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Drains & Restaurants

Drains & Restaurants

Drains & Restaurants

Do you ever check bathrooms before you eat at a restaurant, I check drains and restaurants for a living? I won’t eat until I check the bathroom, if its clean then probably (probably) the kitchen is clean. If you have a restaurant, staff must be taught that part of the process is cleaning. Everyday a certain station should be cleaned and then someone needs to double check. If a customer gets something in their food, the reputation can be sullied in that visit and those reviews sites are not forgiving.

  1. Daily cleaning, certain areas.
  2. Weekly cleaning.
  3. Inspection by someone who cares, not just someone that wants to go home.
  4. Inspection by management. If you set the standard – staff will comply.
  5. A German Cockroach can get by with just a speck of grease, don’t forget in between appliances.
  6. Use a checklist, its not tough. If you start out clean and keep it that way.

The Public is your Critic

  • Only takes one complaint, and if its online – it is there FOREVER. Those Dirty Dining shows are proof of that.
  • Make the weekly cleaning game with free appetizers etc. If staff doesn’t consider it work – it won’t be.
  • Set the standard, if you don’t then no one else will.
Mosquito Season

Mosquito Season

What’s the best time to KILL mosquitoes, when they’re in the water phase? Any other time you are swatting them and they’re out for blood. Mosquitoes can be tricky, some are known to be in your area and others may fly in from over a mile away. I have seen mosquitoes in tires and in beer bottles with only 1/2 inch of water present. We all know what an absolute nuisance they can be.

There are some innovative products available including this one from www.in2care.org and I also recommend Flyweb for inside the house.

Sewer Gas

SEWER GAS REALLY STINKS for property managers, facility engineers, Realtors and business owners because it:

  • Smells bad,
    • Bad smells = lost revenue from failed home sales, new leases and lease renewals
    • Smells Bad = lost revenue due to bad social media reviews from customers
    • Bad smells = lost revenue from time wasted fielding complaints by staff and customers alike
  • Irritates mucousa of the eyes, nose, throat and lungs,
    • Irritated mucosal membranes = Lost revenue from absenteeism and presentism due to infirm staff with headaches, eye irritation, sneezing, coughing and general malaise
  • Corrodes metal,
    • Corroded metal = malfunctioning smoke alarms and fire panels
    • Metals Corrode = Reduces lifespans for electronics like computers and televisions
    • Corroded metal = displeasing aesthetics for building finishes and contents
  • Is combustible,
    • Build-up of combustible gasses can lead to fires and explosions and the associated loss of life and property.
  • Smells like the additive to natural gas,
    • Methyl mercaptan from sewers in the living space = false claims of a natural gas leak, unnecessary building evacuations and eventually a “cry wolf” culture, where people will not take an actual natural gas leak seriously.
  • Means there’s unrestricted access for sewer critters,
    • Dry traps = unhindered access to the living space for cockroaches, sewer flies, etc.
  • and more.

Simple dry plumbing traps are the #1 cause of sewer gas infiltration.  

You could always avoid this issue by manually fill up traps with water every week. Or, you can say goodbye to dry plumbing traps and sewer gas infiltration for months by saying hello to patent pending SEWER GAS SOLUTIONS ™. Visit www.SewerGasSolutions.com to learn more or to place an order today.

Our Sewer Gas Solutions ™ patent pending evaporation barrier product is intended specifically for use in unused or underused plumbing drains traps.  Fill the trap with water, pour our product in a quantity to completely cover the surface of the water, forget about that trap for 3-6 months (please don’t leave your buildings unattended for 3 months or more, because all sorts of other issues can occur).  (Snowbirds) Then, when the happy buyer/tenant moves in, they can start using the sink or toilet and other fixtures as normal and our product will eventually flush through.

Below are the product highlights. 

