For kitchen managers
Restaurant grease trap maintenance playbook
Built for owners, GMs, and franchise ops — not homeowners. Your job is a working trap, a legal paper trail, and a hauler who can actually staff the ZIP. Use the schedule calculator for the interval, then request quotes from permitted transporters.
Lease vs operations
Shopping-center leases sometimes say the landlord “maintains” interceptors and still leave you as the generator of record. If the landlord’s vendor missed a quarter, Houston investigators will still ask your store for manifests. Get copies in the unit file, not only in corporate email.
Multi-unit and franchise
Do not run one national pumping calendar if some shops are inside Houston city limits and others sit in MUDs. The Houston FOG page explains why. Track last-pump date per store. Heavy fry concepts should not inherit a bakery’s 90-day assumption.
What “good” looks like on a normal week
No overflow at the lid, no mystery odor in the dish pit, a dated manifest you can find in under two minutes, and a next-due date that is not a surprise. Route pricing beats emergency tickets; a smell or backup is the expensive version of the same work.
Common questions
Who is responsible for pumping a restaurant grease trap?
Usually the food-service operator as the waste generator — even when the landlord owns the outdoor interceptor. Read the lease. Houston still expects the kitchen to produce manifests and a current FOG permit.
Indoor trap vs outdoor interceptor — which do we have?
Under-sink / indoor units are typically tens of gallons and need frequent service (often weekly to monthly). Outdoor gravity interceptors are commonly 1,000–1,500 gallons at restaurants and follow a longer calendar that Houston still caps near 90 days unless a waiver applies.
Can we pump during service?
Most kitchens schedule after close so the vacuum truck is not in the guest path. After-hours work can cost more; a standing night route is usually cheaper than a one-off emergency. See cost ranges.
How do franchise or multi-unit ops stay consistent?
One interval per concept is a start, then adjust by trap size and fry load. Keep manifests in a shared folder. Houston stores need city-permitted haulers even if a national vendor covers other markets.