How To Prevent Blocked Drains In A Commercial Kitchen

People nowadays spend more time and money eating out than they do at grocery shops. This is a great outlook for restaurants across the world, but it puts pressure on restaurants to up their service, which is quite hard to do if there’s a clogged drain. Unfortunately, this happens and very often in the busiest time of the day. To prevent this from happening and to ensure smooth running drains and service, here are a few useful tips.

Scraping plates is a must

If your restaurant serves lots of gravies and sauces, washing those dishes can be a true nightmare, especially if they had time to harden up. However, it’s extremely important to scrape all the dishes as the grime off of those plates will accumulate and eventually clog the pipes.

Leftover food can become an even bigger problem as those chunks and bits are larger that scrapes and get stuck in the pipes more easily. The solution is to first throw the scraps into the trash and then scrape the plates. An eco-friendly solution would be to compost those scraps and give your contribution to planet preservation.

Call in the pros

Sometimes even though you do your best to keep scraps away from your drains, they get blocked. This is not a problem that most people can tackle themselves, so this is the perfect time to call in the pros. Even if it’s a minor blockage that only slows down the water flow, you need to react because you will soon have a bigger problem like floods and bad odours.

A genuine expert, as this plumber from Sydney , uses state of the art roving cameras to spot sewer and drain clogs and has the proper tools and experience to expertly approach the problem without damaging the pipes. You can have your problem solved in a matter of hours and have your business back as usual.

Proper disposal of oils, fats and grease

One of the best ways to prevent clogged drains is to avoid pouring oils, grease and fats down the drains. When they cool down in the pipes, they solidify and block the passage. So, the best course of action is to allow them to cool down in the pots and pans and then transfer them either to a container or a plastic bag which you can toss in the trash later.

In addition, lots of food leave an oily residue on the dishes which can also build up in the pipes once it’s been washed off the plates. This is especially true in restaurants where thousands of plates are used and washed daily. The solution is to first wipe off the grease with an absorbent paper towel which you can throw in the garbage.

Grease trap and sink strainer

As an additional preventive measure, commercial kitchens are required to have a grease trap, but often it’s not enough if you fail to maintain it properly. In that case, it won’t be able to perform its function and the grease will pass through and block your drains.

Even with all the steps you take to prevent food solids and scraps from going down the drain, some bits still pass down, so you should consider getting a drain strainer. This is a type of a filter that separates food solids from liquids which are passed through. Some draining systems, like the ones that are installed inside the sinks, can be less effective than others, so make sure you pick carefully.

Treat your drains regularly

As much as you try, you can’t completely protect your pipes from every little drop of grease. Small amounts will go down the drain every time the dishes get washed, but there are still things you can do to minimize the effect. One trick is to run hot water down the drains after each use and it should liquefy and dissolve the grease, and clear out the passage. Another hack is to use vinegar, a common and cost-effective ingredient that all restaurant kitchens have. Pour a cup down the drain, allow it to sit for a while and then pour over hot water. The acid in the vinegar should dissolve the grease and unclog the drains. However, bear in mind that this is not a commercial solution and it will not keep your drains unclogged forever.

Blocked drains are an unfortunate reality of commercial kitchens and they usually strike when you least expected it. If left untreated, drain clogs can cause leakage and bursting pipes which can seriously damage your business. It pays off being informed and ready to deal with this problem and hopefully the tips listed here will do exactly that.