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April 14,2025

Grease Traps 101

What Every Restaurant Owner Should Know

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As a restaurant owner or manager, you have a long list of responsibilities. Have you ever thought about your grease trap? Do you know what your grease trap is? It likely hasn’t been something that you have worried about amongst your other to-do’s but grease traps are essential for a smooth-running kitchen. These plumbing devices capture fats, oils, and grease (FOG) before they can clog up your pipes and damage the sewer system.

Without proper maintenance, a grease tap can lead to unpleasant odors, costly plumbing repairs, and even health violations. The technicians at Bill’s Sewer and Drain Service in Twin Falls, Idaho know all there is to know about grease traps. In this guide, you’ll learn everything you should know; from how they work to the best ways to keep them clean and compliant with local regulations. 
 

What is a Grease Trap?

For you as a restaurant owner, we’ll start by making sure you know what a grease trap is. A grease trap is a plumbing device that separates fats, oils, and grease from wastewater before it enters the sewer system.
Though it catches the FOG, it allows water to pass through to the sewage. These devices are very common in restaurants or commercial kitchens and are required by many cities for all food service establishments.

Because of the nature of what it catches, your restaurant grease trap will need a good cleaning. Oils and fats build up and stick together so when the trap isn’t trapping efficiently, the FOG can cause clogs and blockages in the pipes leading to a slew of other problems like sewage overflows and pollution.

There are a few different types of grease traps including:

  • Passive Grease Traps: These tend to be a more “low profile” grease trap and use gravity to separate the FOG. They are usually small and commonly found under the sink or near dishwashers in kitchens. They require manual cleaning and maintenance.
  • Gravity Grease Interceptor: Gravity grease interceptors are large and typically located underground. These are bigger than the passive grease traps and designed to handle large volumes of wastewater. The typical capacities range from 500 - 3,000 gallons.
  • Automatic Grease Removal Units (AGRU): AGRUs work similarly to the above-mentioned manual grease traps but with added automation. They slow down the flow of the water allowing FOG to cool and solidify. This allows the FOG to separate and rise, and then the AGRU mechanically skims it from the top into an easy-to-remove container. These types of grease traps require less frequent cleaning and maintenance.


Depending on the needs of your kitchen, there are a variety of sizes and capabilities in these types of devices. Let’s get into why your restaurant needs a grease trap and why it needs cleaning.

Why Do Restaurants Need Grease Traps?

Now that you know what a grease trap is, why do you need one in your restaurant? The 4 top reasons are:


1. Grease traps prevent plumbing blockages.

As we mentioned previously, all of the FOG solidifies when it's cooled and can cause clogs in the pipes. If the sewage pipes get clogged, there can be overflows or pipe breakage leading to leaks and other less-than-ideal situations for you and your restaurant.


2. Grease traps help avoid fines and legal issues.

Many cities require restaurants to have a grease trap by law. If you get in trouble with the lack of a functioning grease interceptor, you may be faced with fines or other legal problems.


3. Grease traps provide environmental protection.

Not only can the FOG cause clogs, overflows, and broken sewage pipes, but it could also lead to contaminating the water systems altogether.


4. Grease traps protect business operations.

If you don’t have a working fat or grease trap in your kitchen and you are faced with plumbing blockages, your restaurant services could get shut down, making it impossible to go about your business as usual. A functioning kitchen and water system are essential to a restaurant's success.

Grease traps are important! If you want to keep your business afloat (but not in leaked sewage!), we suggest getting the restaurant's grease trap a good cleaning. 
 

Grease Trap Maintenance & Cleaning

As you can imagine, grease traps get pretty dirty. To avoid all the problems that come with a clogged trap, it is important to clean it out regularly to ensure proper performance. Bill’s Sewer and Drain offers an excellent grease trap cleaning service in the Twin Falls, ID area. But how often should you call them? A good rule of thumb is every 1-3 months!

If it has been less than that recommended time between cleanings and you notice:
  • Slow drainage
  • Bad odors
  • Overflowing grease into your sinks or drains

Then it's time to clean your grease trap!
 

What NOT To Do To "Clean" Your Grease Trap:

When you have these issues coming up (literally FOG coming up in your sink), employees think to run hot water down the drain. While this temporarily liquifies the grease, it will still later solidify in the pipes and will still need to be cleaned. It also can worsen the other sewage problems we've been discussing.

Another thing people tend to try is using enzyme drain cleaners. These can break down grease but send it further into the sewer lines, causing blockages elsewhere. It can lead to bigger and bigger problems if you aren’t following the proper procedures.

How To Get Help:

Restaurant owners and managers near Twin Falls, Idaho should know about their business grease traps! You now know what they are, how to take care of them, and problems to watch out for if they aren’t taken care of. Most importantly, you know to depend on Bill’s Sewer and Drain for your restaurant grease trap cleaning services. They are professionals who know the best way to manage all the FOG in your pipes. Call them today to schedule a grease trap cleaning at
(208) 733-2607.
 
No After Hours or Emergency Fees!

We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for septic tank pumping and cleaning services.

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24-7 septic tank pumping and cleaning services
If you have a toilet backing up, clogged sewer line, sewer water backing up into your tub, give us a call at (208) 733-2607 or contact us online.