Black & White Facilities / Service brief
Grease Traps and Interceptors
Managed catering kitchens depend on grease traps and interceptors that are emptied on a defined interval and recorded against the asset. This page covers what a cleaning visit includes, what your site team should have ready and how the record supports the next interval decision. Symptoms reported by the kitchen inform the scope but do not replace an inspection.
Overview
How well a trap performs depends on its rated capacity, the volume the kitchen puts through it, the manufacturer's servicing instructions and the drainage it discharges into. Cleaning keeps a suitable unit working; it does not compensate for one that is undersized or wrongly connected.
Our full service catalogue, including every individual service, is available across every listed sector and location. For one site or several, we agree the scope, access and programme around the buildings concerned.
What the work can include
A typical instruction covers inspecting and emptying each trap or interceptor, logging its condition and noting any action needed on the pipework it serves. The scope identifies the unit by asset reference, sets out the cleaning record and the next review interval, and lists anything handed over or tested at the end. Repairs, redesign, testing or replacement sit outside it unless written in.
The completion record identifies the unit, documents the clean and gives the next review date, noting any restriction, third-party interface or follow-on action.
Important decisions
The main decision is cleaning frequency, which follows from how heavily the kitchen is used, the unit's capacity and what earlier visits found. Agree it with the site's trading hours and your organisation's route for approving programme changes.
Before we visit
To scope the work we need the unit's location and capacity if known, the kitchen operation, earlier cleaning logs, access, the disposal route and any odour or flow problem that keeps returning. Across an estate, give each site its own identifier and keep asset references consistent so kitchens are never confused.
The unit's position, size, workload, service history, access and waste route shape the scope. Tell us about smells or backing-up that recur between cleans.
How the work proceeds
We confirm the unit in scope, settle the tasks with your site contact, arrange safe access and disposal, log what we find and reconsider the interval in light of it. The record identifies the unit, states the clean carried out and proposes the next review, your basis for confirming the frequency and any work on the connected drainage.
What affects cost and timing
Pricing reflects unit size, grease load, access, disposal, visit frequency and whether the drainage beyond the trap also needs attention. For a managed site or estate, tell us when the kitchen can be taken out of use, who holds the keys and any shutdown limits.
Sector and property applications
Office catering, school kitchens, retail food outlets and industrial canteens each need trap servicing timed around kitchen operation, hygiene procedures and waste contracts. The sector directory shows how the requirement differs by building type.
Local coverage
Sites across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Tees Valley are within our coverage, including Berwick-upon-Tweed, Alnwick, Morpeth, Hexham, Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, Sunderland, Durham, Darlington, Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland. Multi-site clients should hold a separate unit record, cleaning log and review date for every kitchen. See the full list of locations.
Frequently asked questions
What cleaning interval should a grease trap be on?
The interval has to be set for each kitchen rather than taken from a standard calendar. Manufacturer instructions, capacity, grease loading, the cleaning history and last visit's findings all feed into it. On an estate, hold each site's record separately so the next visit is easy to justify.
Will emptying the trap fix a slow drain beyond it?
No. The trap and the pipe run downstream are separate assets. Slow flow that persists after a clean points to the connected drainage, which needs its own investigation. Where that would affect tenants or trading, agree access, shutdowns and contractor handovers before it is programmed.
What should the kitchen's record contain?
For each unit: identity and location, date of the clean, condition found, the waste transfer record, observations, actions taken and the reasoning behind the next review. Together these justify the interval to an auditor. The completion report should also say what was done, what could not be done and what remains outstanding.
Can a new trap go in without looking at the drainage?
It should not. A replacement has to be sized against the kitchen's load, the capacity required, servicing access, the connections and the condition of the drain it feeds, or the new unit inherits the old problem. The survey outcome shows whether further trap work or drainage repairs belong in the plan.
Knowledge and guidance
Two guides help when setting the frequency: how often grease traps should be cleaned and what causes recurring drain blockages. They explain how loading, capacity and earlier findings combine into an interval. The site assessment turns that into a programme for your building, allowing for operating hours, access and sign-off.
Related content and enquiry
Related services include Drainage and Wastewater, Drain Cleaning and Maintenance, CCTV Drain Surveys and Planned Preventative Maintenance. You can also browse all services, maintenance, projects, sectors and locations.
Contact Black & White Facilities with the site or estate details, unit references, any cleaning history you hold and the operating constraints we should work within. From that we can set out the client interface and scope without committing to a response time or a result in advance.
Discuss the scope
Tell us what needs attention.
Share the site, the issue and any access requirements so we can discuss the next step.