Are you aware that the city of Calgary has increased the number of grease interceptor (grease trap) inspections in food service establishments?
The result? An increase of failed inspections! The consequences of a failed grease trap inspection can be serious. Make sure your grease traps in Calgary pass muster and you won’t have to deal with the headache of citations, fines, expensive plumbing fixes and even closure!
LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT THE ABCS OF GREASE TRAPS IN CALGARY:
What are grease traps and what do they do? A grease trap is a plumbing device installed in wastewater outlet lines that capture and prevent fat, oil and grease (FOG) from entering sewer lines.
Why are they necessary? FOG can be an expensive disaster if allowed to flow into the sewage system. After it cools and hardens, FOG can clog pipes, reduce plumbing flow and cause odours and sewer backups. These can attract vermin and cause a jump in disease-causing organisms—not an ideal scenario for a food service establishment!
How does it work? As wastewater enters the grease trap it cools and the FOG congeals and floats to the top. Other solids settle to the bottom while the rest of the wastewater exits into the sewers. The trap is pumped out once a month, or when the hardened FOG and solids make up 25 percent of the trap’s liquid volume, whichever comes first.
Some regulations governing grease traps in Calgary. Bylaws in Calgary specify the size and number of grease traps food service establishments should have (which will vary according to the nature and size of the business). Business owners are also expected to keep their grease traps in good working order and keep a maintenance log.
More about FOG. It’s easy to understand that fats, lards and shortening are a problem… what’s easy to forget is that sauces, gravies, dressings and dairy products also contain fats that can cause havoc in sewer lines. Keep them out of the drains! And remember—rendering facilities buy waste cooking oils! It’s good practice to put up signs around your kitchen and work areas reminding workers to keep FOG out of the pipes and to keep screens over all drains, including floor drains. And don’t use enzymes and chemicals! These only serve to allow FOG to move further down the sewer lines and congeal later.
HAVE QUESTIONS REGARDING GREASE TRAPS IN CALGARY?
By installing a grease trap in your Calgary food service establishment and properly maintaining it, you are compliant with Calgary’s bylaw, your kitchens can run with less worry of FOG build up, reducing plumbing costs and headache. Contact us at Commercial Mechanical Services for a free estimate; we’re experts at installing compliant grease traps in Calgary.