Importance of a Grease Trap
Grease traps are a requirement for any holiday rental accommodation. A blocked grease trap could fast become an expensive plumbing undertaking; therefore, scheduled grease trap cleaning could save our clients money. The residual grease from cooking will harden in the pipes, leading to a steady grease buildup, and eventually blocked pipes. You also run the risk of having the sewage system blocked, when your kitchen doesn’t have a grease trap, or more importantly one that is not cleaned as part of preventative maintenance.
Importance of Scheduled Cleaning
The installation of a grease trap is only the first step, however, our property managers will then set up a preventative maintenance schedule to ensure routine cleaning is carried out. Depending on the occupancy levels and the frequency with which the kitchen sink is used, in order to avoid blockages, emptying and cleaning the grease trap forms part of our team’s regular scheduled property maintenance.
Tips from the PM Team
Scheduled cleaning of grease traps will keep them functioning efficiently and save our clients money in the long run by avoiding costly plumbing repairs.
Tip #1: The grease trap is not for grease storage.
While a grease trap is designed to trap grease, we advise staff not to pour grease directly into the drain, but instead store in the appropriate containers to avoid the grease trap from reaching its maximum capacity too quickly. This will reduce the likelihood of having to deal with clogged drains.
Tip #2: Remove excess grease and solid food.
Staff and guests alike are reminded to reduce solid material from going into the drain that will end up in the grease trap. While the grease trap is intended to hold the oils, fats, and grease, the use of a strainer is your best bet to eliminate the excess solids entering the trap.
Keep solid food items along with excess fats, oils, and grease that could be removed from the dishes before being placed in the sink. Keeping food out of the grease trap will maximize the time between cleanings.
Tip #3: Schedule Preventative Maintenance.
Some companies and contractors are not consistent in their workmanship with the construction of grease traps, and often time design flaws create a lot of issues, which result in having to clean the grease traps too frequently.
It is still important to maintain minimum standards for cleaning times, even if there’s not much oil, fat, or grease inside the tank, it will still turn rancid and emit a pungent odor. Our property managers actually keep a log through the use of a mobile work order app, which comes in handy for reporting to owners and tracking any technical issues.
