Grease Trap Maintenance: A Simple Schedule for Restaurants

A grease trap maintenance schedule is what you wish you had on a Friday at 6:15pm. The kitchen floor drain is backing up, the dish pit smells like old fryer oil, and your shift lead is asking whether to keep serving. The hauler says the earliest slot is Monday. Nobody can say when the trap was last pumped, because the last invoice is in someone's truck.

That moment is almost always a scheduling failure, not a plumbing mystery. A good schedule is a short list of dates, owners and records. This guide gives you one you can copy, and shows how to set the number that matters most: how often to pump.

A note first. Pump-out frequency, trap size and disposal rules are set by your municipality, your hauler and sometimes your landlord or lease. Everything below is a starting structure. Check with your local authority and your hauler before you treat any interval as final.

The grease trap maintenance schedule at a glance

Here is the structure. Adjust the intervals after you talk to your hauler.

1. Daily (kitchen team, 2 minutes): scrape plates and pots into the garbage before washing. Strain sink baskets. Check that drains run freely and nothing smells off.
2. Weekly (site manager, 10 minutes): open the lid on an indoor trap if it is safe and designed for it, look at the grease cap, and note the level. Check the baffles and lid seal for damage. Glance at the log.
3. Monthly (site manager): compare the level you recorded against the last pump-out date. Decide whether the next pump-out needs to move earlier.
4. At each pump-out (hauler, with a manager present or reviewing): full pump-out, scrape the walls, inspect the baffles and outlet, and get a manifest or invoice.
5. After each pump-out (site manager, 5 minutes): file the manifest, record the date and the next due date, and flag any repair the hauler noted.

None of this needs special software. It needs one owner per site and one place for the dates.

How often should you pump? Set it by level, not by habit

Frequencies vary a lot. A site with a fryer-heavy menu and a small under-sink trap is nothing like a coffee-and-sandwich counter. Many municipalities set a maximum interval, and a commonly cited approach is to pump before the trap reaches a set fraction of its capacity in fats, oils and grease. Confirm the actual rule and number locally.

A practical way to find your site's rhythm:

• Start with what your municipality or hauler requires. Write that interval down as the ceiling. Do not stretch past it.
• Measure the level at each weekly check. Note roughly how full the grease cap and solids layer are. Use the same method each time, ideally the one your hauler recommends.
• Compare against the pump date. If the trap is near the limit at week six and your interval is eight weeks, you are about to be out of compliance. Pull the date forward.
• Revisit after any menu change. New fried items or higher volume change how fast it fills.

Small habits that make the schedule work

• Scrape, do not rinse. Scraps and oil go in the garbage, not down the sink.
• Collect used fryer oil separately for your oil collector, never the drain.
• Ask your hauler what degreasers and hot water are safe. Some push grease past the trap to solidify downstream.
• Keep the access point clear and labelled. If the trap is behind stored boxes, the weekly check will not happen.

What to record

A log lets you answer an inspector or landlord in two minutes. Keep per site: trap location and approximate size, each pump-out date and who did it, the manifest or invoice copy, levels seen at weekly checks, the next due date, and any damage found and what was done. If your municipality requires records on site, keep a phone photo of the manifest there and a master copy where the owner can reach it.

Running this across several sites

One trap is easy. Eight traps with eight haulers, eight invoice piles and eight different intervals is where dates slip. Three things help:

• One owner per site and one for the group. The site manager does the weekly check. Someone above them sees the due dates for all locations.
• One standard log. Same fields everywhere, so you can compare sites. The wider restaurant-level routine is in our restaurant maintenance checklist.
• A hauler who confirms in writing. Ask each hauler to send the next recommended date after every visit. If you use more than one company, our post on vendors who refuse to log in covers how to keep them in the loop without forcing an app on them.

Where Concoct fits, and where it does not

Concoct is maintenance software priced per location, with unlimited users. For grease traps, the useful part is simple. You can set up a recurring preventive maintenance schedule for each site, so a pump-out work order is created when it is due. The trap can be recorded as equipment, with notes. Recurring schedules are on every tier. When you send the job to your hauler, they get an emailed link scoped to that one job; they accept it, give an arrival time and complete it with a short written note, with no account to create.

What it does not do: it does not know your municipality's interval, so you set it. It does not measure the trap level for you; your manager enters what they saw. Vendors cannot upload photos or attach invoices through that link; haulers email the invoice and your team attaches it. And it will not replace the physical weekly check. It makes sure the check and the pump-out do not get forgotten.

A spreadsheet with a due date, an owner and a record works too. For keeping every site on one list, see every location in one place.

Want to see it on your own sites?

Our pricing is published per location, with unlimited users on every tier, so you can work out the cost before you talk to anyone. If you would rather see a recurring pump-out schedule set up for your equipment, book a demo and bring your list of sites and haulers.

FAQ

How often should a restaurant grease trap be pumped?

It depends on your municipality, trap size, menu and volume. Many places set a maximum interval, and a commonly cited approach is to pump before the trap fills to a set share of its capacity. Check with your local authority and your hauler, then adjust using the level you observe at weekly checks.

Can I clean a grease trap myself?

Some small indoor traps are designed for staff cleaning, but disposal of the contents is usually regulated. Many municipalities require a licensed hauler and a manifest. Confirm locally before you do any of it in-house, and follow the manufacturer's instructions if you do.

What are the signs a trap is overdue?

Slow drains, gurgling, sewer-like odours near the kitchen, and backups at floor drains. By then the trap has usually been past its limit for a while, so do not wait for them.

What records should I keep for inspections?

Pump-out dates, hauler name, manifests or invoices, and any repairs. Ask your municipality what it requires on site and for how long. Keep a photo of each manifest in a shared location so any manager can find it.

Who should own the schedule at a franchise location?

The site manager owns the weekly check and the filing. An operations lead or owner sees due dates across all sites.