Greater London · Grease trap cleaning
Grease trap cleaning in Downham, Greater London
Emptying and cleaning of under-sink and inline grease traps in commercial kitchens for businesses, landlords and public buildings in Downham. CHAS, SafeContractor and ISO 9001, and fully insured.
- A routine grease trap service
- Drains that gurgle and bubble
- Grease setting in the kitchen pipework
FAQs for Downham
Can school kitchens in Downham be cleaned in the holidays?
Yes. The holidays are the usual time for school work. The FSA’s register shows about 22 schools and colleges with food registrations within roughly a mile and a half of Downham. Send us your term dates when you call 0345 646 2711, or send details by email, and we will fit the work in.
Do you work overnight in Downham?
Yes, we can come after you close and finish before you open. It means the site in Downham keeps running as normal. When you phone us on 0345 646 2711, or send details by email, mention when the site is quiet.
How much notice should we give?
Earlier is better, particularly for night and weekend visits. We normally quote within one working day, and emergencies are covered by our 24/7 line.
Is TR19 cleaning required by law?
No, not in itself. Insurers, fire officers and EHOs look to TR19® as the benchmark, and many insurers ask for proof of cleaning to it. The legal duty sits in the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in England and Wales.
Do you work with multi-site operators?
Yes. Our area covers London and the South East, so sites at different addresses can be planned together on one programme. Each site gets its own report and photos.
What is TR19?
It’s the industry benchmark for cleaning ventilation and kitchen extract systems, written by BESA. It sets out inspection, cleaning and record keeping, and it takes a risk-based approach.
What paperwork should we keep on file?
Anything that proves the system is maintained: reports, certificates, photos and your own cleaning or check logs. A single log for each site works best.
Do we need to close while you work?
Not normally. Visits are timed for when the area is closed, such as overnight or at a weekend, so the site can carry on as normal.
Grease trap cleaning in Downham
For kitchens across Downham, grease trap cleaning fits easily around service. We empty, clean and check the trap and remove the waste. It can be booked on its own or alongside other kitchen work. Typical jobs include a blocked kitchen drain caused by grease and a regular cleaning plan for the grease trap, across kitchen waste pipes, school and care home kitchens and pot wash sinks.
London’s sewers are known for fatbergs, built up from fat, oil and grease washed down drains. A grease trap that is emptied and cleaned regularly keeps fat out of the drains.
Good records are part of the job. You get a written report with pictures after every visit, covering the work done, any areas we couldn’t access and a recommended next date. Keep it with your fire safety records so it’s to hand when an insurer or inspector asks.
- Location
- Downham (BR1, SE6, SE12)
- Region
- Greater London
- Paperwork
- Photo report after every visit
- Quotes
- A fixed price before work begins
- Working hours
- When your site is closed, plus a 24/7 line
- Phone
- 0345 646 2711
- Last updated
- 30 October 2026
Downham kitchens: local notes
Food Standards Agency data counts about 152 restaurants, cafés and canteens and about 80 sandwich bars and takeaways within roughly a mile and a half of the centre of Downham. Kitchens like these wash fat, oil and grease down the sink every day, and a grease trap is what stops it reaching the sewer. Most London kitchens can’t close in the day, so deep cleaning is typically done overnight. In Downham, food businesses are inspected by environmental health officers from Lewisham council. Grease behind equipment or on a ceiling is the kind of thing an inspection can note. A record of each deep clean helps show the kitchen is kept in order.
For schools such as Rangefield Primary School, deep cleans and grease trap work are usually booked for the holidays. If you look after a hall kitchen near St Barnabas or anywhere in Downham, a deep clean between busy seasons is easier than a scramble before a big event.
Downham is about 2 miles north of Bromley, in Greater London. Every kind of commercial site in Downham, grease trap cleaning is something we can help with. We can work out of hours so the site keeps running. Our Greater London coverage runs to 764 places, and Downham is one of them. You can also see our page for London, roughly 7 miles from Downham.
We work across BR1, SE6 and SE12 for grease trap cleaning and the streets around it. If you need grease trap cleaning at premises on Shaw Road, Arcus Road and Brook Lane or a nearby road, we can help. Nearby, we also carry out grease trap cleaning in Plaistow (1 mile south), Grove Park (1 mile north-east), Sundridge (1 mile south-east), Chinbrook (1 mile east) and Bellingham (1 mile west). Further out, we also cover London (7 miles north-west), City of Westminster (9 miles north-west), Marylebone (9 miles north-west), Kensington (10 miles north-west), St Pancras (9 miles north-west) and Shoreditch (8 miles north-west).
