Grease Trap Pumping
Peoria, IL Restaurants: Traps and Interceptors

We Refer the Pump-Out. We Don't Do It.

This page is for Peoria-area restaurants that need a grease trap or grease interceptor pumped. We connect you with an independent local company. We are not a pumping contractor, we don't haul waste, and we don't set the price. The company you hire does the work and gives you the manifest.

Hood cleaning is a different job. If you need the hood, filters, duct, or fan degreased, start with hood cleaning or the NFPA 96 page. A current hood-cleaning sticker does not mean the trap has been pumped.

Trap or Interceptor, and Why It Backs Up

Fryers, grills, and prep sinks send fats, oils, and grease into the drain. A small under-sink trap or a larger in-ground interceptor is there to catch that grease before it coats the sewer line. When the device fills up, drains slow down, the kitchen smells, and a backup can shut a dish pit or a dining room.

Tell the company which unit you have if you know: under-sink trap, outdoor interceptor, and a rough size if it's printed on the lid. If you don't know, say so. A pumper can usually tell from the lid and the sample well.

What Greater Peoria and East Peoria Actually Ask For

Two different offices cover a lot of the kitchens we hear from, and they don't use the hood-cleaning code for this.

Greater Peoria Sanitary District's February 2021 building sewer rules say a commercial building expected to send a significant amount of fats, oils, and grease needs a grease interceptor of at least 250 gallons. A restaurant the District treats as a large grease load needs at least 1,000 gallons. The interceptor goes on the kitchen drains. Restroom waste stays on its own line and does not go through the interceptor. The District decides which buildings fall into those categories. Those rules describe installation. They do not, in the section we checked, give every restaurant a single pump-out calendar. Confirm the current rule and any schedule on your permit with the District before you treat a number as final.

East Peoria is more specific about maintenance. In a November 18, 2022 letter, East Peoria Public Works told food-service places to keep a properly sized interceptor, to have it fully cleaned out at least four times a year (more often if needed), and to send in manifests. The letter says the pumper has to clean the whole tank, that water must not be put back in, and that enzyme and bacteria additives are not allowed. Manifests count when the restaurant, the hauler, and the disposal facility have signed, with the volume removed, the volume received, and the dates. The city said a failure can put water and sewer service at risk. The phone on that letter is East Peoria Public Works, (309) 698-4716. Ask them if anything has changed since 2022.

What a Pump-Out Visit Usually Includes

Companies differ. Ask which of these is in the quote before anyone opens the lid:

1. Finding the trap or interceptor and measuring the grease and solids before pumping.
2. Pumping the tank all the way out, not just skimming the top.
3. Scraping or jetting the inside if the quote includes it. Some visits are pump-only.
4. A manifest with the date, gallons removed, hauler, and disposal site.
5. No water, enzymes, or bacteria dumped back in to make the tank look empty.

Stand there while it's pumped if you can. East Peoria tells the owner to watch and to sign. That's good practice in the other towns too, because you're the one who has to produce the paperwork later.

Signs You Should Call Before the Next Scheduled Date

Slow sinks on the cook line, a grease smell near the floor drains, water backing up into a prep sink, or a sample well that looks mostly grease are reasons to pump early. A health inspector or a sewer backup doesn't wait for the quarter to end. If a notice already has a date on it, say so when you call. We'll try to find a company that can come soon. We can't promise a day, because each company sets its own route.

What to Ask Before You Hire

Ask where the grease is taken and whether you'll get the disposal site's signature, not only the driver's. Ask for a written price based on the size of your tank, and ask what happens if the lid is buried, paved over, or seized. Ask for proof of insurance. We don't certify haulers, and a match from this site is not a license.

Kitchens in Peoria, East Peoria, Peoria Heights, Pekin, Morton, and Washington are the ones we try to help first, along with Chillicothe and Dunlap. Call (309) 724-1198 or use the form and pick grease trap pumping so we know which job you need.