Since grease traps in your restaurant struggle daily with a large amount of fat – it’s no wonder that sometimes an unpleasant odor spreads through the drains. Large amounts of oil and grease after cooking and washing the dishes, precipitate – and then float to the surface of the water in special wastewater containers – from where the unpleasant smell usually spreads. Can this be prevented? Here are some answers to the question: How to get rid of grease trap smells in commercial kitchens?
What Is A Fat Trap And How Does It Work?
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Grease traps are devices used to capture grease that is discarded during cooking in restaurants or hospitals and hotels – or used in food processing. Such grease has to go somewhere. Their disposal is done with wastewater that goes into the pipe and further into the sewer. They can be smaller or larger depending on the purpose and what they are used for – restaurant kitchens or industry. Wastewater with grease goes from the kitchen drain to special canisters for grease storage. There the grease is mixed with water and floats to the surface of the tank. Grease traps with their barriers prevent this grease from going into the sewer pipes and create possible congestion.
What Causes Unpleasant Smells In Grease Traps?
It is very common for unpleasant odors to occur when using grease traps. Many are wondering what causes this phenomenon. The explanation is actually very simple. Grease mixed with water deposited in canisters – floats to the surface and releases vapors that have an unpleasant odor. Also, the grease accumulated on the partitions – emits unpleasant smells. In the end, if by any chance there is a clogging of the pipes in the drains – then the unpleasant smell spreads all around. The cause of such an unpleasant smell is microorganisms that decompose this organic waste. On this occasion, toxic waste is generated – that emits gases such as hydrogen sulfide, etc. Not only are these odors unpleasant, but in large quantities, these gases can also be harmful to the environment.
What To Do To Prevent Unpleasant Odors From Grease Traps?
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First of all, it is important to maintain grease traps properly. According to greasetrapsanjose.com, it is recommended to clean them yourself once a week – and that at least once or twice a year, to call service technicians or professionals to thoroughly clean the grease traps. When we keep in mind that the average restaurant consumes over 90 liters of oil and fat per day – then it is clear why good maintenance is a necessity. On the other hand, some other reasons can also cause unpleasant odors. Therefore, we will point them out – as well as how you can deal with the smells before the professionals come to help you with it.
Improper ventilation for grease traps
Each grease trap has a separate ventilation opening. The role of ventilation is to draw in the air – needed to improve efficiency inside the tank in which grease accumulates. That is why the ventilation must work properly because when it comes to unpleasant odors – this has the most important role. In addition to possible congestion on the ventilation – the problem can also occur due to the wrong place where the ventilation is located. Namely, during the installation, you must take care that the ventilation is located at a distance from the building – that is, in an appropriate place.
Broken P trap
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All restaurant owners and others who use grease traps – know what a P trap is. It serves as a barrier to the release of odors that may come from the drain. If by any chance the P trap is damaged or broken – this can lead to the appearance and spread of odors in your restaurant, etc. Of course, then you need to react quickly and call professionals who will easily eliminate this defect and return your grease trap to normal function.
How To Get Rid Of The Unpleasant Smell?
Quick solutions against unpleasant odors coming from the traps are possible. Whether you have a restaurant or a household version of grease traps – there are a few things you can do to get rid of unpleasant smells. These tips can be easily applied anywhere, and you will get rid of unpleasant odors at least for a while.
Boiling water
You could probably have guessed this yourself, right? A very simple trick that you can apply and save yourself from all unpleasant odors – that is, the grease itself. Namely, boiled water kills bacteria and microorganisms which are the main culprits for the spreading of unpleasant odors. The more often you rinse the traps with boiling water – the less likely it is that unpleasant odors will occur at all.
A solution of vinegar and baking soda
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We have these ingredients in every average kitchen – and you may not have even known how much they can help you in situations like this. It is enough to pour a certain amount of baking soda into the sink drain. The amount depends on the size of the sink and the grease that accumulates. Usually, 1 cup is quite enough. On the amount of baking soda you poured – put half less vinegar, so it would be half a cup. Then wait for fifteen minutes for this mixture to react in the drains – and then rinse the sink drain with hot boiling water. In addition to removing unpleasant odors – this trick will also help you to drain the drains if they are clogged.
When nothing helps – rely on professionals
These previous tricks can’t help if the grease problem is out of control. If you failed with the domestic way of removing unpleasant odors – you will definitely have to rely on professionals. They do this job routinely and with the help of strong water pumps – but also with special grease removers. This kind of service comes in handy in critical situations. However, you must remember that you should use the services of professionals at least once or twice a year if you have a commercial kitchen.
The Bottom Line
We hope we have managed to help you with some of these tips, so your commercial kitchen can function properly. – and no bad smells are spreading all over.
