Tag Archives: restaurant drain cleaning

May '23

Why You Can’t Ignore Drainage Issues in Your Restaurant Kitchen

As a restaurant owner or manager, there are many things you need to consider to ensure the success of your business. One crucial aspect that is often overlooked is kitchen drainage. However, you can’t ignore drainage issues in your restaurant kitchen since they can cause significant expenses due to the associated legal and health regulations. This article will discuss the risks of ignoring drainage issues, common drainage issues in restaurant kitchens, and how to prevent them.

The Risks of Ignoring Drainage Issues

Ignoring drainage issues in your restaurant kitchen can lead to several health, legal, and financial risks. The exact health codes and regulations may vary from state to state. However, you should be mindful of the following risks.

Health Risks

If your restaurant kitchen has drainage issues, it can lead to significant health code violations. Here are a few examples of the associated health risks:

Bacteria and mold growth – Standing water and moisture caused by drainage issues can create an ideal environment for bacteria and mold growth. These microorganisms can contaminate food, leading to food poisoning and other illnesses.
Food contamination – If water from a clogged or slow drain backs up into the kitchen sink, it can contaminate the sink and surrounding areas. The contaminated areas can then contaminate food, utensils, and dishes, posing a significant health risk to customers.

Slip and fall accidents – Water on the kitchen floor due to drainage issues can create a slip and fall hazard for your employees, which can cause injuries and lawsuits.

Wet floor in need of cleaning due to draining issues in your restaurant kitchen.

Drainage issues in your restaurant kitchen can lead to slips and falls.

Legal Risks

The health dangers posed by drainage issues can lead to legal complications. Ignoring these issues can also lead to the following legal risks:

Fines and penalties – Local health and safety codes require restaurants to maintain proper drainage. Failure to comply with these regulations can result in fines and penalties.
Lawsuits – If a customer or employee gets sick or injured due to drainage issues in your restaurant, they may file a lawsuit against you.

Financial Risks

When caught on time, most drainage issues can be solved without too much hassle or expense. However, ignoring drainage issues in your restaurant kitchen can also lead to financial risks, such as:

Cost of repairs – If drainage issues are not addressed promptly, they can cause significant damage to your kitchen’s plumbing system. The cost of repairs can be substantial, which can hurt your bottom line.

Loss of revenue – If your restaurant is shut down due to health or safety violations caused by drainage issues, it can result in a loss of revenue and damage to your restaurant’s reputation.

Grease buildup is one of the most common causes of clogged drains in restaurant kitchens.

Common Drainage Issues in Restaurant Kitchens

Now that we’ve discussed the risks of ignoring drainage issues, let’s explore some of the most common drainage issues in restaurant kitchens and their solutions.

Clogged Drains

Clogged drains are one of the most common issues restaurant kitchens face. They can be caused by food debris, grease, and other materials that accumulate in the drainpipe. Signs of a clogged drain include slow-draining sinks, foul odors, and gurgling sounds. To address clogged drains, you can use a plunger or a drain snake. You can also use a mixture of baking soda and vinegar to break up the clog. For severe clogs, you may need to call a professional plumber to remove the blockage in the drains.

Slow Drains

Slow drains are another common drainage issue. They are often caused by a buildup of grease and food particles in the drainpipe. Signs of slow drains include standing water in the sink and foul odors. The experts from Spyder Moving, who have experience with commercial moves, say that most of their clients opted to install grease traps to prevent these issues. If you are dealing with slow drains, use a drain cleaner or a mixture of baking soda and vinegar to break up the buildup. You can also hire a professional plumber to clean your drain pipes.

Foul Odors

Foul odors are a common drainage issue in restaurant kitchens. Due to the volume of food restaurants make and serve, foul odors are commonly caused by food debris, grease, and other materials accumulating in the drainpipe. Signs of foul odors include unpleasant smells coming from the sink or drain. To eliminate the odors, pour a baking soda and vinegar mixture down the drain. Regular cleaning and maintenance of the grease trap can also help prevent foul odors.

Clean kitchen in a commercial restaurant.

Clean your kitchen regularly to prevent drainage issues.

