, you should have it cleaned out.
4. Cleaning prevents clogging
Cleaning the grease trap on time prevents the old grease from backing up. If this happens, it will spill to the adjacent plumbing system and start blocking everything up. This would then lead to costly maintenance repairs.
Stick to the recommended cleaning schedules if you want to save your time and money. If there are spills and blockages, you might have to stop the work to do the repairs.
The authorities can also compel you to close the business for some time as you do the necessary repairs. To avoid this, ensure you check the status of the tank once every 90 days, or sooner!
5. It is easier to clean sooner than later
FOG is actually gunk that floats on water inside the tank. With time, it can harden up and stick on the walls of your tank. This is going to be super hard to clean and it can cost more money and time.
The FOG draining out of the sink with the hot water also contains food materials. These harden up fast, and they make the tank really hard to clean.
6. It prevents food-borne diseases
When you let the gunk stay in the grease tank too long, it will breed colonies of bacteria. If there is a spillover, the bacteria could find its way to your food.
This can cause serious food poisoning among your customers. If that happens, expensive lawsuits would follow
To prevent such occurrences, just engage a local grease trap cleaning service. They will create a proper cleaning schedule, so you will never have to deal with the risks that come from neglecting grease interceptor maintenance.
7. Regular cleaning can reveal damages
Grease interceptors have manhole-like covers, which also have rubber seals that keep the tank tightly sealed. However, these rubber seals do wear away with time.
If you neglect timely cleaning, it is possible to miss such repair needs. This would exacerbate the problem of the nasty odor coming from the grease tank.
Conclusion
The list for why grease trap cleaning is important could go on. However, these seven points show you why you should not neglect this important installation. Not only can it cause foul odors, but it is also a health hazard.
Keeping your commercial premises clean and healthy all the time will earn you customer loyalty. There can be legal repercussions too.
If you let a grease trap company do this job for you, you never have to worry about any of the aforementioned risks. They will always be on time and they will have the right tools for the job.
Read More:
▪ How Much Does It Cost To Clean A Grease Trap?
▪ What Is Grease Trap? How To Properly Clean A Grease Trap
