i own an older home 50's and found out after 3 years of living here that it has a grease trap that only the kitchen sink drains into and then leads to the septic/ the rest has a different pipe going straight to septic. twice i have dug up the cap and unplugged the line leading to the septic. first time just stuffing a water hose down it(lasted 6 months) and second i used a drain king and that lasted 1 1/2 years(at which we also try our best not to allow grease down the drain). so my question am i doomed to continue digging this thing up and flushing out or is there a way to stop all this madness.
What does the stuff look like that is clogging the grease trap? If it's white or grease looking I hate to say that the trap is doing it's job.
yes it is grease/fat that is clogging it. i just wonder is there a way to not have to un clog it so often. could i do away with it? i helped install septic systems when i was younger but never seen any with a grease trap. does the age of the system prevent me from turning it in to just junction box?
we also try our best not to allow grease down the drain
And yet the grease trap still gets clogged.
Sure......you could eliminate the grease trap and allow all that grease into the septic pit.
IMO.....doesn't sound like the best course of action though.
Can you add a grease trap to the main line before it exits the house where it would be easily accessible?
I feel your pain. I have a 2 pipe for gray water only that runs 200 ft to a cesspool made of dry stacked cinderblock. I've had to dig it up twice about 1/3 the way out to unclog it. The last time even a motorized snake didn't get it. I ended up getting one of those hose attachments that expands to seal the pipe so the water pressure can blow the obstruction out. Shoved the hose in the pipe almost 100 ft. It was 50 degrees at the time so the hose was stiff.
That didn't work with 40 psi max well pressure, but connecting my 120 psi air compressor to the garden hose did . Luckily, the hose held up. I followed up with a gallon of that nasty drain cleaner acid that comes in a plastic jug with a plastic bag over it. Not recommended for a septic system, but for a dry well I figured it shouldn't hurt.
The pipe where I dug it up had about 1/4 buildup of white gunk. We don't eat a lot of fatty foods so I wonder if a lot of it isn't soap scum buildup? Not sure what they make soap out of these days but I know it used to include lard or some kind of animal fat. There's conflicting opinions whether brewers yeast can help with this problem. It may be worth a try.
I agree with the comments that the grease trap is doing its job and it is probably a lot less expensive to keep it functioning than to replace your septic system. Think in the range of $10,000 for a new system, but you can call to get a better number for your area. Best to keep what you have working as long as you can.
As Crispy suggested, adding another trap before the exit would allow you to capture most of the grease where you can easily take care of it. Search under sink grease traps.
We had a grease issue years ago and, as wonderful a man as he was, we discovered that my father-in-law (living with us) was just dumping all grease down the drain. We purchased some special plastic containers for him to use and took care of the grease every night.
Bud
Grease is possibly the most damaging thing for a septic system. I have not seen anything that can kill a leach field faster than grease so don't take it lightly.
If you are clogging a grease trap you are letting a lot of grease go down the drain and it is doing it's job and should remain. If you change your ways and stop allowing so much grease to go down the drain the trap will not fill and clog and your problem is solved. If you continue to put grease down the drain in quantity then relocating or installing a clean out is your next option to make servicing the trap easier. I would not consider removing the trap. If may be a pain to clean but it is protecting your septic system.
Possibly you are not cleaning it properly.... This I found on You tube and is the proper way, from when I used to clean them....
i wish mine was metal. mine is concrete with a 4 inch thick lid and a half a foot under dirt. guess my best bet would be to add a sepate trap inside. but still would love to hear other ideas. im sure i wont be doing anything till it warms up.
Why are you pouring grease down the drain?
Stop doing that then take the baffle out of your grease trap.
Be warned though. Do not throw grease down the drain... Septics can cost upward of 30K
lawrosa
once we found out we had this issue we catch all grease that we can and toss in the trash(stated this in first post). my luck is that its the dishwasher/Landry(sorry i forgot to say they to went through it) soap doing the damage now. the last time i took it apart i drained /scraped all i could out of it. (white chunky). and let the drain king flow for 15 mins. Drain King vs. Comp - YouTube
not sure take baffle out with out cracking the traps walls , it to is concrete and apears to be made in a mold sort-of deal. ideas? i dont work with concrete so not sure how fragile it is. thanks for any help.
Tags: house, grease, trap, down drain, grease down, grease down drain, grease trap, septic system, grease trap, that grease, allow grease
