A grease trap is a device in your home’s plumbing that is designed to intercept most solids and greases and separate them from the rest of the wastewater before it makes it to your septic tank.If a grease trap stop functioning correctly very large amounts of solids and greases can be let into your septic tank and cause a release of waste into the surrounding area. In addition, large amounts of greases and fats can cause blockages in your home’s pipes. For these reasons, keeping yourself well informed about your grease traps and their maintenance is critical. These are the top three things you should know.

Strainers Can Help Your Trap

Streamers are a great way to catch food and other solids before they get into your pipe. Best of all, they are very inexpensive. Place sink strainers orvey your drains to help prevent blockages before your wastewater even gets to your grease trap. Another option is to have your grease trap itself fitted with a strainer. You’ll probably need to contact a plumber to see which strainers will work with your grease trap and have the strainers properly fitted.

Clean Your Grease Trap Regularly

As grease traps collect fats, oils, and greases (FOGs), they will begin to fill up. The general rule of thumb is that you don’t want to let your grease trap fill up too far past 20% of its capacity. As the trap continues to fill up past this point it begins losing its effectiveness at filtering out FOGs and solids. If too many of these make it past your trap, it can lead to pipe blockages in your home. Check your grease trap regularly to make sure it’s not too close to 20% capacity. If it is, clean it.

Keep Grease Out

You never want to intentionally pour fats, oils, or greases down your drain. This is true even if you have a freshly cleaned, fully functional, grease trap. Grease traps are meant to serve as the last resort to stop potentially harmful materials from making it to your pipes and causing blockages. However, no grease trap is ever 100% effective. If you purposefully pour a gallon of oil down your drain, for example, don’t blame your grease trap for your pipe blockages. Always avoid pouring FOGs down your drain and let your grease trap serve as a last resort.

If you do find yourself with a blockage in your pipes, you might want to try one of Septic MAXX’s affordable products before hiring an expensive plumber. Call us now for more help.