Simply put, a grease trap is a receptacle that kitchen wastewater flows through before entering the sanitary sewer lines. This receptacle — technically defined as a grease interceptor — interceptors, captures, or “traps” grease.
Grease, the industry term for animal fats and vegetable oils, is 10 to 15 percent less dense than water. Grease also won’t mix with water. As a result, fats and oils float on top of water.
An odor comes from four things;
- The ventilation system – On the outside of your toilet in any house you will see a pipe going out to the roof; that pipe then takes the air from the well and the back of the toilet and takes it up to expel the gas.
- Broken seal at the bottom of the toilet – Some toilets particularly the American brands, have a seal at the bottom of them. This part of the toilet can become rotten over time and that causes the smell to seep out.
- The backing up of your well or blockage in your line from a manhole.
- Bacteria – If the wrong bacteria is in your grease trap there would be a strong smell. The solution for this is using the B.O.S.S product to replenish the good bacteria. When the grease trap needs to be cleaned, sometimes that can also cause a smell.
We stock a pre-fab grease trap which means it is solid concrete and does not have any block work in it with 9000 PSI (pounds per square inch, that measure). Its 30inches long, 19inches wide and 14inches deep. There are s two-inch sockets for the pipes that come from the kitchen to connect into the grease trap and these come complete with the covers.
We use the vacuum truck, which is a tank truck with a heavy duty vacuum designed to pneumatically load solids, liquids, sludge or slurry through suction lines. This ensures a quick and easy cleaning without the harsh chemicals. This entails that your surroundings will not be affected while we are cleaning the grease trap.
If your sink starts making gurgling noises or you are detecting a bit of a smell. It could be that you need your grease trap cleaned or you have a blocked line. What this means is that grease or other particles can cause the lines leading from the kitchen to the grease trap to become clogged or your grease trap is full and the grease has no way to escape, so it stays in the line. Once you have the grease trap cleaned, our team will ensure that lines are cleared so that all your problems are solved.
The first step is can you identify any under-the-counter containers where sinks and drains tie into? Check the plumbing drawing of the facility if available, to see if a grease trap is identified on the drawing. If you are still unsure you may wish to contact a plumber to assist you in tracing the discharge lines from the facility to see if they lead to a grease trap. Typically outside traps have manhole covers (some only 1 but typically 2). Outside grease traps are typically close to the kitchen section of the facility.
Simple. In Barbados the grease trap is the life line for your well. Failure to clean your trap will eventually end up in a failed well. Not to mention the constant blockage that occur, the increase of roaches & centipedes and the bad odors.
The grease trap is located after the drain normally before the sewer system. Once the water enters the trap, it begins to cool. This allows the FOGs in the water to harden, and float to the surface, as they are less dense than water. Debris on the other hand sinks to the bottom of the trap. This leaves a middle layer of clean water which is safe to discharge into the sewer system or your well.