Protecting Your Grease Trap: The First Line of Defense For Septic Systems

What is a Grease Trap?

Grease is the septic industry’s term for animal fat and vegetable oil which inevitably mixes with kitchen wastewater when dishes are washed and rinsed. Septic and sewage collection systems are designed to efficiently handle the wastewater, but grease floats and once cooled, it coagulates together in large sticky masses, making it the enemy of your septic or sewer system.

The grease trap intercepts this potential mess with a baffle system before it can move on to clog pipes or pumps further down the line, letting the water layer beneath the floating grease layer drain freely through the bottom of the trap. Eventually, the trap fills with grease and has to be cleaned out, but this is preferable to the expense of replacing clogged ejector pumps or jetting out grease-clogged pipes.

The Sink Strainer is Your First Line of Defense

The grease trap protects your septic or sewer lines, but it’s up to you to protect the grease trap itself from damage so it can continue to work effectively. Solid objects allowed to go down the drain can provide the material to totally gum up the works in your grease trap. A little precaution and common sense can protect the grease trap and in turn your entire wastewater system.

• Use the sink strainer, properly seated in the drain, to prevent food particles and solids from reaching the grease trap. Keep the strainer in place at all times. Small pieces of plastic or trash items which make their way to the sink will be caught by the strainer before they can cause problems.

• Scrape dishes thoroughly before placing in the sink. Even soft food items are still heavier than water solids which will only cause trouble. The grease trap intercepts but it does not digest.

• Never dump leftover cooking oil down the sink drain. The grease trap will have to be cleaned more frequently, and it has enough to handle just from the residual animal and vegetable fats washed away from the dishes. Anyone who has allowed a greasy frying pan to cool on the stove has seen an example of the gunky mess which would be deposited in your grease trap by dumping it down the sink drain.

At Kaiser-Battistone we have the expertise to keep your residential septic system operating at peak efficiency, and we also offer a full line of wastewater management services for commercial and municipal operation. Visit our website at the link below for details, and don’t hesitate to contact us for more information.

http://ift.tt/2A08Q8H.com/commercial/services/inside-grease/

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