A grease trap is a necessity in any commercial kitchen, large or small. Typically, smaller kitchens will have a grease trap inside, while larger facilities house them outside. Grease traps slow the flow of water coming from drains, giving the grease time to cool. This cooling causes the grease to coagulate and float to the top, while heavier solids fall to the bottom of the trap. The remaining water is free to pass through into the city sewer lines.
Proper maintenance is crucial to effective grease trap operation and to keeping your business running and up to city code. Drain king’s professional plumbers should be contracted to maintain grease traps before any problems occur. If the levels of collected fats, oils, and grease (FOG) and solids are not monitored, problems such as drain-line blockages, backups, or foul odors can occur. This can lead to too much FOG being deposited into city sewer lines. This city code violation could result in a fine for the business, as well as necessitate an emergency call to a professional plumber to clean out the grease trap and pump the lines.
Our plumbers will keep records of when maintenance procedures are done, such as pump outs, cleanouts, or when bacteria is added. Having a professional care for your grease trap gives you piece of mind. Drain King offers frequent-customer plans or preferred-customer programs that provide you emergency services and routine scheduled maintenance.
When it comes to sewer line inspection, we keep up on all of the latest technologies. Drain King Inc can help you find your sewer problem quickly! In the past, if you had a problem with your sewer, the cause was identified and corrected through a lot of expensive, messy, guesswork and large-scale yard excavation. There was no way to tell, with any certainty, where the sewer line failure occurred. So they would have to start cutting away sections of sewer pipe to pinpoint the trouble areas. Sometimes they made good guesses and the problem was easily fixed, and other times the yard became a nightmare of trenches, tracks and mounds of dirt unearthed leaving YOU to re-sod almost everything! This approach was both inefficient and costly.
Fortunately for today's home or business owner, sewer disruptions are now much faster, easier, and less expensive to diagnose and correct. Our Drain King professionals utilize state-of-the-art equipment that allows us to locate and inspect sewer and drain lines without having to dig up your entire yard. We use high definition cameras to give us detailed information about the condition of sewer pipes and where the obstacle (or obstacles) are located. We can map the location and depth of your sewer line to prevent accidental damage when digging for landscape or construction purposes.
Here's how sewer line inspection works: Our high-tech miniature cameras are mounted to the end of a fiber-optic cable, which is then pushed into a sewer line. The camera is controlled by a
We Recovered a Wedding Ring!
certified Drain King technician, who can change its speed, direction, and angle of inspection. A digital recording is made of the camera's progression through the sewer pipes, which shows our expert what sort of impediment is interfering with the sewer line. (SIDE NOTE: We actually retrieved a diamond wedding ring for one of our clients!) We can detect whether roots have grown into the sewer line, identify a buildup of food or kitchen grease in the pipe, identify foreign objects that have been flushed down the toilet, and check for natural deterioration of sewer and water lines. The obstacle can be removed or the sewer line can be repaired at the exact spot it is impaired, without having to dig up large areas of your yard.
Our sewer line inspection services employ similar techniques with a transmitter and a hand-held receiver. We can push a transmitter through a sewer line as narrow as 1 1/2 inches, and locate it with an above-ground receiver. This gives us the exact depth and location of your sewer pipes, as well as the direction they run. Having this information is critical in the early planning stages of landscaping or remodeling. Without knowing exactly where your sewer pipes are located, you run the risk of unintentionally damaging them or unnecessarily tunneling through your yard to find them.
Whether you're dealing with a sewer line emergency or planning a home renovation, let the experts at Drain King locate your sewer lines efficiently and accurately with our leading-edge Sewer Line Inspection services.
Have you noticed your water bill increasing, even though your usage is the same? Do some areas of your yard appear soggy or fill with standing water? Do you notice areas of damp or moldy drywall, or wet rings on the ceiling? What about bubbled or stained paint? Have you suddenly and consistently lost water pressure? Does it sound like water is running, even though each faucet is turned off? All of these signs point to a broken water pipe. Don't panic, but DO call (888-391-6241) or contact Drain King right away. We are here to help you, day or night. A speedy repair means less water damage to your property, and less money lost on increased water bills.
Finding the damaged pipe will require a thorough inspection by one of our plumbing specialists. While you may be able to narrow down the whereabouts of the pipe breaks, we use a variety of methods to detect and pinpoint its exact location. One technique is Televising, in which we use a high-tech miniature camera mounted to the end of a fiber-optic cable to push through the sewer pipe and identify the precise location of the break. The sewer line can be repaired at the specific spot it is impaired, without having to dig up large areas of your lawn. A similar locating technique uses a transmitter and a hand-held receiver to send sound waves through the ground. When a transmitter is pushed through a sewer line, those sound waves are recorded by an above-ground digital receiver that shows the technician where the pipes are whole, obstructed, or broken.
