What is a grease trap?

Let’s first outline what exactly a grease trap is. A grease trap is a plumbing device that serves as a drain or waste pipe to prevent grease from passing into the municipality’s sewer system. Every commercial kitchen produces fats, oils and greases. Even though most kitchens attempt to minimize the amount of fats, oils and grease (FOG) material that is washed away through the facility’s drainage systems, preventing all of it from being ending up in a drain is unrealistic.

Fortunately, grease traps exist for this very purpose: to trap and intercept FOG before it makes it to the main sewer.

What does a grease trap look like?

The material inside a grease trap is made up of wastewater and FOG material. But what does the trap itself look like? It consists of a baffle wall and the main sewer.

The trap itself is protected by a manhole cover and is typically located in your parking lot or somewhere close to your building. Grease traps vary in size, with smaller variations designed to connect individual sinks and larger ones installed to service larger facilities. Your business’ size, production volume and space help determine which type of trap you’ll need.

Grease traps are typically outside but smaller, indoor traps are available too. The idea in the design is to keep the FOG material and the water separate.

How does a grease trap work?

A grease trap separates various layers of waste within a restaurant’s water and drainage systems. It cools warm or hot greasy water by allowing the fats, oils and greases to cool. A grease trap is able to separate the different layers of waste with water because the FOG material rises to the top and water remains at the bottom with the solid food debris. This happens because the FOG is lighter and less dense than the cooled water.

Because of this, a tube that dips below the water’s surface can pull out water that has separated from FOG liquids. Sludge and other non-FOG food waste will quickly sink to the bottom. The two are separated by a crossover pipe.

Why do I need it?

As previously mentioned, a grease trap is a requirement by pretty much all municipalities for commercial kitchens, so in order to be open for business, you’re going to need to get a grease trap installed.

Beyond that, there is a functional necessity too. Without a grease trap, FOG will create more problems for the septic tank or sewer main. It’s important to remember that grease trap material is not the same thing as used cooking oil and therefore it should never be deposited into a used cooking oil disposal tank.

As we outlined above, a grease trap operates as the drainage system for your FOG material. Without one, you will have serious plumbing issues that will halt your daily operations. It could also lead to fines your municipality and potentially become a safety hazard for your customers and other members of the community.

How is a grease trap installed?

Unless your commercial kitchen is a newly-built facility, your building likely has a grease trap already, so you probably don’t have to worry about getting a grease trap installed. But if you fall under the category of a new build, you’ll want to have a professional plumbing service or grease trap maintenance provider install the trap for you. They’ll identify where the trap should be placed, and its size as well as guide you through meeting any requirements your local municipality has regarding grease traps.

How do you maintain a restaurant grease trap?

Just like any other piece of equipment within a commercial kitchen, the grease trap needs to be properly maintained to avoid clogs, backups and other issues. Your grease trap needs to be professionally drained and cleaned by a service provider regularly. The frequency of grease trap cleaning hinges on a few different factors such as size, flow, and amount of use. Your service provider should craft a regular maintenance schedule based on these factors.

If your business doesn’t yet have a grease trap installed, you need to get the ball rolling quickly so you don’t halt your kitchen’s progress.


DAR PRO Solutions provides professional grease trap cleaning services to commercial kitchens across the country. Our dependable program keeps your trap functioning as intended and ensures your business adheres to all guidelines Reach out to a DAR PRO representative today and find out how your business can benefit from our program. Call us 24/7/365 at 855-DAR-PRO1 (855-327-7761).

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