How Often Should My Grease Trap Be Cleaned?
Tell us about your kitchen, your meal volume, and your trap, and we'll suggest a checking and cleaning range based on the 25 percent rule of thumb. Heavier fryer use and higher volume mean more frequent cleaning.
How Often Should My Grease Trap Be Cleaned?
Tell us about your kitchen and we'll suggest a checking and cleaning range based on the 25 percent rule of thumb.
Type of kitchen
Meals served per day
Trap type
How a Grease Trap Works
A grease trap slows wastewater from a commercial kitchen so fats, oils and grease have time to float to the top and solids settle to the bottom. Only the clearer water between them flows on to the sewer. Over time the grease layer and the solids grow until the trap can no longer do its job.
The common rule of thumb is to clean a grease trap before the fats, oils, grease and solids reach about 25 percent of its depth. Past that point the trap stops separating efficiently, grease starts passing through, and drains slow or back up. The faster your kitchen pushes grease and solids into the trap, the sooner you hit that mark.
Signs Your Trap Is Overdue
- Slow drains in the kitchen
- A sour or rancid odor from the trap or floor
- Grease backing up into sinks or floor drains
- Grease passing through to the downstream line
- The same fixture clogging over and over
- The trap is more than a quarter full when opened
Local rules vary. Check with your municipality or sewer authority for any required cleaning schedule. We can measure your trap and set a schedule that fits. We clean grease traps, we do not install or repair them.
Other Tools
Grease Trap Schedule Questions
Where does the suggested range come from?
It is based on the common rule of thumb that a grease trap should be cleaned before fats, oils, grease and solids reach about 25 percent of its depth. Heavier fryer use and higher meal volume mean the trap fills faster and needs cleaning more often.
Is the suggested range a fixed schedule?
No. It is a starting point. Local rules vary, so check with your municipality or sewer authority for any required schedule. We can measure your trap and set a schedule that fits how your kitchen runs.
Why does a small under-sink trap need cleaning more often?
Small indoor under-sink traps hold far less volume than large outdoor interceptors, so grease and solids reach the 25 percent mark sooner. Large interceptors can run longer between cleanings.
Do you clean grease traps for any commercial kitchen?
Yes. We clean grease traps for restaurants, cafeterias, bakeries, and institutional kitchens across Reading and Berks County. Tell us your kitchen type and we will set the right interval.
Run a Kitchen? Let's Set a Schedule.
Tell us your kitchen and we'll measure the trap and set the interval.
Call (610) 914-2564Areas we serve: Reading and Berks County. Outside our main area we serve the rest of Berks County with a trip charge.