Grease Trap Pumping on Your Schedule, Priced Up Front

Pumping removes the contents of the trap; cleaning scrapes the hardened grease off the walls, baffles, and pipe openings. With 1620 Sanitation you get both on every visit: we clean the trap by hand each time we pump it, and cleaning is not a separate charge. Hydro jetting or pressure washing is the add-on when the buildup calls for more than hand cleaning.

Because it is a holding tank, not a treatment system. The trap slows kitchen wastewater down long enough for fats, oils, and grease to float to the top and solids to sink, so cleaner water flows on to the sewer or septic system. Once the grease and solids build past a certain point, there is no room left for that separation to happen, and grease passes straight through into the drain line, where it congeals, slows the drains, and eventually causes a backup. Pumping empties the trap so that separation can start over.

An under-sink grease trap usually costs about $175 to $375 to pump, and an in-ground grease interceptor about $325 to $750 or more, depending on size. The price depends on the size and type of trap, how easy it is to reach, and what we find on site, such as an interceptor with heavy solids or lids that take extra work to open. We confirm the price before any work begins, so the invoice matches what you were told. Give us the type and approximate size of the trap, where it sits, and roughly when it was last serviced, and we can give you a free estimate.

Both common kinds: the small indoor trap that sits under or near a sink or dish station, and the larger in-ground interceptor buried outside the building with access covers at ground level. Indoor units hold less and need pumping more often; outdoor interceptors hold more and can run longer between visits, up to the 3-month limit Title 5 sets. Tell us which you have, or send a photo if you are not sure, and we plan the visit around it.

Yes, and for most commercial kitchens that is the whole point of the service. We agree on an interval, put the visits on the calendar, and show up without you having to call. After the first few pump-outs we revisit the interval based on how quickly the trap actually fills, so you are not paying for visits you do not need or waiting too long between them. When the kitchen gets busier or quieter, say so and the interval follows.

It should not, as long as we have agreed on the right window. With an indoor trap, the vacuum hose has to pass through the kitchen, so we schedule the visit for a period when the line is quiet and your staff can work around it. For an outdoor interceptor, the work happens outside, the trap stays in service while we work, and nobody needs to leave the kitchen; we just need the lids accessible and room for the truck. Confirming those details up front is what keeps us in and out without anyone stopping what they are doing.

Yes. Every visit comes with a written record of the date, the location, and the work completed, which goes in your FOG compliance file and answers the question an inspector is most likely to ask. If your local program requires a specific form or manifest, tell us when you book and we fill it out for you. Keeping those records together is one of the simplest ways to make an inspection uneventful.

Slow drains at the sinks and dish pit, odors around the trap or floor drains, grease showing up at a floor drain, and a trap that is visibly near the top when the lid comes off are the usual ones. The simplest sign is the calendar: if more time has passed than the interval allows, the trap is overdue whether or not the kitchen has noticed yet. Pumping clears the buildup in the trap; if the drains stay slow afterward, the line itself may need drain cleaning or a camera inspection, both of which we can schedule.

Grease stops being captured and starts moving downstream. In the kitchen, that shows up as slow drains, odors, and eventually a backup at the worst possible moment. Beyond the building, grease entering a sewer line or septic system is exactly what local FOG programs exist to prevent, and a trap found over its limit during an inspection can lead to a violation notice. A standing pumping schedule is the simplest way to stay ahead of all of it.

Yes. Multi-tenant buildings often have one interceptor serving several food tenants, and someone has to own the schedule. We work with whoever is responsible for the trap, whether that is the property manager, the landlord, or a lead tenant, confirm access and the contact for each visit, and provide the documentation to the party keeping the file. If you manage several buildings, they can all run under one arrangement.