The idea for Grease Hero, started the way many inventions do—a personal need for the product and a gap in the current marketplace. In the instance of Grease Hero, Shawn Santos, an owner and self-manager of rental properties in Hawaii, came face-to-face with a kitchen drain so clogged with cooking grease that it took almost an hour to clear. What Shawn found was that grease had been disposed of improperly for years and eventually packed the pipe so solid that it was no longer able to drain at all.
With twenty-years of experience as a contractor, this was not the first time he had encountered this problem. However, this time was different, he knew there had to be a better and safer way to dispose of kitchen grease and sat down and sketched out a product design idea.
Before moving forward with his Grease Hero idea, he scoured the internet looking for a product that would work. What he found were products that had the functionality he was needing, but they were never on store shelves, were difficult to use, expensive and, quite frankly, missed the point of grease disposal. Many of the current products on the market were aimed to store grease, but Shawn knew that people were not looking to store the grease—it has an odor, it’s unpleasant to look at, and people generally don’t want used grease stored next to the place they are cooking meals for their family—people need a way to quickly and easily dispose of the grease after they are done cooking. He knew that an easy, cheap and one-time use disposal system is what the market needed—and from there he pursued his idea for Grease Hero.
The Grease Hero Development Process
From the time of Shawn sketching out his design, until now, it has taken three years to bring the Grease Hero to market. As a first-time entrepreneur, with a long list of prior commitments, he knew that he was going to need help to develop this idea. Shawn decided to partner with a local product development firm to get his idea off the ground. Together they were able to solidify a design, test prototypes and meet manufacturers.
Through the entire design and development process, Shawn has had a single goal in mind, to help home chefs properly dispose of FOG (fat, oil and grease), so that it does not reach our waterways. Fried food isn’t going anywhere, so disposing of FOG is going to be an issue for years and years to come. If home chefs can alter their habit from rinsing the grease out of the pan and into the kitchen drain, our home pipes, city sewer systems and environment are going to benefit immensely. For instance, the City of Portland spends an average of $100,000 a year cleaning and repairing sewer lines clogged by grease, and about $12 million a year to treat wastewater containing high concentrations of fats, oils and grease (City of Portland). Pipe repairs are costly for both cities and home owners. Many times FOG waste builds up and causes sewer overflows which then releases toxic sewage into the environment and threatens public health. “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that cooking grease is the number one cause of blocked sewers, causing 47 percent of all stoppages.”
Incorporating Grease Hero Into Your Kitchen Routine
Grease Hero is designed to be placed into the top of your kitchen drain, so you can quickly and easily pour the grease into it and then promptly dispose of it. It is designed with recyclable materials to absorb the FOG waste and can be thrown out with your regular garbage. This one easy change in your kitchen cleaning routine will save you money from costly plumbing repairs, the city from expensive sewer damage, and our environment from deadly contamination.
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