Restaurants can go green, especially with the climate changes and recycling becoming a higher priority on the lists of many Americans, consumers are taking their ideas of “being green” and holding restaurants to the same standard. Did you know that the restaurant industry is high in wastefulness from plastic to immense amounts of trash thrown each each. According the the Green Restaurant Association a typical restaurant generates 100,000 pounds of garbage per location per year.There are a number of ways to cut back and become more green. Restaurant owners can also become a certified green restaurant, check out the Green Restaurant Association.

Restaurants Can Go Green By:

1. Get Rid of Styrofoam – Styrofoam is a product that never biodegrades and could be switched to recycled paper products.

2. Install Flow Restrictors on Faucets – This would limit the amount of water used in hand washing sinks, dish machines, and dish sinks. For example, the B.R. Guests Restaurants out of NYC, saved 5 million gallons of water a year by installing flow restrictors. It can save a restaurant 73,000 gallows of water a year (estimated by FSTC).

3. Purchase Sustainable Foods – For example, organic and locally grown foods. This could help reduce the use of toxic synthetic pesticides and fertilizers associated with long distance transportation.

4. Replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs 

Sources: Lorri Mealey – About.com, dinegreen.com 

Photo Credit: dcsoffice.com

Roof damage from grease run-off is not a rare problem among restaurants. What happens is grease often seeps out of a drainage spot or leaks from crevices of the roof top exhaust fan. If there is zero guard in place around the exhaust fan, grease will spill to the roof and create costly and dangerous damage. Rooftop grease damage is a major concern for restaurant owners for various of reasons.

Common rooftop grease damage issues:

•Roof cracks

•Swelling

•Blistering

•Deterioration

•Hazard for hood cleaning and maintenance workers

One of the most terrible consequences of rooftop grease damage is a substantial and bigger fire hazard. According the U.S. Fire Administration and National Fire Center Data, grease is the most common fuel of restaurant fires. Restaurant fires frequently start in the kitchen while cooking and get into the hood/vent system. If that system has extra grease accumulation also, it turns into a vehicle for the fire to move to the roof top instead of providing some kind of fire containment. If grease has split on the roof, the fire will likely travel on the roof and cause considerable damage putting the remainder of the building at risk. Maintaining your grease containment system is an important component of fire damage control in the unfortunate event of a kitchen fire.

Preventing grease damage demands recurring maintenance that can conveniently be combined with your exhaust hood cleaning schedule. Your hood cleaner should be informed and trained to assess your grease containment needs and put together a proper recommendation for your system. Investing in fire safety and roof protection services it will help prevent and maintain your roof from rooftop grease damage.

Source: Inga Goodwin -Ezine Articles 

High pressure water jetting is an efficient way to clean drain and sewer pipes. Using high quality pumps and flexible hoses, ordinary water is propelled under varying amounts of pressure into the sewer line. A special nozzle is attached to the end of a heavy-duty hose, which has an array of forward and reverse jets. The jet nozzle direct extremely powerful streams of water all the way through the pipe walls, cutting through the toughest blockages and buildup to thoroughgoing clean the pipes.

•Breaking up Sludge and debris

•Flushing out the system

•Piercing through grease and roots

Keep the lines clear, with preventive maintenance! 

Restaurants typically require frequent high-pressure water jetting to remove mineral deposits, grease buildup, sludge, and other debris that accumulate in the lines. Some restaurants or businesses may require just one or two cleaning annually, while others benefit from monthly or quarterly cleans. Take measures to prevent clogs that could cause down time causing loss of customers and revenue. Contact us to set up a scheduled program for water jetting service that keeps your drain line clear.

Prepared for the cold weather?

Generally, due to the weather during the fall and winter months waste water moves more slowly than it does in the summer because a lot of what is flushed or drained away could freeze and slow down. Grease is no different. Consisting of fats, oils, and grease going down the drain becomes solidified and the cooler it gets the harder it becomes causing clogs in the plumbing system. This could become a major problem, even more if the grease trap freezes.

Location of the grease trap can determine if you could have a problem. For instance, if you have an indoor grease trap their is less of a chance of your grease trap freezing compared to a grease trap that is located outside. Having a frozen grease trap is more likely to cause blockages.

Preventing weather related issues

• Inspect grease traps more often than in summer months

•Snow melt or heavy rain could cause hardened chucks of grease to drain in the waste water pipe, which could result in a blockage.

