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How often should this kitchen pump?

Start with Houston’s default: a full interceptor evacuation about every 90 days. Then tighten the window if the line is heavy, the trap is small, or you are already near the 25% rule. A waiver toward 180 days exists on paper — it is not a DIY extension.

Kitchen inputs
Defaults assume a typical Houston restaurant interceptor. Change anything — the schedule updates immediately.

Use the lid stamp, as-built drawing, or last manifest. If you only know “under-sink vs outdoor,” start with 50 or 1,000.

Kitchen intensity

A fryer / covers proxy. Pick the closest match — not a lab measurement.

Location

Suggested interval

Every 45–90 days
Plan on every 45–90 days — Houston’s default cap is 90 unless you have an approved waiver.

Houston default: fully evacuate at least every 90 days unless a Notice of Waiver is approved (often discussed as a path to 180 days). Pump sooner if you approach the 25% rule.

Why this window

  • A 1000-gallon outdoor interceptor is a common restaurant size. Frequency is driven more by what you cook than by the lid stamp.
  • A typical full-service line with one or two fryers often lands in a 45–90 day window. Watch the sludge-judge reading, not just the calendar.
  • Inside the incorporated City of Houston, Sec. 47-512(b) generally requires a full interceptor evacuation at least every 90 days unless the Health Department approves a Notice of Waiver (often discussed as a path toward 180 days).

Assumptions

  • This is educational scheduling guidance, not a permit, waiver, or legal determination.
  • Houston’s 90-day rule is the City Health Department’s stated default for interceptors inside city limits (Sec. 47-512(b)); ordinances can change.
  • The “25% rule” is a common industry / pretreatment standard: combined floating FOG plus bottom solids should stay below about 25% of the wetted height. Pump sooner if you approach it.
  • A Notice of Waiver in Houston, if approved, does not remove the duty to keep the trap working and fully evacuate at least every 180 days.
  • Under-sink traps and outdoor gravity interceptors behave differently. If you have both, schedule each on its own interval.
  • Kitchen intensity is a proxy (covers, fryers, hours). Your hauler’s sludge-judge reading is the field measurement that matters.
  • MUDs and cities outside Houston set their own frequencies and paperwork. Do not assume Houston’s calendar applies.

If you are inside 2–3 weeks of that window — or already past it — request quotes from permitted Houston transporters.

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Houston vs everywhere else

The City of Houston Health Department states that Sec. 47-512(b) requires interceptors inside the incorporated city limits to be fully evacuated at least quarterly (every 90 days) unless a Notice of Waiver is submitted and approved. The waiver conversation is often about stretching to a 180-day minimum — still with the 25% solids / FOG cap and a working trap.

If the kitchen sits in a MUD, an ETJ, or another city, do not copy Houston’s calendar blindly. Ask the utility or health authority, then put that interval on your vendor contract.

Houston Health Department — special waste generators

The 25% rule

Independently of the calendar, a trap is generally considered overdue when floating FOG plus bottom solids take up about 25% of the wetted height (a sludge-judge reading). High-volume fry programs can hit that mark in 30 days even in a 1,000-gallon tank. Treat 90 days as a legal ceiling in Houston, not a target for a busy line.