Grease trap installation and repair in Houston kitchens

Smaller kitchens, coffee shops and bars often use a compact interceptor sitting on the floor or under the pot sink. The common failures are a cracked lid gasket that lets odor into the kitchen, a missing flow control fitting that lets water rush through too fast to separate grease, and a unit that fills up within days because it is too small for the volume. We replace gaskets and baffles where the body is sound, add the flow control on the inlet, and swap undersized or corroded units for a properly sized interceptor. We also check that the trap is vented and that the dishwasher connection does not overload it.

Larger restaurants usually have a concrete or poly trap buried outside, with heavy lids in the parking lot or behind the building. The signs of trouble are slow drains across the whole kitchen, grease surfacing around the lids, or a pumper telling you a baffle or tee is gone. Concrete baffles crumble from the acids that grease produces, and plastic tees can break off. We replace inlet and outlet tees, repair or rebuild baffles, reseal risers and lids, and replace a trap when the tank walls have failed. New installs mean excavation, setting the tank level and tying in the inlet and outlet lines at the right fall.

Even with a healthy trap, the pipe from the sinks to the trap collects a grease coat that builds like cholesterol. Floor drains begin to gurgle, then back up when the dish machine dumps. A drain cable usually opens a narrow path that closes again within weeks. We use a jetter with a nozzle that scours the pipe wall clean, working from a cleanout so the kitchen stays open where possible. On lines that clog often, a camera pass afterward shows whether there is a belly or broken joint holding grease. Many kitchens put the trap line on a regular jetting schedule along with routine drain clearing for the restrooms.