Grease Trap Inspection in Houston, TX
Houston Quality Hood Cleaning inspects grease traps for Houston restaurants, cafeterias and property managers, so problems show up in a written report before they show up in a city citation. We check the trap's condition, measure how fast it fills, and review your FOG permit and manifests the way an investigator would. Every pump-out includes a condition check, and stand-alone inspections are available before a lease, a sale or a city visit.
Houston Quality Hood Cleaning provides grease trap inspections in Houston, TX and surrounding Houston, TX cities, including Katy, Sugar Land, Pearland, Pasadena, Bellaire, Humble, Spring and Cypress.
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Why Houston Kitchens Call Us About Their Traps
Grease Trap Inspection Services
Condition Check at Every Pump-Out
With the trap empty, we can see the walls, baffles and fittings. That's the best time to look, so we note what we find on every visit.
Photo: Hannah Clover, Wikimedia Commons
Pre-Lease and Pre-Purchase Inspections
Before you take over a restaurant space, find out whether the trap is sound and big enough for your menu. A failed trap can be an expensive surprise.
Photo: Winedirector, Wikimedia Commons
City-Inspection Readiness Reviews
We walk through what a Houston Health Department investigator asks for and flag gaps in your paperwork or your trap.
Interval Checks
Is 90 days too long for your kitchen? We measure how much grease and solids build up between visits and recommend 30, 60 or 90 days.
Multi-Site and Property Reviews
Property managers with shared traps or several tenants get one report per trap, so it's clear who's falling behind.
Photo: Tracy Hunter, Wikimedia Commons
Problem Diagnosis
Odors, slow drains or a trap that fills too fast all have a cause. We trace it to a fixture, a broken part or a blocked line.
City of Houston Grease Trap Requirements at a Glance
Pump at least every 90 days. Every interceptor inside city limits must be fully evacuated at least quarterly, unless the city approves a waiver (Houston Code §47-512(b)).
Waivers top out at 180 days, and only if grease and solids never pass 25% of the trap's wetted height (the depth from the bottom of the trap to the outlet pipe).
Full evacuation only. No partial pumping, and no mobile dewatering that pours water back into the trap (§47-512(h)).
A manifest for every pump-out, kept on site for five years, with the disposal facility's return copy back to you within 15 days (§47-502).
A permitted hauler: City of Houston transporter permit plus a TCEQ sludge transporter registration.
A FOG permit, renewed every year and posted in public view.
Outside Houston city limits, local rules apply. Ask us about your city.
What a Houston Inspector Asks For
Houston inspects establishments with interceptors routinely and after complaints, with no advance notice. Expect the investigator to ask for:
Your original FOG permit, posted.
Five years of manifests: both the generator copy and the returned copy. An invoice isn't a manifest.
Biological pre-treatment invoices, if you use a permitted provider.
Any approved waiver and past inspection reports.
They may also look at the trap, the sample well, the dumpster area and the rendering-oil bin. Citations run $250 to $2,000 per violation.
What Our Inspection Report Covers
The Trap
Grease cap depth and settled solids compared with the 25% benchmark
Baffle walls: present, intact and sealed
Inlet and outlet tees or elbows: in place and clear
Tank walls and seams: cracks, corrosion, leaks
Lid and gasket: fit, seal, cracks, and whether it's traffic-rated where it needs to be
Sample well: accessible and clean
The Kitchen
Which fixtures drain to the trap
Strainers in the sink drains
Signs of grease going down drains, like oily sheen in the floor drains
The Paperwork
FOG permit current and posted
Manifests complete, signed and stored, with return copies on file
Problems an Inspection Can Catch Early
Missing or broken baffles. Grease flows straight through, so a trap pumped on time can still fail a sample. See baffle replacement.
Missing outlet tee. The outlet should draw from below the grease layer. Without the tee, grease can escape to the sewer.
An interval that's too long. If the trap is past 25% before day 90, the schedule needs tightening.
Paperwork gaps, like missing return copies or manifests filed off site.
Cracked or loose lids. Odors escape, and rainwater gets in on outdoor traps.
A Simple Self-Check Between Visits
Your staff can catch most problems before they become violations. Once a week, have a manager check:
1. Drains: sinks and floor drains near the trap empty at normal speed, with no gurgling.
2. Odor: no sulfur or rotten-egg smell around the drains or the trap lid.
3. Lid: seated flat and secure, with no liquid around its edge.
4. Strainers: in place in every sink drain and emptied into the trash, not rinsed down the drain.
5. Habits: fryer oil goes to the rendering bin, and plates get scraped before they're rinsed.
6. Paperwork: last manifest on file, next pump-out date on the calendar.
Write the date and initials on a log sheet. If anything looks off, call before the next scheduled visit. A short log also shows an inspector that you watch your trap.
What a Grease Trap Inspection Costs
A condition check is included with every scheduled pump-out. Routine pumping typically runs $200 to $500 per visit, depending on trap size. A stand-alone inspection, such as a pre-lease review, is quoted by the number of traps and whether the trap needs to be pumped first so we can see inside.
Grease Trap Inspection FAQs
No. The Houston Health Department does official inspections. Ours is a private condition check that helps you be ready for one.
The city inspects routinely and in response to complaints, without notice. Keep your records ready at all times.
Grease and solids shouldn't fill more than 25% of the trap's wetted height. Houston uses it in its waiver criteria, and TCEQ's model ordinance uses it as the trigger to pump sooner.
We can measure the grease and solids layers and check the lid and access. To see the baffles and walls, the trap needs to be empty, so a full inspection usually goes with a pump-out.
The trap's size and condition, which fixtures drain to it, the last five years of manifests, and whether the FOG permit will need to be reissued in your name.
The investigator explains the violations. Fix the problem, like scheduling a pump-out or replacing a baffle, keep proof, and follow the city's instructions on any citation.
Permits are tied to the business. When a restaurant changes hands, check with the Houston Permitting Center about getting a permit in the new owner's name before you open.
No. Biological pre-treatment is only allowed through a permitted provider, and the trap still has to be fully pumped on schedule.
Know Where Your Trap Stands Before the City Does
Tell us your trap type and your last pump-out date. We'll inspect it, write it up and fix what we find.