Scheduled properly, it's a routine cost. Left too long, it's a closed kitchen.
A grease trap separates fats, oils and grease from kitchen wastewater before it reaches the sewer. It works by letting grease float and solids settle, holding both back while the water passes through.
The mechanism only works while there's room. Once the accumulated layers fill the available volume, grease carries straight through into the line, and that's where the expensive problems start.
That first point separates proper service from a quick visit. A trap that only ever gets skimmed accumulates a solid layer on the bottom that progressively reduces its capacity, so the interval shortens while nobody understands why.
There's no single correct frequency, and generic figures tend to be wrong in both directions. What determines it:
| Factor | Pushes the interval shorter |
|---|---|
| Trap size | Smaller trap relative to the kitchen's output |
| Menu | Fryers, grills and heavy meat preparation |
| Covers | High volume, particularly concentrated service periods |
| Practice | Staff scraping plates into sinks rather than bins |
| Dishwashing | High temperature washing emulsifies grease so it passes the trap |
That last one surprises people. Very hot water keeps grease liquid long enough to pass through the trap and solidify further down the line, which is worse than it arriving at the trap in the first place.
The trap is the last line, not the first. What actually reduces cost: scraping plates and pans into bins rather than sinks, collecting fryer oil for proper disposal, using strainers on every sink, and training staff on why it matters rather than just telling them not to do it.
Kitchens where this is part of the routine run noticeably longer between services, and their lines stay cleaner between jettings.
Trap servicing handles the trap. It doesn't clean the line downstream, and in kitchens that have run long intervals, or where hot dishwashing has been carrying grease through, that line is often coated. Jetting the kitchen line periodically is the companion job, and the two together are what prevent the backup during service.
If your trap is serviced religiously and you're still getting slow drainage, the line is where to look.
Skimming the grease layer and leaving the settled solids underneath is quicker, cheaper and the reason some kitchens find their service interval mysteriously shortening. A full service removes everything and scrapes the baffles, which is the part that keeps the trap working as designed.
A generic frequency is wrong in both directions. Fryer load, covers, dishwashing temperature and whether staff scrape into bins all change the answer. We would rather look at your trap and set something that fits than quote the number everybody else quotes.
A blocked kitchen line during service is not a plumbing cost, it is a trading cost, and it is the one most restaurants underestimate. Our phone is staffed every hour of every day, including the Friday night yours decides to back up.
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It depends on the trap size, the menu and the volume of covers. A fryer-heavy kitchen doing high numbers needs it far more often than a cafe. Rather than quote a generic figure, we'd rather look at your trap and your operation and set an interval that fits.
The trap stops separating and grease passes into the line, where it cools and coats the pipe. That leads to slow drainage and eventually a backup, which in a commercial kitchen means closing during service.
No. Trap servicing handles the trap. If grease has been carrying through, the downstream line often needs jetting as a separate job. If your trap is serviced properly and you still have slow drains, that's where to look.
Yes, meaningfully. Scraping into bins rather than sinks, collecting fryer oil properly, strainers on every sink, and making it part of staff routine all extend the interval. Kitchens that do this consistently go noticeably longer between services.
Yes. We document what was done and when, which matters for your records and for anyone who asks to see them.
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Learn moreClearing the kitchen line past the trap.
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Tell us your trap size and roughly how many covers you do. That's usually enough to suggest a sensible interval.
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