What Are The Financial Consequences Of Ignoring Your Grease Trap?

Take a survey of business owners, and you're unlikely to find many who enjoy paying for routine or preventative maintenance. Unfortunately, the benefits of these critical services often go unsung precisely because sticking to a schedule prevents severe problems. Regular maintenance only takes center stage when deferring it leads to costly problems.

If you operate a commercial kitchen, pumping your grease trap (or interceptor) is one of many necessary maintenance tasks. Pumping frequency can vary based on the size of your interceptor and your business needs, but you'll often need to perform this service several times per year. These three costly financial issues are only some of the problems you may face by avoiding this critical service for too long.

1. Inefficient Pump Scheduling

One of the main benefits of pumping your grease trap on a regular schedule is the ability to monitor its condition. When you pump your grease trap, the technicians check its condition and the overall level inside the storage tank. Just as with a septic tank, the amount of grease present can let you know if you're pumping too infrequently.

Without this information, you can't reliably plan your next service, potentially leading to unexpected blockages in the system. On the other hand, routine pumping allows you to adjust your timing as necessary, pumping more frequently to deal with increased usage or pumping less often when your tank isn't reaching critical levels as quickly.

2. Kitchen Damage

Grease traps share many similarities with septic tanks, including naturally separating solids and grease from liquid waste. When operating normally, solids fall to the bottom, oil and fat rises to the top, and wastewater flows into the municipal sewer system. When the trap becomes too full, solids or fats can clog portions of either the inlet or outlet lines.

Since your trap sits between the kitchen and the sewer line, clogs will prevent waste from exiting your kitchen. In severe cases, these blockages can cause backups that will flood your kitchen drains. Backed-up grease can create hazardous conditions for kitchen employees, damage equipment, and result in costly repairs.

3. Lost Time and Money

In a worst-case scenario, a severely blocked trap will prevent your workers from using the drains in your kitchen at all. Since a commercial kitchen can't operate without water, this situation inevitably leads to shuttering operations until you address the issue. If the clog occurs at night or another unusual time, you may not be able to schedule a pumping service until the next business day.

The costs of ignoring your grease trap far exceed the relatively minor costs associated with routine pumping. Staying on top of this essential maintenance task will ensure that your kitchen can continue to operate smoothly without unexpected blockages or sudden grease floods. For more information, contact a company that offers grease trap pumping services.