When you step into a taco shop, you know you’re in for great food and an even greater time!
The kitchen is where the magic goes down, but there’s also a crucial part of the plumbing system that keeps the kitchen running smoothly: the grease trap. It collects what’s left over from all of the sautéing, frying, and deep frying that goes into making truly tasty tacos.
At California Plumbing, we received a call from a taco shop in Miramar, San Diego. The restaurant was in dire need of a new grease trap to get back to making tacos!
What Is A Grease Trap?
A grease trap is a plumbing device required for restaurant and food service compliance in California. Also known as a grease interceptor, it captures fats, oils, and grease (FOG) from wastewater before they enter the sewer system and cause clogs and environmental harm.
Why Does A Grease Trap Need To Be Replaced?
Grease traps have a limited lifespan. Bacteria break down decaying food, oil, and liquids, leading to the formation of corrosive sulfuric acid. Rancid FOGs make the wastewater more acidic, further accelerating corrosion. Grease traps made of metal can be more prone to corrosion than polypropylene.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mandates that grease traps must be regularly cleaned and emptied. The buildup of fats, oil, and grease is highly flammable and can pose a fire hazard.
When Is It Essential To Replace Your Grease Trap?
Call a professional plumber as soon as you notice leaks, overflows, or clogged pipes with your grease trap.
When we arrived at the taco shop, we found a grease trap without its bottom due to corrosion.
A corroded grease trap should be replaced immediately. There are several costly and dangerous risks to not doing so.
- Regulatory Violations: Grease traps must be functional and routinely maintained to comply with health and plumbing codes. Violating health and safety regulations means potential fines, legal penalties, or closure.
- Sewer Infiltration & Backups: A grease trap that allows FOGs to bypass filtration and clog the sewer system can lead to backups and flooding.
- Environmental Contamination: Leaky grease traps release FOGs and untreated wastewater into the local ecosystem, contaminating soil and local water sources.
- Health & Safety: Old and worn out grease traps can lead to health violations and become foul-smelling, unsanitary, and dangerous. Rotten food particles and rancid FOGs can lead to pest infestations and food contamination.
Our plumbing technician removed the old grease trap and installed a new, durable and corrosion-resistant polypropylene grease trap. We then securely installed a 6-inch extension and poured concrete around the grease trap. The concrete base provides long-lasting structural stability to the grease trap to withstand cracking, sinking, or shifting due to heavy vehicle traffic and environmental factors like soil shifts, weather changes, and temperature fluctuations.
We also installed a 2-way cleanout for future ease of access and maintenance. We concluded this job with tests to confirm that the grease trap was draining properly with no leaks.
Time To Upgrade Your Grease Trap?
San Diego businesses trust California Plumbing for their commercial plumbing needs. Our experts will fix, replace, or clear out any plumbing problem so that you can get your operations up and running smoothly again!
Call Us Today: (619) 787-3443
Email Us: info@californiaplumbingsd.com
