You may think that availing restaurant plumbing services is similar to the plumbing services you need in a kitchen or bathroom at home.

To some extent, that’s true. But restaurants get a lot more wear and tear, and use a lot more water on a regular basis than pretty much any home.

Restaurant plumbing services require specific considerations, and if you own or manage a restaurant, there are a few things you should make sure that everyone on your team knows in order to keep your plumbing in tip-top shape.

Restaurant Kitchen Safety

In most kitchens, there is at least one commercial sized sink for washing dishes and usually another in a vegetable or food prep area. There is probably a drain and a hose in the mop closet, and there are probably floor drains throughout the dish area in the kitchen as well.

Not to mention the plumbing that hooks up to any drink dispensers, steam closets, and don’t forget your commercial bathrooms.

Anywhere that there is potential slipping hazard, such as around drains on
the floor, your restaurant kitchen should have special textured tiles or rubber
mats to help prevent slips. Anywhere that there is extremely hot water or steam
used, there should be a thermometer or an easy indication for someone to tell
how hot the water is.

And in all kitchen setups your water shut off controls should be easy to access and checked regularly to make sure they function easily. If there is ever a flood or leak, you don’t want to then have to deal with a valve that doesn’t work and you can’t stop the water from running.

No. 1 Problem in Restaurant Plumbing: Grease Clogs

Clogged pipes. No doubt about it, the worst problem that commercial plumbers have to deal with in kitchens is pipes that are clogged – specifically by globs of grease.

Always make sure that your employees are aware never to pour grease down the drain.

Grease from fryers, grills, and ovens will congeal and solidify along the interiors of your restaurant plumbing and cause massive backups and potentially dangerous clogs.

Restaurant plumbing services professionals also recommend against using a drain cleaner to unclog a drain that seems to be stuck. Talk to your plumber about the best quick-fix solution for when you have a clogged drain – because it might depend on the drain and the specific type of clog you suspect.

Grease clogs can sometimes be temporarily loosened with a solution of white vinegar or a small snake, however as with most kitchen problems – prevent them instead of cure them. Most commercial plumbers will recommend installing grease traps in your sinks or can discuss different methods of grease disposal that don’t involve pouring them down the drain.

Mop Sink Clogs

Another reason you shouldn’t use drain cleaner is that it will be completely ineffective on certain types of clogs. If your mop sink is clogged because strands from your rope mop have worked themselves down into the drain, there is nothing that will get them out except for the right professional with the right equipment.

No. 2 Problem in Restaurant Plumbing: Bathroom Backups

Most of the plumbing in a commercial bathroom will be similar to the
plumbing in a residential bathroom, but it will be much more complicated.

Because they’re typically more fixtures. The problem with public bathrooms is that often people will attempt to flush things that shouldn’t be flushed.

Now, they don’t do this in their own homes, or they would know that flushing these items causes backup. But for whatever reason, people try to flush feminine hygiene products, personal wipes, and even cell phones(!) down public toilets.

When you’re experiencing a bathroom backup in your restaurant plumbing, it can be a bigger problem than just in the bathroom, as the smell can travel into your kitchen or dining area.

A recommended restaurant plumbing service most commercial plumbers recommend that you call right away for bathroom issues, even if it is over the weekend. The longer you wait, the more difficult the problem may be to resolve.

Don’t Trust an Amateur

Some guy with a wrench or your friend who apprenticed as a residential
plumber – these are not the guys to call with your restaurant plumbing issues.

Whether you need preventative maintenance or have an issue that needs to be addressed, calling the professionals is the only way to get the results you and your restaurant deserve.