Grease traps protect your drains and the municipal sewer from the fats, oils and grease that every commercial kitchen produces. When they're maintained on schedule, they're invisible. When they're not, the result is slow drains, foul odours, backups and potential compliance trouble.
Food service businesses in Markham — from the restaurants along Highway 7 to food courts and plaza kitchens across the city — are required to keep grease from entering the sanitary sewer. Regular trap cleaning is how that requirement is met. We clean grease traps thoroughly, dispose of the waste properly and keep the records that show you're on top of it.
Grease Trap Cleaning Around Markham
Food service is a huge part of Markham's economy, and the City requires that fats, oils and grease stay out of the sanitary sewer. A maintained grease trap with service records is how you show compliance — and how you avoid the conversation that starts when grease gets traced back to your kitchen.
The trap schedules that work are the ones based on your actual fill rate, not a generic calendar. After a couple of visits we can tell you whether you're a monthly or quarterly kitchen, and set reminders so the schedule never slips again.
Signs You Need Grease Trap Cleaning
Your grease trap is overdue when you notice:
- Slow drainage at kitchen sinks. When the trap fills up, grease passes through and coats the drain line instead. Slow sinks are usually the first symptom.
- Strong odours in the kitchen. A full trap produces a distinctive rancid smell that ventilation won't fix.
- Grease in the floor drain. Grease showing up where it shouldn't means the trap is past capacity and no longer separating anything.
- You can't remember the last cleaning. If the schedule has slipped, the trap is almost certainly overdue — they fill faster than most operators expect.
- A warning from the municipality or property manager. Grease in the sanitary system gets traced back to its source. A warning means the next step is enforcement.
How We Do It
- 1
Inspect the trap
We check the trap's condition, capacity and how full it is, and note any damage to baffles, lids or seals.
- 2
Pump out the contents
The full contents — grease, solids and water — are pumped out, not just skimmed off the top.
- 3
Scrape and clean the interior
Walls, baffles and inlet/outlet fittings are scraped clean so the trap separates properly again.
- 4
Check flow and components
We verify the trap is flowing correctly and flag worn or damaged parts before they cause a failure.
- 5
Dispose of waste properly
Trap waste is disposed of through proper channels — never down the drain it came from.
- 6
Document and schedule
You get a service record for your files, and we set the next cleaning date based on how full the trap actually was.
Why Choose Markham Plumbing
A grease trap only protects you when it's clean. We keep it that way, on record.
- Full pump-out and scrape-down, not a surface skim
- Proper waste disposal with documentation
- Service records ready for municipal or franchisor review
- Schedules based on your actual fill rate
- Repairs to baffles, lids and seals handled in the same visit
- Combined with drain line jetting for complete protection
Grease Trap Cleaning FAQs
How often does a grease trap need cleaning?
It depends on your kitchen's volume and the trap's size, but most restaurants need cleaning every one to three months. The rule of thumb is to clean before the trap is a quarter full of grease and solids. After a few visits, we can set a schedule matched to your actual fill rate.
Is grease trap maintenance required by law in Markham?
Food service businesses are required to prevent fats, oils and grease from entering the sanitary sewer, and a maintained grease trap is how that's done. Municipalities can inspect and enforce. Keeping service records is the simplest way to show compliance.
Can you clean the trap during business hours?
We can, but most kitchens prefer early morning or after closing. The work has an odour, and scheduling outside service hours keeps it away from customers.
What happens to the waste you pump out?
Grease trap waste is hauled and disposed of through proper licensed channels. It's never discharged into the sewer system it was captured to protect.
My trap was just cleaned but drains are still slow. Why?
A clean trap can't fix a drain line that's already coated with grease downstream of it. If slow drainage continues after cleaning, the line itself needs jetting — we can camera it to confirm.