Greater London · Grease trap cleaning
Lewisham grease trap cleaning
Professional grease trap cleaning in and around Lewisham, booked around your opening hours and signed off in writing with photos.
- Drains clogged with fat
- A small trap that fills too quickly
- An inline trap or interceptor due for cleaning
Grease trap cleaning in Lewisham, done properly
Kitchens in Lewisham use us for grease trap cleaning, from small under-sink units to inline traps and interceptors. We come when the sinks aren’t needed so washing up is not interrupted. Common call-outs are for a small trap that fills too quickly and foul odours from the grease trap, on kitchen waste pipes, restaurants and takeaways and school and care home kitchens.
Across London, council environmental health teams inspect food businesses, and walls, floors, ceilings and equipment are all part of the picture. Kitchens in Lewisham often book a deep clean before or after an inspection.
Nothing is signed off by word of mouth: a written report, dated and illustrated with pictures, plus a certificate through the BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite portal when the work is a TR19® Grease clean. It shows what was done and what, if anything, couldn’t be reached.
- Location
- Lewisham (SE13, SE8, SE6)
- Region
- Greater London
- Records
- Photo report after every visit
- Quote
- A fixed quote up front
- Working hours
- When your site is closed, plus a 24/7 line
- Telephone
- 0345 646 2711
- Reviewed
- 30 October 2026
What a clean will not put right
Grease trap cleaning cannot fix everything, and we’d rather say so up front. It doesn’t solve:
- Blockages in the public sewer beyond the property
- Leaking pipework or sink wastes, which need a plumber
- A unit that can’t cope with the kitchen’s output
Not sure which it is? You can phone us on 0345 646 2711, or send details by email and we’ll tell you honestly.
Where we work
- Under-sink grease traps
- Kitchen waste pipes
- Restaurants and takeaways
- Inline grease traps
- School and care home kitchens
- Pot wash sinks
What your team can do, and what needs us
Keep a record of what your team does. A simple log of filter washes, wipe-downs and checks helps show that the system is managed between specialist visits, next to our reports.
A few tasks are always specialist work: opening up ductwork, cleaning fans, drop testing fire dampers and measuring grease call for the right kit, training and safe access. That is our job.
What we do, step by step
Your staff do not need to do much on the day. Someone lets us in at the agreed time and shows us where everything is, and the rest is down to us. Before we leave, the area is tidied and the paperwork follows. If your building in Lewisham has sign-in rules, permits or key holders, mention them when you book.
- A visit is booked around your service.
- The trap is opened up and checked.
- Built-up grease and food waste are taken out.
- We clean the baffles, inlet and outlet.
- The trap is closed, tested and the next clean discussed.
Before we arrive
- Move anything stored near the system
- Tell us about site rules, permits or sign-in
- Plan for cooking equipment or plant to be off before we arrive
Get a fixed quote
Getting a quote does not take long. Call or email with a few details and you’ll usually have a fixed price within one working day. If we need to see the system first, we book a survey around your hours.
Related advice
Places near Lewisham
Other services in Lewisham
Common problems we fix in Lewisham
In Lewisham, as everywhere, grease traps are easy to forget. Tucked away under the sink or below the floor it’s often left until there’s a problem.
Common reasons sites call us are:
- Gurgling drains in the kitchen
- Scheduled grease trap emptying
- A blocked kitchen drain caused by grease
- Washing-up water that will not drain away
If you look after a school kitchen, at a school such as St Saviour's Catholic Primary School or anywhere near Lewisham, the holidays are the time for a deep clean or a grease trap clean.
Comparing quotes
- Whether a survey comes first
- Whether the work can be done while the site is closed
- Proof of insurance
- Whether VAT is included
Lewisham kitchens: local notes
According to Food Standards Agency records, there are about 63 pubs, bars and clubs and about 11 hotels and B&Bs in Lewisham and the streets around it, up to about 1.5 miles out. Wherever they cook, the kitchen and its drains need the same attention as a restaurant’s. It’s Lewisham council that sends environmental health officers to food businesses in Lewisham. Grease behind equipment or on a ceiling is the kind of thing an inspection can note. Keeping a record of deep cleans and grease trap visits helps at inspection time. Fat from London kitchens contributes to sewer blockages, which is why grease traps need emptying on a schedule.
