The Importance of Professional Grease Trap Exchange Services

June 18, 2025

For any commercial kitchen, particularly those in the food service industry, a properly functioning grease trap is essential for maintaining hygiene, preventing plumbing disasters, and complying with environmental regulations. Grease traps are designed to intercept fats, oils, and grease (FOG) from wastewater before they enter the main sewer system. However, these traps don't clean themselves. They require regular and professional servicing to ensure they function effectively and avoid costly and disruptive problems. Grease trap exchange services offer a convenient and efficient solution to this crucial maintenance need, providing a hassle-free way to keep your kitchen operating smoothly.

Understanding the Function of a Grease Trap

A grease trap, also known as a grease interceptor, is a plumbing device designed to slow the flow of wastewater from kitchen fixtures like sinks, dishwashers, and floor drains. This slowing of the flow allows FOG to cool and separate from the water. The FOG, being lighter, floats to the top, while heavier solids settle to the bottom. The relatively clear water in the middle can then flow out of the trap and into the sewer system. Without a grease trap, FOG would solidify within your plumbing pipes, causing blockages, backups, and potentially severe damage to your plumbing infrastructure.

The Dangers of Neglecting Grease Trap Maintenance

Failing to maintain your grease trap through regular cleaning or exchange services can have significant consequences for your business.

Plumbing Blockages and Backups

As FOG accumulates, it hardens and restricts the flow of wastewater, leading to slow drains and eventually complete blockages. This can result in wastewater backing up into your kitchen, creating a messy, unsanitary, and disruptive situation.

Foul Odors

A neglected grease trap can emit unpleasant and pungent odors, creating an unsavory environment for both your staff and your customers, damaging your reputation and potentially driving away business.

Health Code Violations

Health departments have strict regulations regarding grease trap maintenance to prevent the discharge of FOG into the sewer system. Non-compliance can result in hefty fines, business closures, and legal action.

Damage to the Sewer System

FOG that escapes the grease trap and enters the public sewer system can cause blockages in the city's lines, leading to overflows and environmental damage. This can result in fines and potential liability for your business.

The Convenience and Efficiency of Grease Trap Exchange Services

Grease trap exchange services provide a streamlined and convenient solution for commercial kitchen maintenance, eliminating the need for your staff to handle the messy task of cleaning. A professional service provider will arrive at your establishment with a clean, empty grease trap, carefully disconnect and remove your existing, full trap, install the clean unit in its place with correct plumbing connections, and then transport the removed waste to a licensed facility for compliant processing and disposal. This exchange process is typically quick and efficient, significantly minimizing disruption to your vital kitchen operations.

Benefits of Professional Grease Trap Exchange

Using a professional grease trap exchange service provides numerous benefits for commercial kitchens:

Hygienic and Safe

Eliminates the need for your staff to handle and clean out the grease trap, reducing the risk of exposure to hazardous waste and maintaining a clean kitchen environment.

Prevents Plumbing Problems

Regular exchange prevents FOG buildup, minimizing the risk of costly and disruptive plumbing blockages, backups, and overflows.

Ensures Code Compliance

Professional service providers are knowledgeable about local regulations and ensure your grease trap is maintained in compliance with all applicable health and environmental codes, protecting your business from fines and legal issues.

Saves Time and Labor

Frees up your staff from the time-consuming and unpleasant task of grease trap maintenance, allowing them to focus on their core responsibilities.

Environmentally Responsible

Reputable service providers ensure that FOG waste is disposed of properly, minimizing its impact on the environment and adhering to all regulations.

By outsourcing your grease trap maintenance to a professional exchange service, you can ensure a clean, safe, and compliant kitchen environment while also freeing up your staff and preventing costly plumbing problems.

Contact our team today to learn more.

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INCREASE LIFE OF YOUR EQUIPMENT

May 17, 2024

Eliminate up to 70% of the grease going down your drain. A simple grease Filter Exchange program will save your facility $100’s if not $1,000’s per year.

A chef is cooking food in a kitchen with flames coming out of a pan.

COOK LINE NOTICEABLY COOLER

May 16, 2024

Manager: Hood cleaners would come to clean the hood system and they would also clean the filters. However, we would have to remove a filter from the hood system about a week after they had been there. We called the hood cleaning company and they admitted they could only make the filters look better by cleaning the outsides of the filters. Removing that one or two filters to improve the smoke caused a lot of issues with the fire marshal and the suppression system company. The fusible links were getting compacted with grease. When we started using FilterShine grease filter exchange, we saw immediate results on the cook lines. Cook line was noticeably cooler, smoke was going through each filter not just the gap that was made when we had to remove the filters. The suppression company did not complaint about the “fusible links” being completely clogged with grease.

There is a lot of smoke coming out of the ground.

THEY WERE ACTUALLY PRESSURE WASHING OUR GREASY FILTERS WITH A FOAM CLEANER!

May 16, 2024

Manager: We had hood cleaning scheduled for a Tuesday night and I did not have to work Wednesday. I was behind on paperwork, so I stayed over to finish paperwork without any team member distractions. When I finished, I went to one guy in the kitchen hanging plastic and told him I was leaving for the night and to please shut the back door and set the alarm when they were done. He told me to watch my step when leaving through the back door. I did not ask why, but quickly realized the hazard in so many ways! I could not believe what they were doing!! They were actually pressure washing our greasy filters with a foam cleaner. The foam, and all the grease from the filters, was going straight on to our parking lot and going straight into the storm drain that leads into a creek on the side of the parking lot and from there, goes to a pond. I could not believe it!! That foam had heavy duty degreaser, not to mention all the grease from the filters, and was contaminating the pond. I asked them to please stop immediately and they did, but they indicated they would have to put the remainder of the filters by the dishwasher so we could wash them in the morning. I continued the conversation by asking them how many of our locations they clean for our company and they mentioned that they clean the entire region, “8 locations”. I was so relieved when our Regional Manager took action and informed me that we were going to be using the FilterShine grease filter program so the hood cleaners would not be cleaning the filters outside and continue to cause the creek and pond contamination.

A kitchen sink filled with dirty dishes and pots and pans.

“TASKS” HAVE CHANGED SINCE USING FILTERSHINE

May 16, 2024

Managers that have decided to use FilterShine grease filter exchange program have spoken with us about how “tasks” have changed since using the FilterShine exchange program. In the past, cooks would remove filters two times a week and put them in the 3 compartment sink, fill each sink with hot water and about half a gallon of heavy duty degreaser. The filters would soak over night and they would drain the greasy sink water in the morning and place the filters by the dishwasher area then continue to sanitize the greasy sinks before they could use them to prep frozen food. Dishwasher employee would then run the filters through the dishwasher, two at a time, and when finished, change the water in the dishwasher, so the days dishes do not come out greasy when washed. The cooks would then get on top of the equipment and install the filters in the hood systems. Manager: “absolutely saved money on heavy duty degreaser, all of the labor of removing filters and cleaning sinks and dishwashers”.

A chef is falling into a fryer in a kitchen

REMOVING THE FILTERS FROM THE HOOD IS DANGEROUS

May 16, 2024

With so many years doing grease filter exchange for many different types of cooking concepts, one main point for the managers and cooks is that removing the filters from the hood is dangerous. They end up dropping the filters on grills or fryers. More than a few accidents have occurred. One of the worst cases we have experienced is a cook slipping while holding a filter in one hand and the other hand going into a hot fryer.