Hawaii Hospitality - January/February 2014 - (Page 9)

All Systems Go! If you're developing dust storms in your ducts or greasy globs in your kitchen sink, it's time to come clean. A BY STACY POPE nyone who oversees a restaurant or hotel knows that hidden behind the walls and ceilings of our dining rooms and guest suites are complex systems of wastewater pipes, various ducts and vents, and even chutes that transport trash or laundry. Each plays a large role not only in the functionality of our facilities, but also in the health and safety of guests and employees. While these hard-working systems may not be attractive, the worst thing you can do is treat them as dirty little secrets. If they aren't being properly managed, they could be ticking time bombs for anything from a code violation to trash bin fire or flooded kitchen. So let's bring wastewater pipes, ducts and vents, and trash and laundry chutes out into the open, and take a look at How a grease trap works them in the cold, hard light of day. What does it take to keep all systems in top working order? We checked in with the experts to find out. wastewater Pipes We could talk about all the people jamming up the sewers these days by flushing cleansing cloths down the toilet-the City & County of Honolulu's hopping mad about this one-but we'll save that for another article. Instead, let's hone in on something really stinky: FOG. FOG stands for Fats, Oil and Grease, and it ends up going down the kitchen drain after we cook and then rinse things off. It's bad stuff. FOG is to your wastewater pipes- and to county sewer systems-like plaque is to arteries. Everything seems okay, and then one day, bam! A major clog. If you're not properly diverting your FOG, you could end up with your restaurant kitchen ankle-deep in the foulest water you can fathom. The equipment most used by restaurants to prevent a FOG clog is a grease trap (for really big operations, it will be a grease interceptor). Once www.hawaiihospitalityonline.com 9 http://www.hawaiihospitalityonline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hawaii Hospitality - January/February 2014

Talk Story with George Szigeti
Maui Ho‘okipa No Ka Oi
Hawaii’s Food & Beverage Superstars
All Systems Go!
Featured Department: Engineering
New Restaurants
Clean Talk with Rose
News Briefs
Association News
Marketplace

Hawaii Hospitality - January/February 2014