Preventing Drainage Issues in Restaurant Kitchens

Preventing drainage issues is key to avoiding the risks we discussed earlier. Here are some tips to help you prevent drainage issues in your restaurant kitchen:

Train your staff – get your staff up to speed on the proper disposal of food waste and grease. Encourage them to scrape plates and pans before washing them.
Install a grease trap – to prevent grease from entering the drainpipe. A grease trap should be installed and cleaned regularly to prevent clogs and foul odors.
Use drain covers –covers can catch food debris and prevent them from entering the drainpipe.
Regular cleaning and maintenance – keeping your kitchen’s plumbing system in top shape can help prevent clogs, slow drains, and foul odors.
Schedule regular plumbing inspections – these inspections can detect any potential drainage issues before they become major problems.

Remodeling Your Restaurant’s Kitchen

Remodeling a restaurant’s kitchen is a significant investment that can increase efficiency, productivity, and profitability. However, planning your kitchen remodel carefully is crucial to ensure that it meets your needs and budget. Remodeling your kitchen is an excellent opportunity to upgrade your plumbing and drainage systems and prevent future drainage problems. Consider hiring a professional plumber to inspect your drainage system and identify potential issues. By addressing drainage issues during your kitchen remodel, you can create a safe and hygienic environment for your staff and customers while improving the overall functionality of your kitchen.

Organizing a Commercial Move

Renovating your restaurant’s kitchen can be a stressful and overwhelming process. Perhaps you decided to renovate before moving in, or you might want to move your appliances and kitchen furniture out while the current renovations are ongoing. Either way, it’s essential to have a well-planned moving strategy to minimize downtime and avoid any potential damage to your equipment. When planning a commercial move for your restaurant, it’s crucial to explore budget-friendly options if you want to reduce commercial moving expenses. Consider hiring a professional moving company specializing in commercial moves and offering cost-effective moving solutions. By doing so, you can ensure a seamless move while keeping your costs under control.

The Bottom Line

In conclusion, drainage issues in your restaurant kitchen cannot be ignored. They can lead to health, legal, and financial risks and can harm your restaurant’s reputation. Common drainage issues in restaurant kitchens include clogged drains, slow drains, and foul odors. To prevent drainage issues, train your staff, install a grease trap, use drain covers, regularly clean and maintain your plumbing system, and schedule regular plumbing inspections. By following these tips, you can ensure the proper functioning of your restaurant’s plumbing system and the safety of your customers and employees.

Mar '23

Tips for Keeping Your Restaurant Drains Clean

Restaurants face the challenge of managing their drain and sewer systems on a daily basis. Without proper maintenance and cleaning, these systems can become clogged, causing backups and other issues. Fortunately, there are several tips that restaurant owners can follow to keep restaurant drains clean and functioning properly.

Restaurant Drain Cleaning

Regularly cleaning the drain lines in a restaurant is one of the best ways to ensure that the system continues to work properly. Restaurants should invest in a quality drain cleaning tools, such as a snake, to ensure that all drain lines are cleaned as needed. In addition to regular cleaning, restaurants should also inspect their lines for any signs of damage or blockages, and take immediate steps to address any sewer line repair issues that are found.

Restaurant Drain Maintenance

In addition to restaurants having their drains cleaned on the regular, restaurants should also follow a regular maintenance plan for their drains and sewers. This plan should include regularly testing the system for blockages and leaks, and conducting repairs or replacements as needed. Restaurants should also be sure to use the appropriate cleaning solutions, as some can damage the pipes or cause corrosion.

Commercial Grease Trap Cleaning

Grease traps are an essential part of any restaurant’s drainage system, and they must be cleaned regularly to prevent clogs and backups. Grease traps should be checked often for accumulation of grease, and cleaned out as needed. Professional grease trap cleaning services should be used on a regular basis to ensure that the traps are functioning properly.

In addition to regular cleaning, restaurants should also inspect their grease traps for any signs of damage or blockages, and take immediate steps to address any issues that are found.

Keeping restaurant drains clean and well-maintained is essential to the smooth functioning of any restaurant. By following these tips, restaurants can ensure that their drain and sewer systems remain in good condition and are able to handle the demands of daily use.

Jun '22

How Can Hydro Jetting Benefit Your Restaurant?

