Grease Lines and Interceptors for Restaurants
Fat, oil and grease set like candle wax once they cool inside a drain. Every commercial kitchen fights it, and the line under the three-compartment sink usually loses first.
- Kitchen branches cabled and jetted back to the main
- Interceptor baffles and outlets checked for build-up
- Floor drains and trench drains opened and flushed
- Camera footage of the line saved for your records
- Early-morning slots before prep starts
- Licensed plumbing trade
- Booked around your day
- Price agreed before work
- Phone only, no forms
On the truck
- Hand auger and drum machine
- Sewer camera with locator
- Cleanout plugs and test caps
Tested before we leave
- Flow test at every fixture on the line
- Camera look where the cable hit a hard stop
- Odour check at traps and floor drains
How pricing works
Quoted on site, after we have opened it up and found the cause. Nothing starts without your yes.
| You notice | Usual cause | On the job |
|---|---|---|
| Sink gurgles after the dishwasher drains | Grease packed in the kitchen branch | Pull the trap, cable the branch to the stack |
| Floor drain backs up on laundry day | Main line partly blocked at a joint | Cable from the cleanout, camera the run |
| Every fixture slow at once | Roots or a sag in the building sewer | Camera, locate, then jet or dig |
Signs your kitchen line is losing the fight
- The three-compartment sink drains slower every day of the week
- The floor drain burps up water each time the dish machine empties
- A sour, rancid odour around the interceptor cover
- Grease visible in the sanitary cleanout downstream of the trap
- Fruit flies hanging around a floor drain no one uses
What we do on a grease call
- Find the nearest cleanout and pull the cap with a pail ready.
- Cable the branch to break the blockage and get water moving.
- Jet the line with a rotating grease nozzle that scrubs the full bore of the pipe.
- Push a camera in from the cleanout to measure how far the fat reaches and spot any sagging joint.
- Check the interceptor inlet, baffles and outlet tee for solid grease or broken parts.
Pumping the stored grease out of a large interceptor is a hauler's job. We will flag when it looks due and make sure the plumbing either side of it is clear.
Rules worth knowing
Ontario's building code expects food premises to discharge through a grease interceptor, and Halton Region's sewer use by-law limits what fats and oils may go to the municipal sewer. Sizing, pump-out and logbook rules are the Region's call and can shift, so confirm what applies today with the Region before a renovation or a new lease.
Keeping it clear between visits
- Wipe plates and pans into the compost before they hit the sink
- Never pour fryer oil or pan drippings down any drain
- Leave a basket strainer in every sink and floor drain
- Set a jetting interval based on how fast the line closed up last time
A kitchen that jets on a schedule rarely loses a service to a backed-up floor. A kitchen that waits for the backup usually pays for an emergency call on a Friday night.
Questions we get asked
How often should a restaurant jet its kitchen line?
It depends on the menu and the volume. A deep-fry heavy kitchen may need it every few months; a café might go a year. The first camera look tells us which you are.
Plumbing at home instead?
Houses, townhomes and rural properties are covered on our residential plumbing page.