Grease Traps Cleaning: How to Clean Grease Traps for Restaurants

Grease Traps Cleaning: How to Clean Grease Traps for Restaurants

It’s the middle of your Saturday lunch rush, and your back-of-house staff is already drowning in orders. Suddenly, things go from bad to terrible–your sink starts overflowing due to a clogged grease trap.

This nightmare scenario can become a reality if you don’t regularly clean your restaurant’s grease traps. Once your customers see–and smell–the grease-filled water seeping out of your kitchen, you’ve turned them off of your restaurant for life.

Therefore, you must learn how to clean grease traps effectively.

We’ve compiled a guide on cleaning grease traps restaurants need to know. You’ll learn how to make grease traps cleaning quick and easy without disrupting your team’s ability to handle that all-important dinner rush.

The Importance of Regular Grease Traps Cleaning

Learning how to clean grease traps for restaurants isn’t a luxury you can just ignore. There are several benefits to cleaning grease traps restaurants must consider to ensure a safe dining experience and avoid catastrophe.

Preventing Blockages and Overflows

Failing to learn how to clean grease traps is an easy way to gamble with your restaurant’s success. Grease buildup doesn’t just happen overnight. It’s a slow process that acts as a ticking timebomb inside your kitchens.

If you’ve been a business owner long enough, you know that tragedy strikes at the worst possible time.

Your grease traps won’t overflow on a Monday evening with just a few tables in the restaurant.

Instead, it’ll happen on a night that is already chaotic. Mother’s Day, Christmas Eve, or the night a VIP comes into your restaurant for the first time.

That’s when your sinks start backing up and overflowing, and the stench of decayed grease hits the dining room.

And you’ll be sitting there mopping up the wreckage–probably between tears–wishing you had been cleaning grease traps far more frequently.

Health and Safety Compliance

Blockages and overflows are one thing–no one wants to get their shoes wet with grease.

But there’s another vital reason for cleaning grease traps restaurants must know.

Failing to do so could shut down your restaurant entirely.

Even if you don’t want to learn how to clean grease traps, there’s someone who does care–your local health inspector.

If they arrive at your restaurant and find a clogged grease trap, you’re finished. Citations, failing grades, and even shutting down your business are all on the table.

Come on, how often do grease traps need cleaning anyway? Won’t we be OK?

No, you won’t be. A failing grade for your restaurant is a mark of shame that is impossible to escape. Even your most loyal customers will think twice before returning.

Environmental Responsibility

Grease traps aren’t just for protecting your restaurant. Not cleaning grease traps can lead to pollution that decimates local water and wildlife.

The moral responsibility for learning how to clean grease traps is enough on its own.

But actively harming the environment can even hurt your business.

Plenty of consumers these days are focusing on green initiatives. If your business is actively working against them, your guests will vote with their wallets and avoid your restaurant.

Instead, keeping your traps clean can position your business as Green-friendly, opening up a new marketing channel.

How Often Do Grease Traps Need Cleaning?

Given all the drawbacks, cleaning grease traps is a no-brainer for your business.

But won’t it be time-consuming for our schedule? How often do grease traps need cleaning?

You’ll want a cleaning frequency of 1 to 3 months for most restaurants, but that’s just a starting point.

Frequency Based on Usage

We give 1 to 3 months as a starting point because every restaurant differs.

Maybe your restaurant runs several fryers a minute, like a high-volume fast food place.

On the other hand, maybe you run a small cafe that barely encounters grease.

The fast food place will need cleaning every 2 to 3 weeks, while the cafe could go 3 to 4 months.

Signs It’s Time to Clean Grease Traps

The best way to know the ideal frequency for cleaning grease traps is to watch for a few key signs.

Your kitchen always gives signals, so if any of these apply, it’s time to get cleaning.

  • Strange Smells: If your kitchen smells like a dumpster, it’s time to clean.
  • Slow Drains: Do you notice your drains backing up even slightly? Immediately clear out your grease traps before the problem develops further.
  • Floating Grease: You’re in trouble if you see grease floating around your trap. Even a trap that is just 25% full can cause damage.
  • Gurgle Sounds: When your pipes make angry noises, trouble is brewing.

What’s the Best Method for Cleaning Grease Traps?

What’s the best way to clean once the time comes?

Manual Cleaning

If you’re experienced just how long manual cleaning takes, we almost wouldn’t blame you for not cleaning your traps anymore.

Manual scrubbing works–if you have unlimited time, patience, and desire to be elbow-deep in gunk.

You’ll have to close down your kitchen for an entire day–or more–all for inadequate results.

Hiring Professional Services

You’re no stranger to vendors helping you with daily tasks in the business world.

And sure, having a provider handle your laundry or deliveries is a great idea.

But for cleaning, the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.

Professionals will often charge hundreds of dollars. That’s per cleaning.

That’s if they are even available. If you need emergency cleaning right before your dinner rush, you might be out of luck.

Pressure Washing

If manual scrubbing takes too long and professionals are too expensive and inconvenient, is there a method that deals with both issues?

The answer is yes!

Pressure washing is the most reliable way to clean your grease traps. Learning how to use a pressure washer is simple (we’ll even show you in this guide), affordable, and quick. Restaurant pressure washing is a business staple. If you’ve ever wondered how your competitors keep their properties sparking clean, it’s probably because they’re using a power washer.