For busy kitchens close to Lewisham station, deep cleans and grease trap work can be done after closing. If you look after a hall kitchen near St Stephen's Church or anywhere in Lewisham, a deep clean between busy seasons is easier than a scramble before a big event.
Lewisham is about 3 miles west of Eltham, in Greater London. Lewisham gets the same approach as every site we work on: a survey first, a fixed quote, work timed around your hours and a report with photos. Our area takes in 764 places across Greater London, large and small.
We cover every part of the SE13, SE8 and SE6 postcode area for grease trap cleaning and the roads nearby. Local streets include Station Road, Lewisham High Street and Lewis Grove, and we cover them all for grease trap cleaning. With the B220 close by, Lewisham is easy for our technicians to reach for grease trap cleaning. We also cover the places around Lewisham: Ladywell (1 mile south-west), St Johns (1 mile north-west), Hither Green (1 mile south-east), Blackheath (1 mile north-east) and Lee (1 mile south-east). Further out, we also cover London (4 miles north-west), City of Westminster (7 miles north-west), Marylebone (7 miles north-west), Kensington (9 miles west), St Pancras (6 miles north-west) and Shoreditch (5 miles north-west).
Landmarks near Lewisham
Around Lewisham, our work takes us to kitchens and buildings near St Joseph's Academy, Ladywell Fields and The Watch House. There’s a railway station in Lewisham itself: Lewisham station. Well-known places in the area include Greenwich Castle (1.2 miles north) and Fan Museum (1.2 miles north). Open spaces near Lewisham include Knight's Hill and Brookmill Road Local Nature Reserve.
FAQs for Lewisham
Do you work at weekends in Lewisham?
Yes. We work evenings, overnight and at weekends. The work in Lewisham can fit around your hours. Let us know the hours you’re closed and we will book within them.
Do you work in school kitchens around Lewisham out of term?
Yes, out-of-term visits are normal for schools. The FSA’s register shows about 48 schools and colleges with food registrations within roughly a mile and a half of Lewisham. Booking early in the term gives the best choice of holiday dates.
What paperwork should we keep on file?
Anything that proves the system is maintained: reports, certificates, pictures and your own cleaning or check logs. One maintenance log per site keeps it simple.
How often should a grease trap be cleaned?
There’s no single answer. We look at how full the trap is and how quickly it fills and we will advise on timing.
What does TR19 mean?
BESA’s ventilation hygiene specification, with two parts that matter most here: TR19® Grease for kitchen extract systems and TR19® Air for general ventilation. It is not legislation, but it’s the standard people check against.
How do you keep the site clean during the work?
We cover floors and nearby surfaces with sheeting before work begins, and anything we remove is contained. At the end, the area is cleaned down.
What problems does a full grease trap cause?
A full trap cannot catch any more grease. It then sets in the drains, causing blockages and smells, and can add to fatbergs in the sewer.
How long does a grease trap clean take?
The size and state of the trap make the difference, and you can expect it to take a short visit for a small trap and longer for an inline unit or interceptor. You will know before the visit.
Leave it or put it right?
Once the trap is full, grease heads for the drain. There it sets and narrows the pipe, until the drain blocks. Cleaning the trap regularly is far easier than clearing a blocked drain. Shared walls, risers and roofs mean a problem at one London site seldom stays put.
A single site or a whole portfolio, we price it on the same basis: what needs doing, how we get to it and when. The price is fixed before we start.
Why book with us
- Fixed quotes, normally within one working day
- Photo reports with every job
- A BESCA Vent Hygiene Elite member, cleaning to BESA TR19® Grease
- Work around your opening hours, with 24/7 emergency cover
Between visits
So the system stays in good health:
- Fit sink strainers to catch food scraps
- Keep access to the trap clear
- Tell us if your menu or hours change
- Book trap cleans at a set interval
Once the trap is cleaned and refitted, the sinks can be used straight away. Water is run through to check everything flows before we go.
If the sinks are slow or smelly, the trap may be full. Acting at this stage typically prevents a blockage down the line.
Multi-site and managed buildings
We work for landlords, managing agents and facilities managers as well as the people running the site. Where a system serves more than one tenant, such as a shared riser, it helps to agree who arranges the work, and we can quote for the whole system.
We also work for facilities teams across offices, schools and healthcare across Greater London. Larger estates can be phased building by building around the people who use them.