Grease trap service in Los Angeles for kitchens that cannot afford a backup

Smaller kitchens often have a hydromechanical grease trap under or beside the dish sink. It is a compact box with baffles that slow the water so grease floats and solids settle. Because it is small, it fills quickly and needs frequent cleaning, often weekly or every couple of weeks in a busy kitchen.

Larger restaurants usually have an in-ground gravity interceptor, a concrete or plastic tank outside or under the parking area, sometimes holding a large volume. It holds much more grease and solids and is pumped out with a vacuum truck on a longer schedule. Both types need the same thing: grease removed before it reaches a set share of the device's capacity.

We handle both. For under-sink units we clean on site. For interceptors we pump, scrape the walls and baffles, and inspect the inlet and outlet tees.

How often a trap needs cleaning depends on the menu, cooking methods, volume, dishwashing practice and trap size. A fryer-heavy kitchen fills a trap far faster than a cafe that mostly bakes. Restaurants that scrape plates well and wipe pans before washing extend the time between services.

Many sewer agencies around Los Angeles County have fats, oils and grease programs with their own rules for pumping frequency and record keeping. We note the depth of grease and solids each visit so you can see how quickly the trap fills and set a schedule that keeps it within the limits your local agency uses.

• Fryer and grill-heavy menus fill traps fastest
• Scraping plates into the trash slows grease buildup
• Hot water from dishwashers can push melted grease past the trap
• Keep a log of every service with date and depth

A trap only catches grease that reaches it. Lines between the kitchen fixtures and the trap get coated with grease that cools and hardens, and the line from the trap to the sewer gets whatever slips through. When the kitchen still drains slowly after the trap is pumped, those lines are the problem.

We clean them with high-pressure jetting, which scours grease off the pipe walls instead of punching a hole through it. After jetting, we often run a sewer camera to confirm the pipe is clear and check for sags where grease collects. For small cafes with a single sink line, standard drain cleaning may be enough.

Grease is acidic as it breaks down, and over years it eats at concrete interceptors and corrodes steel traps. Broken baffles, missing outlet tees and cracked lids are common in older kitchens. A trap with a missing baffle is no longer separating grease, even if it gets pumped on time.

We replace baffles, tees, gaskets and lids, and replace traps that are too small for the current kitchen or rusted through. New or replacement grease interceptors need a permit and must match the sizing the local agency requires. For kitchens moving into a new space, our commercial plumbing work covers the full fixture and drain layout.