But you must understand what to look for in a pressure washer before shopping.

Thankfully, our team is here to help.

Set Yourself Up for Effortless Grease Traps Cleaning at Hotsy of Houston

Need help restoring those grease traps to pristine condition? Let Hotsy of Houston help you. We’re the #1 home for commercial pressure washers in Houston, thanks to our decades of knowledge, which we’ll use to guide you through every step.

We’re Houston’s only authorized retailer of Hotsy, universally renowned as the best commercial pressure washer brand for over 50 years.

We carry several different types of pressure washers in our inventory, providing you with the force needed to remove grease clogs.

We’ll help you choose the best machine for the job.

You’ll need to consider sizing, such as pressure washer PSI vs. GPM, and temperature, such as hot water vs cold water pressure washers.

If you want to try before you buy, we are the #1 home for commercial pressure washer rental in Houston. With speedy service and affordable pressure washer rental cost, you can blast away that grease with plenty of time to spare before the weekend dinner rush.

How to Clean Grease Traps for Restaurants With a Pressure Washer

Let’s walk through how to clean grease traps to get you started.

Preparation

Before you begin blasting away, you’ll need to prepare the area. Gather your tools, including your machine, soap, accessories, a scraping tool, and appropriate protective equipment.

Hotsy’s best pressure washer soaps for cleaning grease are Duct Boss (which also works on vent hoods) and Carbochlor. Both are NSF-safe for food preparation.

We also recommend picking up the Hotsy Sludge Sucker attachment, one of the best pressure washer accessories for cleaning out tanks and grease traps.

Ensure the kitchen is clear of employees, and you’re ready to begin!

Initial Scraping and Removal

Start by scraping as much solid waste as possible to help dislodge it. You can skip this step, but it will make cleaning faster.

Don’t go overboard, though. Take a few minutes to do so, but let your pressure washer do the heavy lifting.

Applying Detergent

Next, you’ll begin using your soap. Learning how to use soap with a pressure washer is simple. You’ll soak the pressure washer detergent into the trap, allowing it to sit for 5 to 15 minutes. This will further loosen the grease and gunk.

Pressure Washing

And now, the magic happens. Start your pressure washer and begin blasting away. Focus your attention on the sides and bottom of the trap. This deep cleaning should dislodge the remainder of the grease on your first pass.

Final Rinse and Inspection

Once you’re done washing, give the grease trap a thorough rinse. Check the inside of the trap for any remaining signs of grease. You may need to repeat the process to hit any missed spots.

Post-Cleaning Maintenance

Reassemble the grease trap. Run some water through the trap to ensure everything is working as intended.

With your trap handled, you’ll also want to keep your pressure washer in peak condition.

To maintain a pressure washer, check all of the hoses and valves on the machine for leaks. If applicable, refill the fuel or recharge the battery. Find a room-temperature location for pressure washer storage that won’t get wet easily.

More Ways to Use a Pressure Washer in Your Restaurant

Cleaning your grease traps is just the tip of the iceberg for restaurant pressure washing. Businesses have been pressure washing commercial buildings since the technology first existed with excellent results.

Cleaning Kitchen Floors and Walls

We don’t have to tell you that back-of-house areas get dirty. It’s like your employees are intentionally flinging food at the wall just to frustrate you.

Thankfully, pressure washers can help. Their high-powered jet streams of water are perfectly capable of clearing those stains–even the ones that have been there for years.

Make sure you pick up an electric model for indoor cleaning. Between electric vs gas pressure washers, you want the former to avoid fumes that can ruin food safety protocols.

Cleaning Vent Hoods and Ducts

The hoods and ducts in your kitchen can be a massive fire hazard. It’s very easy for them to accumulate grease unnoticed, which can endanger your business and employees.

Thankfully, the best soap to use in a pressure washer for grease traps also works on vent hoods and ducts. Hotsy’s Duct Boss is explicitly formulated for food safety and will help you dislodge that grease quickly.

This will increase the efficiency of your ventilation system and improve your air quality.

So think, more savory smells coming from your kitchen and less grease water that makes your customers run away.

Exterior Cleaning

Ever pulled up to a business, but something just felt off? That might be what your customers think if you have a dirty parking lot.

A high-quality power washer can help. Pressure washing concrete is simple, and the machine you buy for your grease traps is usually capable of doing the job. Whether you’re pressure washing parking lots, sidewalks, or the walls of your restaurant, you’ll create an inviting atmosphere that entices guests to stop by for a bite.

Bringing Our Grease Traps Cleaning Guide to a Close

Grease traps are unsung heroes. So why do so many businesses ignore them?

It’s hard to blame them. Manual scrubbing takes forever, and professional services are costly.

But not cleaning them is a massive mistake.

Thankfully, pressure washers provide the best of both worlds. You can blast away the grease, making your kitchen a safe place to work again.

If you’re looking for a commercial cold water pressure washer in Houston, our team has you covered. We’ve helped local businesses streamline their cleaning and have all the tools to assist you!

Our friendly and knowledgeable team will walk you through everything, including how to rent a pressure washer, what to wear when pressure washing, and more.

We also have equipment for other industries, including:

If you’re ready to experience the unparalleled cleaning power, look no further than Hotsy of Houston. We’ll set you up with a commercial hot water pressure washer in Houston that will restore your grease traps to life, so stop by today!

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