Signs the interceptor needs attention
- Kitchen floor drains pond up when the mop water goes down
- An off, sour odour around the lid and the dishwashing station
- The pot sink gets sluggish late in the dinner rush
- Grease showing in the sanitary cleanout or the parking-lot manhole
- A note from a city inspector or your landlord
What we do on a service visit
- Open the lid and gauge how thick the floating fat layer and bottom sludge are
- Pump out the contents and scrape the walls and baffles
- Inspect the inlet and outlet tees, baffles and gasket
- Run the jetter through the sink branch if water was slow to arrive
- Refill, test flow from every sink and record the visit
Margin note: Toronto has a sewer-use bylaw that covers fats, oils and grease from food businesses. Check the current requirements with the city; we keep your service records so you can show them.
Sizing and new installs
Many plaza units were fitted out for a different tenant, so the interceptor under the sink may be too small for a busy fryer line. We look at the number of sinks, the flow rate and where the unit can sit, then explain the options: an under-sink trap, a larger in-floor interceptor, or an automatic grease removal unit. Any new install is done with a permit where one is required.
Kitchen habits that help
- Have staff knock food scraps off plates into the compost first
- Use strainer baskets in every sink and empty them often
- Fryer oil goes into the rendering bin, never into a sink
- Keep enzyme or hot-water flushes from replacing pump-outs