  • Say goodbye to dry plumbing traps & sewer gas infiltration by saying hello SEWER GAS SOLUTIONS (TM).
    • PU Productions was founded by two industry-leading scientists, a chemist, Paul V. Anderson and an environmental scientist, Derrick A. Denis, with nearly half a century of combined experience in indoor environmental quality (IEQ) investigations and testing.
    • After investigating thousands of complaints ranging from odors and headaches to perceived natural gas leaks and damaged building materials, the problem became crystal clear.
    • Evaporated plumbing traps and the resulting sewer gas infiltration are a common and costly bane to building occupants, managers and owners.
    • We dedicated ourselves to creating a simple-to-use and cost-effective solution to this problem.
    • Sewer Gas Solutions (TM) patent pending evaporation–inhibiting product is the result of over 5 years of research and development.
    • It provides an inexpensive, long-lasting and easy-to-use method to prevent trap water evaporation in commercial, residential and industrial plumbing traps including sinks, floor drains, tubs, showers, toilets and the like.
    • It is Green. It is compounded with Certified Organic ingredients and Natural Botanicals.  By preventing the need for trap primers or excessive trap filling, it saves water. 
    • It is not hazardous. The ingredients are used in foods, food processing, cosmetics, medicines and more. You could drink it without lasting ill effects (although this would result in loose stool). You could rub it on your skin and you would be moisturized and smell fragrant (but this is NOT RECOMENDED, as it is not the product intention).
    • Sewer Gas Solutions™:
      • Won’t damage pipes,
      • Won’t congeal into a pipe blocking mess,
      • Won’t cross react with common products that get poured in the drain (bleach, ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, etc.),
      • Won’t grow bacterial and mold,
      • Won’t attract pests (in fact it inhibits them primarily by keeping the water in the trap that blocks them),
      • Works at normal Earth temperature ranges (Phoenix hot to Pinetop cold), 
    • It is easy to use and saves you money. Fill your trap with water, add some product, forget about that trap drying out for months. 
      • No more manually filling every week.
      • No more trap primer woes.
      • No more costly installations of valves or plugs that either get stuck closed and result in flooding when the water comes on or get stuck open and do no good at all.
      • AC on or off, vacant or occupied, summer or winter, Sewer Gas Solutions (TM) patent pending evaporation–inhibiting product is proven to work.
    • Visit www.SewerGasSolutions.com to learn more.

What are the common pest issues in restaurants?

 

There are always issues with occasional invaders within building but lets just focus on the Top 2 – Flies and Cockroaches

 

Flies – the first and foremost most important is the inspection, after you decide on which species it then can treated. Each pest we deal with has unique and often times complex life cycles which must be addressed. House flies are common in building but are usually an issue with door being left open, while Fruit flies are a result of ripening fruits or decaying organic matter. So lets look at a few:

House flies – is there animal waste or garbage outside which could bring this pest to your door? If this is a home its easy to reduce house flies by just removing or cleaning up animal waste. If this is a restaurant, just how close is the garbage or dumpster? Is the lid closed, this in itself could reduce flies and scavenging birds and animals.

Fruit flies – Drains are the biggest culprit, they need to be clean and screens should be in place. Just pouring bleach into a drain will never work, the scum collects on the sidewalls and just pouring bleach will only maybe touch the surface of the scum. Phorid flies prefer areas like cracks and crevices and are similar to Fruit flies in liking decaying organic matter. The product of choice should be a scum eater, like a bio agent. I love those products because they eat grease which often builds up in somewhat hidden areas. Don’t forget areas like mops or kitchen equipment.

Bottle or Flesh flies, if you encounter these it is often associated with dead rodents or decaying matter.

Cockroaches – both German and American can create some issues within restaurants. American or lots of people call them Sewer Roaches, usually associated with drains and grease traps. So keeping the place clean is essential. German Roaches are probably those ones that cause the most sleepness nights to owners, they can be brought in via boxes or materials and can quickly set up shop. Cleaniness is important but these roaches are experts at muliplying and taking advantage of every single opportunity. If you see one there are probably hundreds, just take my advice and call a Pro right away. You need the right tools and the knowledge and you need to get a handle on this ASAP.

Don’t forget it is about the inspection, followed up by detection and then treatment and prevention. (BASF flies Smartsolutions guide)

 

Photo by PPMA

Photo by PPMA

 

 

How the bugs get in? Part 3

How the bugs get in? Part 3 – This part will talk about keeping them out.

 

I watch a lot of those Police, Forensic, True Detective type shows and I think the reason I do this is because I like to figure out the clues. I think “if I was a bug how would I get in”? Then I use those clues to come up with the plan of attack, without the inspection there would be no clues, no insights and no plan of attack.

So from Part 1 and Part 2, we see the problem and now my recommendations to stop the American (sewer) Roaches from continuing to get into the facility. Install screens and make sure to put water into the S-trap or P-traps whatever you may call it. I also noticed a grease trap outside the back door, after I had made this observation it became obvious where these roaches were spending their time.

    There is plenty of room inside the lids and the top and sides for roaches to hide and disgusting as it may be plenty of food for them to eat – remember what they need to survive – food, shelter and water – the trifecta for roaches. So that P-trap or S-trap becomes essential in keeping gases and them out of the building. They also have drain net or baskets to keep foreign debris from getting into the grease trap, I once saw a fork and drinking glass inside a grease trap – no idea how that worked itself way down into that trap.

Book em Dano I mean Keith!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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