Photo Credits: Starland Gazette,Ben124

Typically, there is not much you can do to an outdoor grease trap other than maintenance. Cleaning, draining, and having a professional regularly inspect your system from time to time is the best way to keep the waste water free of grease and the trap functionally properly during the winter months. Not properly maintaining a grease trap could result in sewer line blockages that can be expensive, both in terms of potentially lost customers and repair cost. In addition if the pipe is clogged within your sewer line then you will be responsible for fixing the problem and paying all costs. However, if the clog is in the public sewer line and can be traced back to your restaurant, you will be liable for paying all or a portion of the repairs costs.

The kitchen sink have been upgraded compared to earlier years when they just had a cold and hot water line going up to the faucet and a single pipe with a curved trap. Today, most kitchen sinks have two drains, one of which goes to the garbage disposal. There is a hot and cold water line, however it splits for the dishwasher and you could also have a line for the refrigerator’s ice maker. Drain cleaning periodically can help with preventing clogs and other plumbing problems. This can save you money in the long run.

Be careful with your garbage disposal

A garbage disposal is not a black hole capable of swallowing anything and everything. It is meant for chopping up small pieces of organic material used in cooking.

Help avoid emergency plumbing calls by :

• NOT pouring grease down the drain

• Using biodegradable cleaning products

•Stringy, fibrous foods  because the fibers tend to wrap around the disposal blades

•Non-food items

However, even with preventative care unexpected clogs and events could happen such as tree roots in sewer line or a crack in pipes. Once the sewer system is damaged, it can cause main plumbing problems such as creating overflow or backups. This can create an unhealthy environment for everyone in the area and water pollution in rivers, and streams.

1. Grease traps are waste water treatment devices.  The misconception is viewing a grease trap as a treatment system similar to a septic tank however, this misconception can lead to discharge of brown grease into waste streams, but it can also could cause back-ups in the kitchen. Compared to a septic tank that can be pumped every 3-4 years (depending on use) a grease trap needs to be pumped depending on use but usually they need to be cleaned monthly.  Simply, grease traps are a separation device and not a septic tank system.

2. Another misconception is that kitchen floor drains are the largest source of brown grease. However, usually kitchen floor drains receive relatively little waste. Most of the fats, oils, and grease are found from equipment on grease interception equipment associated with dish washing. For example – compartment post washing sinks, pre-rinse stations and automatic commercial dishwashers generate more FOG (fats, Oils, and Grease).

A common question about grease traps

“Can I add a cleaning agent to help clear the grease faster?” 

No. Never add bleach, emulsifiers,  enzymes, or any other chemical to a grease trap. These agents harm the natural bacteria that eats grease and oil in the grease trap. Bacteria is allowed because it consumes fats, oils, and grease in the trap, turning them into water and carbon dioxide.

Image Credit: Modern Restaurant Kitchen

Grease traps have been used since the Victorian Era to prevent FOG (fats, oils, and grease) from clogging public sewage lines and contaminating water resources. These engineered devices  known as grease traps, grease interceptors, or grease recovery devices are used to remove FOGS and solids from a food service waste stream. There are two types of grease traps indoor grease traps and outdoor grease traps. ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) and the Plumbing and Drainage Institute have developed the standards for general requirements such as sizing, installation, and maintenance data.

1. Under the sink grease trap

Indoor grease traps are usually found in the kitchens underneath a compartment sink, dishwasher, or mop sink. These units are smaller than the outdoor grease traps and collect grease that rises to the top of a small baffle when the waste water is generated in the facility. However, if the unit is not cleaned accordingly, it can quickly become full of grease and could allow FOG to enter into the waste stream or cause a drain backup.

2. Outside in-ground grease trap

Outdoor grease traps are a pre-case concrete grease trap that operates similar to the indoor grease trap only that the size of the grease trap is larger. The most common sizes of outdoor grease trap range from 750 – 2,000 gallons. These larger traps are capable of handling much larger volumes of spent FOG and related material.

The frequency of cleaning an interceptor

will vary depending upon a wide variety of factors: 

• Type of food served – this determines how much grease waste will enter into the interceptor.

• Food grinder – the discharged will also need to be factored into how often the trap should be serviced.

Emptying a grease trap or interceptor is dirty and disgusting work, requiring great care and tolerance of some truly rotten odors. Hire professionals to clean your grease trap and

let it be one less thing you have to worry about.