Broken water pipes are frustrating. They can happen with no warning and cause thousands of dollars in damages and repairs. Some pipes burst because they are made with old or inferior types of materials, and changing water pressures weaken the pipe wall over time. Other pipes burst because they've frozen in winter. As trapped water begins to freeze, it expands in the pipe. If the pipe has any structural weakness, that expansion causes a split or break in the water line, which may not be evident until the pipe thaws out. The easiest way to avoid this is to run a slow trickle of water from the faucet during the night, and to keep the thermostat set at a minimum of 55 degrees at all times.
Whatever the cause, Drain King is ready with a solution.
A lift station is used to pump waste water or sewage from a low level to a higher level when the gradient of the area does not allow for a natural flow. Lift stations offer a cheaper solution for companies that need to ensure removal of waste on a tight budget. Residential properties can also benefit from lift stations.
How do lift stations work? Sewage is stored and fed into a pit. Once this sewage reaches a certain level, electrical instrumentation recognises the pit is becoming full and activates the pump, which will then pump the sewage out to its next destination. Depending on demand, there can be one or more pumps used at any given time. The sewage will then go through a cleaning system to ensure that it can be reused as drinking water.
Most lift stations are housed underground to prevent health risks from the sewage. The station is placed in a confined area, since the sewage can release poisonous gases like methane and hydrogen sulphide. Therefore, it is essential that owners of existing lift stations consult a professional like Drain King to ensure the pump is still working sufficiently.
Should you decide that a new lift station is for you, we can advise on the best system to meet your needs. We can also carry out routine preventive maintenance, repair, and replacement for your already installed lift station.
We provide several services to assist customers and companies with sewer system repair and maintenance. But what is a commercial sewer system and how does it work?
A sewer system is comprised of a centralized network of pipes that collect both wastewater and stormwater from multiple sources and transports it to a sewer facility for treatment or disposal. Urban sewer systems are typically one of two types: 1) a combined system, in which both sanitary wastewater (comprised of liquid and waterborne wastes) and stormwater share the same pipeline, or 2) a separate system, where wastewater and stormwater travels in separate pipelines, called the storm sewer.
Ideally, a sewer system is gravity-powered. Drainage pipes from each building (i.e. residences, commercial buildings, industrial complexes, etc.) flow to a sewer main that runs down the middle of the street. The sewer mains flow into the treatment plant, which is usually located in a low-lying area. Once there, the water goes through one, two, or three stages of treatment, depending on the capabilities of the plant.
The first stage is called Primary Treatment. Holding pools allow waste solids to settle and the scum to rise. The system then collects the solids for disposal. If this is the only stage of treatment, the water is chlorinated to kill the remaining bacteria before it's discharged.
The second stage, called Secondary Treatment, uses bacteria in large, aerated tanks to remove organic materials and nutrients from the wastewater, which then flows to settling tanks, where the bacteria settle out. This treatment removes up to 90 percent of all solids and organic materials from the wastewater.
The third stage, Tertiary Treatment, can vary, depending on the community and the composition of the wastewater. Typically, chemicals are used to remove phosphorous and nitrogen from the water, but filter beds may also be used. Any remaining bacteria are killed by adding chlorine, and the wastewater is discharged.
While many commercial businesses can connect to a centralized sewer line provided by local governments or private corporations, the regulation and requirements are different in every city. Businesses are typically charged for usage based on the amount and content of the wastewater that is processed. For example, restaurants require systems that are capable of managing oils, fats, greasy substances, and food items. Fats, oils, and grease (FOG) are one of the leading causes of sewer overflows and maintenance concerns in sewer systems across the United States, and must be carefully monitored and controlled.
For areas without an existing sewer system, establishing centralized sewer services can draw businesses to the community and promote commercial growth. Without a system in place, businesses are forced to rely on in-ground septic tanks, a type of onsite sewage facility. Wastewater is collected and stored in a holding tank that is installed on the property. Regular preventative maintenance is required to remove solids that settle at the bottom of the tank, which often becomes the responsibility of the resident or property owner. If neglected, septic systems can pose a variety of problems for the owner. They can also cause pollution levels to exceed acceptable limits, harming plant and animal life.