How Can Hydro Jetting Benefit Your Restaurant? – For buildings of all kinds – commercial as well as residential – periodic hydro-jetting is one of the most effective ways to maintain the function and structural integrity of the drain systems. This is especially true when that building is a restaurant or commercial kitchen.

In a typical day’s work, massive amounts of broth, grease, and food waste find their way into your restaurant’s drain system. But just because the grease and food you flush into the drain disappear from view don’t mean they actually go away.

Most times these materials settle inside the drainpipes and eventually clog them, making it hard for water and other materials to pass through. As the Dodson NOVA team explains, short and long term effects of clogged pipes are drain blockages, unsanitary conditions, and pipe damage.

The buildup of grease and other materials inside your restaurant’s drains will cause the following problems:

Inefficient drains:

The drains in a restaurant will become slow and make strange noises when they are clogged. This doesn’t do any good to the image of your restaurant because customers view such things as signs that a business is not well-managed.

Sanitary problems

Clogged drains draw pests – rats, mice, roaches, and ants – into the building. The possibility of bad odors from the drains also increases with clogs. The worst sanitary issue from clogged drains is when you start to have drain backups.

Clogged drainpipes hurt your business because you may eventually have to close shop to deal with the issue. If that doesn’t happen, you may get into trouble with the authorities if customers complain about your restaurant. Either way, you lose time, money, and customers.

Hydro jetting your pipes on a schedule can help you avoid everything from slow-running drains to sewer line blockages.

Hydro jetting your restaurant’s drains

It is a good practice to clean the restaurant’s drain on a schedule, even when there are no visible signs of problems with your drain system. But when cleaning your restaurant’s drains, you will be faced with the option of using drain cleaners, drain snakes, or hydro-jetting.

What is hydro jetting and why should you use hydro jetting in place of these other methods of drain cleaning? There are several reasons why drain snakes and liquid drain cleaners will not work when cleaning your restaurant drains.

Drain snakes are ineffective

Drain snakes are only useful for removing obstructions that are near the opening of the drain. If the problems lie deep inside the drain system, drain snakes are often useless for solving the problem. Moreover, drain snakes cannot remove drain clogs caused by sludge. The most the drain snake will do is poke a hole in the grease.

Liquid drain cleaners are dangerous

When dealing with minor problems in the home, liquid drain cleaners may work, but they are completely useless when you are trying to remove heavy grease buildup inside restaurant drains. Moreover, drain cleaning solutions will damage your drainpipes and the toxic fumes they emit can cause health problems for your staff and customers.

Hydro jetting, on the other hand, is ideal for dealing with the heavy grease buildup found in restaurant and commercial kitchen drains. This method will clean your drains without subjecting your pipes to the risk of damage. The way hydro jetting works makes it the best method for cleaning restaurant drains sustainably.

Benefits of hydro jetting your restaurant’s drain

Hydro jetting uses a stream of high-pressure water to blast debris away from inside your drains. To hydro-jet, the drain, a high-pressure hose with a special nozzle is fed into the pipes. One end is attached to a pressurizing machine that sends a jet of water – up to 8,000 PSI – to directly blast away grease, sludge, soap scum, and even tree roots from the pipes.

Hydro jetting can benefit your restaurant business in the following ways:

Saves you money

Hydro-jetting your drain prevents plumbing failure. Small problems that are easily solved by hydro jetting pipes can escalate until they result in sewer line blockages and plumbing failure. Hydro jetting makes it easier for your plumber to spot problems with a sewer video camera inspection and deal with them quickly.

Augments your waste management system

Even with the best waste management protocol in place, your drain systems will struggle to deal with certain types of waste. This can happen despite a grease trap installed in the system. Hydro jetting your drains improves the efficiency of your existing system by preventing malfunctions and complications.

Resolve neglected grease traps

If your grease trap has been neglected for a long time, removing the accumulated debris at the bottom of the grease trap will not solve the problem. This is because the drain lines connecting to the trap would also have become clogged with debris and will need hydro jetting to clear out the obstructions.

Easy preventative maintenance

Hydro-jetting your drain at least twice a year is the most cost-effective program for protecting your drain system. Hydro jetting your pipes on a schedule can help you avoid everything from slow-running drains to sewer line blockages.