Grease Traps--Do you have one? If not, what do you do about the grease? Right now we have a plumber on the way tomorrow to clear up a major clog in my family kitchen--which I am sure is from grease from my buttercream. I really don't want this to happen in my basement kitchen. Should I get one or just be more proactive than reactive the next time. Anything I could have done to prevent this?

Drain Boards--I want to take off the drain board from my three compartment sink so I will have room to put my handwash sink on the same wall. So my questions are: Do I have to have a drain board and how close can your hand wash sink be to your cleaning sinks?

I have a separate kitchen/shop from my home. I had to have a grease trap...required by my health dept. I do have a drain board area as well...but this too was required....as when I wash up everything.. it has to be stacked in the dish drainer on the drain board area. I think it will depend on what is required with your health dept. and your state. The grease can be a major issue on your home pipes and drains. My grease trap is a smaller one...and it fits under my sink and takes up one whole side....but it's worth it to me. Not a fun job to have to take the lid off and clean...but it sure saves the problems of clogging my drains in my kitchen shop.

I'm getting one when I build my commercial kitchen. It's cheaper to get one than it is to re-do your septic should you screw it up from all the butter... LOL. They are reasonably priced too. I was thinking they were thousands of dollars, but they aren't. Installation... well that's another story, but I think it's worth it for peace of mind.

I have a home kitchen, but I'm not required to have a grease trap or a three compartment sink. You may want to check with the city you are in to see what the requirements are for those things for a home based kitchen. You may have to keep them. My boyfriend is a plumber so I don't have to worry about plumbing bills when my drains get clogged so that's how I handle not having a grease trap

I don't have a grease trap right now, in my home kitchen. I scrape as much BC as I can from the bowls into the storage containers, then wipe out the bowls with a paper towel and a little hot water, and toss that in the trash. My bowls go into my dishwasher nearly grease-free that way. I empty my icing tips into the trash too. This has worked well for me so far.

Can even a small amount of frosting cause problems? I too scrape as much shortening, etc. into the garbage before washing with hot water, but last night I had a really messy BC experience, so more went into the sink than I usually allow.

My license doesn't require a grease trap for non-hazardous either, but I had never even considered that. I would also like to be proactive.
What can I do?

thanks

k2cakes, personally I don't think a small amount from one night of BC chaos will give you a septic problem. (Unless it's the straw that breaks the camel's back of other pipe issues). It hasn't for me anyway.

As jkalman said though, a grease trap is cheaper than spending for a new septic. I think I'll look into the undersink model just to check it out.

Thanks~ I'm going to look into it. Just the words "grease trap" gross me right out. I'm not one for fried foods, etc. but shortening certainly is grease so thanks for the heads up.

I don't but I probably should.....hmm.

I try to rinse my stuff out some but I know I still let a bit too much buttercream get in my dishwasher...

I haven't had any problems with my septic. I do get if pumped every year or every other year. The person that pumps it, said just to put 1 packet of dry active yeast down the drain, and it's natural enzymes will take care of the rest.
So far so good!
HTH

Danielle

Sorry, that was supposed to say, flush 1 packet down the drain 1 a month, to keep it working.

When we added on to our kitchen this past summer, our plumber said that one of our pipes was almost bent and we had to pay extra to replace it. His suggestion, once a month, boil the biggest pot of water and pour it down the drain. I also scrap as much as I can into the trash.