It is absolutely OK to filter and reuse deep-fry oil.
It's not uncommon at some short-order restaurants for them to filter the oil daily and only change it once a week. Of course, it does start to taste a little "off" when you reuse it that many times.
There's also the matter of impurities lowering the smoke point; even when you filter, the result is obviously not "pure" oil; the more you reuse it, the lower the smoke point gets, and eventually it will actually start to smoke at deep-fry temperatures (i.e. become unusable).
For home use, I'd recommend no more than 3 or 4 reuses. Check the oil to see if it needs to be changed sooner than that - if the colour or smell is off, don't use it again. Best to compare it against a sample of the same "fresh" oil; sometimes it's hard to just eyeball it without a frame of reference. If it looks totally clear and smells fresh, you could probably go up to 5 or 6 reuses - but definitely not more than that.
P.S. There will be some people who tell you that you should never reuse oil for general health (not safety) reasons. My response to that tends to be that if you're eating deep-fried food, you're probably not all that concerned about long-term health risks. Rest assured that if you do a lot of eating out, you've eaten plenty of food fried in "leftover" oil.
I would not reuse that oil. The frying-oil reuse that occurs in fast food chains is reuse for the same day or over just a few days. They also store it properly and not just sitting exposed in the fryer.
justkt is correct that more saturated fats are less sensitive to breakdown, this is why bacon grease can be kept for a rather long time.
Three factors play a significant role in oil degradation:
Oxidation
Any contact with air causes oxidation in oil. High temperatures, metal alloys, surface exposure, and even UV light act as catalysts to this reaction.
Hydrolysis
When water interacts with oil it causes it to taste tainted or acidic. This is exacerbated by high temperatures, heating/cooling cycles, and oxidation products.
Polymerizaton
When frying oil deteriorates, the resulting products form both volatile (or reactive) and non-volatile compounds. Non-volatile compounds remain within the frying oil, and can produce polymerization at frying oil temperatures above 200°C (390 F) or in isolated hot spots within the frying system. These molecules bond together to form large, different-sized clusters that accumulate on the oil’s surface. Since they don’t dissolve, they cause foaming; trapping air under the oil, and increase the possibility of hydrolysis.
Given all these, the best environment for any oil is an cold, dark, airtight place. Cold temperatures may cause clouding, but this is not a cause for worry.
Source:
http://www.heatandcontrol.com/technical%20articles/Maximizing%20Cooking%20Oil%20Life.pdf
Best Answer
Uh...NO!
While running some 'minor spillage' down the floor trap is not a big deal washing a large amount of oil down the drain would be BAD. As the oil cools it will form a solid clog that would be very difficult (and probably expensive) to clear.
(there is no information about where you are from, so this may or may not apply to you...)
[In the U.S.] Local fire departments will allow for the disposal of waste petroleum products (like this or motor oil). Most restaurants which do a serious amount of frying have oil disposal services that come by and collect used fryer oil.