You can extend the lifespan of your Traeger grill and improve the quality of your cooking if you keep it well-maintained.
One part of that maintenance is cleaning the grease trap.
In this article, we will show you how to clean a Traeger grease trap.
Let’s start now.
Contents
What is the Grease Trap on the Traeger Grill?
The grease trap is an important piece of equipment that is required by your state health department regulations. The function of the grease trap is to capture all the grease and oil that is produced by the exhaust.
Every state has regulations that require you to dispose of this captured grease in a proper manner.
According to the law, you must empty the grease trap at least once every 3 to 4 months to ensure that your restaurant or grill is in compliance with all regulations.
A grease trap is a pipe that is installed in the bottom of your kitchen or building that collects all the oil and fat that is produced by the exhaust of your grill, oven, fryers, or any other type of cooking equipment in your kitchen.
The grease trap directs cold wastewater through the drain pipe that is connected to your septic tank or sewer pipe system.
Why Do I Need to Clean the Traeger Grease Trap?
The Traeger Grate Cleaner is designed to help you remove baked-on food from your cast iron grates with minimal effort.
If you need a means to quickly clean up any mess on your outdoor grill, the Grate Cleaning Brush is an essential tool to have around.
The grease trap will also help maintain the quality of your food and ensure that your restaurant stays within all health and fire code regulations.
This cleaner will enable you to clean all of the grime, oil, and fat that have collected in the pipes over time to keep your kitchen running efficiently, avoiding expensive repairs in the future.
The major purpose of cleaning the trap is to help reduce the amount of fats, oils, and greasy foods that will accumulate in the pipes over time and eventually clog them up with debris, creating problems for your septic system.
How Do I Know When to Clean the Traeger Grease Trap?
Traeger grills have indicators that will let you know when the internal temperature has reached a safe level for you to empty the tanks without causing damage.
It will also notify you when the tank is full or when it is leaking.
If the reminder message bothers you, you can remove the card that comes attached to the hood and learn how to install your own over time.
How Long Does the Grease Trap Last?
The lifespan of the grease trap will depend on the conditions that it is exposed to, such as heat, moisture, and acidity levels.
Of course, the best way to maximize the life of your grease trap is by cleaning it as soon as possible.
In general, your grease trap can last up to 4-5 years if it is maintained properly.
When Do I Need to Clean the Traeger Grease Trap?
We suggest cleaning the grease traps at least every month to avoid accumulating waste in them for long periods of time.
We suggest cleaning the grease trap at least every month to avoid accumulating waste in them for long periods of time.
If you often cook greasier foods on your Traeger Grills, this may increase the frequency that you will need to clean them.
How to Clean Traeger Grease Trap?
Remove the Grease Drip Bucket
The grease drop bucket may collect grease throughout the cooking process.
The grease bucket functions as a catch-all for all of your waste that needs to be disposed of.
When cooking, the fat in the food will drip down and collect at the bottom of the bucket.
Allow the Grill to Cool For a Day
It is best to let the grill cool down completely before attempting to clean out the tanks.
Then, using a nonabrasive cleaning pad that is designed to remove stubborn food stains from the grill, gently scrub the surfaces of the grills to get rid of any residue left over from cooking.
Because it does not cause friction on the metal surfaces, a microfiber cloth is a better option for cleaning the grill.
Clean the Grills
During the cooking process, the grills absorb oils and fats from meats as they cook at high temperatures.
As a result, washing off the grates with a hose or with a pressure washer will get rid of most of the residue left over after cooking.
When you wash them quickly after cooking, they will be easier to wash and will also prevent rusting from occurring.
When the grill is cleaned regularly, it will last a long time with minimal maintenance.
However, cleaning the grills while they are hot may damage them over time by causing small scratches on the surfaces.
You may notice that the grills gather tar, especially around the vents where they are in contact with the air as they heat up.
You should use standard oven cleaner to clean the tar off the grills.
Take off the Chimney Cap
The chimney cap will be removed along with the drip buckets when you clean your Traeger grill.
Warm water degreases the stainless steel of the chimney cap very well and can remove most of the dirt that is left on it after long periods of use.
However, although the water will not remove all of the oil from the chimney cap, it will remove most of the dirt that is left on it from cooking and smoking.
With a paper towel, after removing the grease, clean the drips out of the chimney.
Remove and Set Aside the Chimney, Grills, and Grease Trap.
The grease trap collects the grease that drips from the chimneys as the smoke and heat escape from them.
It is not necessary to fully clean the grease trap every time .
After removing it, set it aside and clean it separately from the rest of the grill before placing it back.
The sticky grease will be difficult to remove if you do not do this step first.
Where Can You Find the Traeger Grill’s Grease Trap?
Traeger barbecues have a small compartment located under the grate where the smoke and heat exit the grill.
A grease channel, a grease chute, an internal trap, or a drain tube is a type of narrow pipe that is used to drain away excess liquid or solid materials from a pot or vessel.
The grease drippings fall into the pan underneath the grate where the smoke and heat escape and are trapped by the small pipes in the tray.
This grease is drained away from the fire and into the tray where it is collected to be disposed of later in another way.
What Is the Best Traeger Grease Trap Cleaner?
Water
Water works effectively as a grease trap cleaner if you pour it directly into the trays.
Water is readily available all around the world and is free to obtain.
However, if there is a lot of grease in the tray, the water will not naturally drain away through the grease trap.
Instead, it will puddle at the bottom, which will cause it to overflow.
If you have more flexibility in your cleaning schedule, maybe cleaning the trays once a month is enough for you.
While it will not remove difficult stains, warm water does a good job of loosening up the dirt and grime on the trays so they can be wiped away easily with a cloth or paper towel.
Grease Trap Treatment with Black Diamond
This product has a proprietary formula of detergents and natural cleaners that will dissolve and remove tough, caked-on debris from barbecue grills and other greasy surfaces.
It also works well to remove rust from stainless steel and clean grease from engines.
Baking Soda
Baking soda works to remove food odors from your barbecue’s smoke box as well as the trays underneath them by removing unwanted bacteria and mold from the surface of the grill.
Make a paste by stirring baking soda into water until it is thoroughly mixed, then apply it liberally to the smoke box and any grates you have.
Apply the paste on the grease traps as well and leave the mixture to sit for 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the amount of dirt and grime present.
Wire Brushes
A wire brush is an excellent tool for scrubbing away the built-up gunk in the trays and beneath the grates of your grill.
The coarseness of the cleaning brush will scrape away stuck-on food and gunk and work deep into the nooks and crannies of the tray to remove any debris that may be there.
For optimal results, use the wire brush on a hot grill so that the bristles heat up and burn through stubborn stains more easily.
Microfibre Cloths
Microfiber cloths are widely used in industries for cleaning because they are soft yet durable and great at removing dirt, dust, and debris without scratching the surfaces.
These clothes are useful if the grease traps of your barbecue are a little rusty and dirty since they do not scratch the surface like other metal scrubbers.
Also Read: How to Keep Weber Grill from Rusting
Final Words
Finally, I hope this tutorial has answered all your questions and helped you choose a great method of cleaning your BBQ grease traps.
If you want to keep your Traeger in good shape and avoid having to pay for expensive repairs in the future, you must clean the grease trap.
Unclean oil and fat from the fire can harden over time and create a breeding ground for harmful bacteria that can cause health issues such as food poisoning.
If we eat such foods on a regular basis, it can lead to stomach upset and even cause death.
So, clean Traeger grease traps regularly to prevent such issues from occurring.
