If you run a business or work in a kitchen where you frequently use cooking oil, you may have encountered a cooking oil spill, or maybe you’ve been wondering if you’re correctly handling the spills that do occur. Accidents happen, but the resulting cleanup doesn’t need to be a dangerous, hassle-filled endeavor. At SeQuential, we handle used cooking oil every day. Here are our top tips for cleaning up a spill.
Step 1: Back Up
The first thing most people want to do when oil is accidentally spilled in the kitchen is to immediately begin cleaning it up. If the cooking oil came directly out of the pan or if the fryer overflowed, the oil will be dangerously hot. Even if it seems counter-intuitive, you’ll want to give the oil a little while to cool.
Step 2: Do a Safety Check
Once you’ve made sure no one was injured, you’ll want to block off the entire area of the spill. Even if the oil is cooled or cold it poses a major slip risk. Make sure everyone in the kitchen knows exactly where the oil spilled, especially if they weren’t present at the time of the spill. If there was glass involved in the spill, be sure everyone is wearing appropriate footwear before returning to the kitchen.
Step 3: Begin Cleaning
If the oil is cool to the touch you can begin the cleaning process. Fortunately, most of the supplies you need should already be in your kitchen or very easy to acquire. You can begin by grabbing some old dish towels and, in a dabbing motion, start carefully soaking up the oil with the towels. When you’ve dabbed up all you can, use either a generous sprinkling of corn starch, baking soda, sand or salt to soak up the rest. Scoop up the substance you’ve used with a dustpan once it has absorbed the oil and dispose of it in the trash can, not your SeQuential oil collection container. After the majority of the oil is cleaned up, mix some grease-busting soap with warm water and mop up the remaining oil residue. Make sure the floor is dry before you resume activities over the spill area.
Step 4: Prevent Future Spills
Many cooking oil spills are preventable by properly taking care of any excess cooking oil present in the kitchen. If you typically have a lot of used cooking oil on hand that you need to dispose of, let us recycle it into usable, eco-friendly renewable fuel. We provide a free, easy-to-use container for your used cooking oil, and work with you to create a pickup schedule that works for you. If you need help keeping your grease trap clean, free of excess grease, and up to code, our technicians can expertly service your trap on a frequent schedule that matches your oil use and all municipal requirements.
Have Professionals Handle Your Used Cooking Oil
We know a clean, safe kitchen is essential to the success of your business. Whether you run a commercial kitchen or a sporting arena, we can meet your needs. Contact us today to learn more about our green recycling program for used oil or our grease trap services. We look forward to helping your business go green and be more sustainable.