Scheduled grease trap pumping in Katy, set to the same clock the city uses.

Why quarterly, and why fixed

Houston Code of Ordinances Sec. 47-512(b) requires every grease interceptor inside city limits to be fully evacuated at least once every 90 days. Not roughly. Every 90 days. Restaurants that run their own schedule tend to slip a week here, two weeks there, and that's exactly the gap an inspector's visit lands in. We run your account on a fixed calendar instead of a call-when-you-remember system.

A fixed schedule also protects you from the other trigger in the ordinance: if 25% or more of the wetted height of the trap fills with grease, sediment, or floating material before the 90-day mark, it has to be pumped early regardless of the calendar. Busy kitchens near Cinco Ranch Blvd and LaCenterra fill traps faster during the holiday banquet season. We check wetted height on every visit and move your next date up when the trap earns it, not when it's convenient for us.

How the service works

1. Site check. We measure your interceptor's size and confirm its wetted height so the first quote is real, not a guess.
2. Cadence set. Most standard 1,000 to 1,500 gallon traps land on a straight 90-day cycle. Higher-volume kitchens (fry-heavy menus, banquet halls) often need a 60-day cycle instead.
3. Evacuation. Full pump-down to bare walls and floor, not a skim off the top. We scrape solids off the baffle and walls, not just vacuum liquid.
4. Manifest completed on-site. Your copy goes to your manager before the truck leaves the lot.
5. Disposal at a TCEQ-authorized facility. The transporter, not you, is on the hook for getting waste to an approved site and closing the loop on the manifest.
6. Next date confirmed. You get a written date for the next visit, not a "we'll call you."

What makes a trap harder to service

Some accounts take twice as long for reasons that have nothing to do with trap size. Traps buried under a walk-in cooler platform or wedged behind a dish pit add real time to every visit. Undersized lids that were never meant for a vacuum hose slow the crew down and sometimes need a second truck trip for a proper lid replacement. Grease that's been left to cool and harden between visits sets up like concrete near the outlet baffle and has to be broken up by hand before it'll pump. And any trap with a cracked or missing baffle needs a call to your landlord or property manager before we can sign off that the unit is even functioning as designed.

Price and duration

A standard quarterly visit on a 1,000 to 1,500 gallon interior trap runs $225 to $325 per visit under a contract rate, and $275 to $375 as a one-off. Exterior in-ground interceptors run higher because of hose length and traffic control around a parking lot lid: $350 to $500 per visit under contract for the 1,500 to 2,500 gallon range, and $500 to $700 for 2,500 gallons and up. One-off rates on those same two exterior tiers run $425 to $600 and $600 to $850. Most single-trap visits take 30 to 60 minutes on site. Multi-trap kitchens or anything with poor access can run past 90 minutes. See the full pricing table for contract versus per-visit rates by trap size.

The one thing that makes this simple

A single crew services the same accounts week over week. Your trap's history, its trouble spots, and its real cadence live with the person doing the pump, not in a call center that's never seen your kitchen.

Serving restaurants in Katy, Cinco Ranch, Fulshear, Brookshire, and Richmond. If your kitchen sits outside that radius, call first, we'll tell you straight whether it's a fit.

Questions we get about scheduled service

How do you know what cadence my trap needs?

We measure the tank size and check wetted height on the first visit. A 1,000 gallon interior trap in a moderate-volume kitchen usually holds to 90 days fine. A fry-heavy or banquet kitchen with the same size trap often needs 60 days. We set the real number after we've seen it, not off a chart.

Can I switch from a one-off pump to a contract later?

Yes. A lot of accounts start with one visit so we can both see how the trap fills, then move to a quarterly contract once we know the real cadence. No penalty for switching either direction.

What happens if my trap fills faster than 90 days?

We flag it on the visit report and move your next date up. Sec. 47-512(b) requires evacuation before the 90-day mark once 25% or more of the wetted height is grease, sediment, or floating material, and we'd rather catch that early than have an inspector catch it for you.

Do you serve locations outside Houston city limits, like Fulshear or Cinco Ranch?

Yes. The 90-day city ordinance applies inside Houston limits specifically, but most MUDs and property leases in unincorporated Fort Bend County require a comparable schedule. We'll set your cadence to whatever your lease or district requires.

Do I get paperwork I can show an inspector?

Every visit ends with a completed manifest and a copy left with your manager on site. That's your proof of the pump date, the volume removed, and where it went.