Grease Trap Cleaning Reading

Grease Trap Cleaning Reading

Grease traps are an essential part of most commercial drainage systems, especially those involved in the culinary industry. While they offer a range of great advantages, they can be difficult to maintain without professional grease trap cleaning in Reading. Cleaning these vital features can be a major time-sink; however, leaving them unclean can result in a variety of health hazards to employees and customers.

When these essential traps go for weeks, or even months, without being cleaned they will create a harmful environment – one which is unsuitable for food preparation of any kind. Fats, oils and greases (which are some of the major contributors to drain blockages) can cause a range of health risks if grease traps aren’t cleaned regularly.

What is a Grease Trap?

These essential features do exactly what their name suggests – they trap fats, oils and greases (commonly known as FOGs) from entering the drainage or waste management system of a commercial establishment. This prevents the development of blockages in the drains – an issue which has been a major problem for restaurants and other commercial properties in the past.

These traps are usually positioned in the commercial kitchen or, in some cases, outside the kitchen area. Many properties choose to position the grease trap outside their building and hidden under the ground; this prevents FOGs from building up in the kitchen area, resulting in unpleasant and unhealthy working areas.

Grease traps, otherwise known as interceptors, are metal boxes which are filled with water. Wastewater from nearby drains needs to pass through them. As it does, the fats, oils and greases all rise to the top of the trap, whereas the wastewater continues on its way. FOGs are lighter than water, so they will always rise to the top of these traps. As fats, oils and greases remain in the trap with nowhere to go, it is important that these interceptors are cleaned on a regular basis.

How Often do Grease Traps Need to be Cleaned?

By law, grease traps in commercial properties need to be cleaned at least once every 90 days. There are not legally allowed to have FOGs or other forms of waste taking up 25% or more of the tank, so if your business is generating a lot of FOGs waste, you may need to have it cleaned even more regularly.

Large restaurants, particularly those with small or archaic grease traps, should have their interceptor cleaned at least once a month. When a grease trap fails, it can cause an extremely unpleasant working area, even if it is located outside the building.

What If I Forget to Have My Grease Traps Cleaned?

Unfortunately, forgetting to take care of your grease traps isn’t an excuse – especially when there are reliable grease trap cleaning services in Reading. If you neglect to treat your grease trap as it should be treated, then it will allow FOGs to enter your drains and lead to a range of drain blockages. In the worst cases, it can even cause the fats, oils and greases to flow back up the pipe and spill into your commercial sinks.

If your grease trap starts to overflow or flow back up the pipe, you need to make sure it is cleaned as quickly as possible. Failing to clean these features effectively can result in a range of issues, including fines, warnings or even being closed down due to health and safety.