Local landmarks in Downham
We work in commercial kitchens and buildings around Holy Trinity College Bromley, Downham Fields and Bonus Pastor Catholic College and the streets around them. The closest station to Downham is Grove Park station, about 0.8 miles north-east of the centre. Nearby you’ll also find The Glades (1.6 miles south) and Greenwich Castle (3.6 miles north). The countryside around Downham includes Summer Hill and Downham Woodland Walk.
How it works
Protection comes first: sheeting goes over floors and surfaces close to the work. After that, the system is made safe and the work begins. It takes an hour or so for an under-sink trap, longer for a larger unit, and the area is cleaned down before we leave. In a London area like Downham, parking, loading and building access are planned before the day of the work.
- We agree a time when the sinks aren’t needed.
- We open the trap and look at its condition.
- Built-up grease and food waste are taken out.
- The inside, baffles and outlet are cleaned.
- The trap is closed, tested and the next clean discussed.
Preparing for the visit
- Clear the space around the work
- Tell us about access, such as roof hatches, plant rooms, ceilings or locked areas
- Agree a time when the area can be out of use
How to get a quote
The quickest way to a quote is to send pictures: the system from a couple of angles, plus any access panels or hatches. Add the site type and your opening hours, and many jobs can be priced from that alone.
Related advice
Nearby places to Downham
More services for Downham
Aftercare tips
Looking after the system between visits is straightforward, and it makes the next visit easier:
- Mention any increase in cooking
- Fit sink strainers to catch food scraps
- Keep waste oil out of the drains
- Get food waste into the bin, not the sink
Anything we notice beyond the trap, like a slow drain downstream, is pointed out. It may need a drainage specialist to investigate.
Fat that escapes the trap hardens in the pipework. Once it’s there, it needs a drainage contractor to clear so prevention is the easier route.
Multi-site and managed buildings
We also work for facilities teams across offices, schools and healthcare in Downham and across Greater London. Larger estates can be phased building by building around the people who use them.
When the building owner and the occupier are different, the lease normally sets out who maintains what. We can quote either party, and the report can go to both.
Do you need grease trap cleaning in Downham?
If a trap isn’t emptied, grease passes straight through. It goes on into the drain and on towards the sewer, where it can cause blockages.
What we’re most often called out for:
- An inline trap or interceptor due for cleaning
- An under-sink trap that keeps filling up
- A grease trap that hasn’t been emptied in a long time
- Gurgling drains in the kitchen
If you run a kitchen near Grove Park station with long trading hours, grease builds up faster behind equipment and in the trap.
What your quote should include
- What insurance they carry
- What paperwork you get at the end
- Whether inaccessible sections are listed on the report
- Whether they recommend a next date
How we price grease trap cleaning
The quote reflects the site in front of us. We consider:
- Parking and loading at the site
- Whether several sites go on one quote
- How big the system is
- Site rules, permits and inductions
The cost depends on how big the system is, what state it’s in and how easy it is to reach. You get a fixed price before any work starts, so there are no surprises.
What to send for a quote
When you contact us, these details help:
- Problems your staff have spotted
- The site address and the type of premises
- Close-ups of filters, grilles, hatches or access panels
- Where the plant sits or the system leaves the building, such as a roof or outside wall
For grease trap cleaning in Downham, ring 0345 646 2711 or send us an email. Tell us what kind of premises it is and when it’s open, plus photos or the previous report if they’re to hand. A fixed quote normally follows within one working day.
What the work involves, part by part
School, care home and staff kitchens
In schools, grease traps can be cleaned when the kitchen is closed or after lunch service.
Grease interceptors
Bigger kitchens may have a larger grease interceptor. With more capacity, they fill more slowly but they still need cleaning.
In-house cleaning or a specialist?
Staff cleaning does not replace a specialist visit; it supports it. Clean filters and tidy surfaces slow the build-up, but the parts you cannot see still need a specialist at the right interval.
When your team notices a problem between visits, such as dripping grease, a noisy fan, a smell or a filter that won’t come clean, they should report it rather than try to fix it. We’ll take a look and give you a fixed quote.