I spent 3 hours chasing a grease trap clog that should have taken 20 minutes

Everyone says you gotta use hot water and enzyme treatments to keep grease traps clear. I bought into that hard for my shop. But last month I had a backup that just would not budge no matter how much boiling water I poured. Turns out the problem was a chunk of hardened fat that had wedged itself in the outlet pipe about 4 feet past the trap. Had to pull the whole thing apart and snake it out. Took me 3 hours after work to fix what a $15 drain auger could have done in 20 minutes if I had just checked the pipe first. Anyone else had a simple fix get blown way out of proportion because you trusted the common advice?

2 comments

2 Comments

victor_carter511mo ago

Did you actually try the enzyme treatments more than once or just pour hot water? In my experience, those enzyme packs need a few days to break down a real blockage - hot water alone just moves the problem further down the pipe. Your mileage may vary, but I've had better luck with a weekly enzyme dose than chasing clogs after they form.

taraj111mo ago

Three enzyme treatments and my sink still clogged, @victor_carter51, maybe it's just me.