Restaurant grease lines and interceptors
Fats, oils and food solids cool inside kitchen drains and set like candle wax. We clear the line, check the interceptor and help you keep it from coming back.
- Kitchen lines scoured to the pipe wall, not merely poked open
- Interceptor baffles, inlet and outlet inspected
- Dishwasher, prep sink and floor drain connections checked
- Work booked around prep and service, never mid-rush
- Licensed plumbing trade
- Camera before digging
- Written job notes
- Phone-only booking
Warning signs from a greasy kitchen line
- Dish-pit floor drains bubbling or overflowing as the dish machine empties
- Prep sinks emptying slowly by the end of a busy shift
- Sour or rancid smell from floor drains and the interceptor lid
- Grease visible in the outdoor cleanout or the sanitary manhole
- The same line needing to be snaked every few weeks
What we do on a grease call
- Locate the nearest cleanout and confirm which fixtures share the line
- Open and inspect the interceptor: grease depth, solids, baffles and the outlet tee
- Send in a jetting head matched to that pipe size, scouring the whole bore
- Follow up with the camera, checking for leftover grease, sags and cracked joints
- Leave written notes on the condition of the line and the interceptor
Why a cable alone is not enough
A drain cable bores a hole through soft grease and the water runs again, but the coating on the pipe wall stays. Within days the hole narrows. Jetting with rear-facing jets strips that coating off so the line returns close to its full size. Old cast-iron or damaged pipe is checked by camera before any high-pressure work.
Habits that keep the kitchen line flowing
- Plates and pans get scraped into the garbage, not rinsed into the pit
- Strainer baskets stay in every prep sink and floor drain
- Have the interceptor pumped on a schedule that suits your volume
- Never pour fryer oil or hot fat down any drain
- Book jetting on a regular cycle for high-volume kitchens
Rules worth knowing
Durham Region's sewer use by-law has required food-service premises to control grease going to the sanitary sewer, usually with a maintained interceptor. Check with the Region on what your premises needs now, and keep your service records on site.
Common questions
What jetting interval suits a restaurant?
Covers served and menu style decide it. A fryer-heavy kitchen may need several visits a year; camera footage tells us the right gap.
Do you pump interceptors?
We inspect them and clear the lines. Pumping out a big interceptor is normally a liquid-waste hauler job; we can line up the timing with them.