Essex · Grease trap cleaning
Shelley grease trap cleaning
We cover Shelley for emptying and cleaning of under-sink and inline grease traps in commercial kitchens. Out-of-hours visits, a fixed quote and a written report with photos as standard.
- A kitchen drain that smells
- Washing-up water that won’t drain away
- Gurgling from the sink waste
About our grease trap cleaning in Shelley
Grease traps sit between the sinks and the drain, holding back fats, oils and grease. As the waste water cools, the grease floats and stays in the trap, and clean water flows on. Over time, the trap fills up and needs emptying and cleaning. If you have a larger grease trap that needs emptying and a full, neglected grease trap, we can put it right, from inline grease traps, restaurants and takeaways and school and care home kitchens onwards.
Somewhere as small as Shelley, the kitchens that need a deep clean are normally a pub, a school, a care home or a hall kitchen, wherever there is one. Each still needs the occasional deep clean and its grease trap kept clear.
The paperwork matters as much as the work. Each visit is written up with pictures, listing what was done, anything we couldn’t reach and when the next visit is due. File it in your maintenance log so it’s ready for an insurer, fire officer or EHO.
- Where
- Shelley (CM5)
- Region
- Essex
- Reporting
- Report and photos after the visit
- Quote
- A fixed quote up front
- Working hours
- Nights, weekends or holidays to suit you
- Telephone
- 0345 646 2711
- Page updated
- 30 October 2026
What affects the cost of grease trap cleaning
We quote each job individually. This is what makes a difference:
- Any permits to work or inductions
- Access, including roofs, risers and ceiling voids
- Whether several sites go on one quote
- One-off work versus a regular cycle
No two sites are the same, so we price each one individually. The size of the job, how we reach it, its condition and the working hours all make a difference.
Asking for a quote
What to send for a quote:
- The roof, plant room or outside wall the system runs to
- Your opening hours and when the area is out of use
- Problems your staff have spotted
- Your last certificate, test record or report
Getting a quote does not take long. Call or email with a few details and you’ll normally have a fixed price within one working day. If we need to see the system first, we book a survey around your hours.
Aftercare tips
Once we have finished, these simple steps help:
- Use strainers in the sink plugholes
- Collect waste cooking oil separately
- Don’t wait for a blockage to book a clean
- Let us know if the kitchen gets busier
Keep used oil out of the drains and the trap won’t fill as quickly. It makes a real difference.
A trap that is left too long stops catching grease. Regular emptying keeps it working and avoids a blockage.
Managing agents and facilities teams in Shelley
The Fire Safety Order 2005 puts the duty to manage fire risk on the responsible person, which may be the employer, owner, landlord, FM or managing agent. Where responsibility is shared, records matter even more.
We also work for facilities teams across offices, schools and healthcare in Shelley and across Essex. Work can be phased by floor, building or site to keep disruption down.
The process
The visit has three parts: set-up, the treatment itself and the sign-off. Getting ready means protecting surfaces and switching off what needs to be off, and the sign-off is a written report with pictures. The middle part takes longest, which takes less than an hour for many under-sink units. Photos of the system and how to reach it help us plan a visit to Shelley.
- A visit is booked around your service.
- The trap is opened up and checked.
- We remove the grease layer and settled solids.
- The inside, baffles and outlet are cleaned.
- We close it up, check it drains and suggest when it needs cleaning again.
How to prepare
- Mention any parking or loading restrictions
- Mention any sign-in, permit or induction we need
- Make sure someone can let us in and lock up afterwards
Ask for a quote
Quoting starts with a diagnosis, from your photos and details or, where that is not enough, a survey on site. Then we send a fixed price, before work begins.
Related advice
Places near Shelley
Also in Shelley
Shelley: your questions answered
Can you work in school kitchens in Shelley during the holidays?
Yes, and it’s the easiest time to do it. There are about 3 schools, colleges and universities on the FSA’s food hygiene register within about 1.5 miles of Shelley. Just call 0345 646 2711 or use the quote form with your term dates and we will plan around them.
Is Shelley within the area you cover?
Yes. Villages and rural sites across the South East are part of our work, Shelley included. Let us know about access, parking and anything unusual about getting there when you book.
Which sectors do you work in?
All kinds of commercial and public premises: from restaurants, pubs and hotels to schools, hospitals, care homes, offices, shops and food production sites. Work is timed around how each site runs.
What’s the right interval for grease trap cleaning?
That depends on the trap and the kitchen. Small under-sink units fill faster than larger traps, and busy kitchens fill them faster still. We’ll suggest an interval after the first clean.
Will cleaning the grease trap fix a blocked drain?
Cleaning the trap deals with the grease it holds and that may solve a slow drain caused by the trap. A blockage deeper in the drains needs a drainage specialist.
What paperwork should we keep on file?
The reports and certificates from each visit, plus your own logs. Insurers, fire officers and EHOs may all ask to see them, so keep them where they can be found quickly.
Are you insured?
Yes. We’re fully insured, and the details are available on request.
What is TR19?
It’s BESA’s specification and the benchmark insurers, fire officers and EHOs look to. It covers how systems are inspected, cleaned and checked and expects a risk-based approach.
What your team can do, and what needs us
In-house cleaning and specialist cleaning do different jobs. A daily filter wipe and a weekly filter wash keep grease down at the front of the system, but they do not reach the grease that builds up further in. Reaching it takes a specialist with the right equipment.
Your own staff can handle the daily basics: wiping canopies, washing grease filters and recording it in a log. What they cannot safely do is clean inside the ductwork, the fan or the risers, and that is where we come in.
When to call us in Shelley
A full trap can’t hold any more grease. It then builds up in the drains and on towards the sewer, where it can cause blockages.
Clients usually contact us after spotting one of these:
- A blocked kitchen drain caused by grease
- Scheduled grease trap emptying
- Washing-up water that will not drain away
- An under-sink trap that keeps filling up
Healthcare kitchens, like those at hospitals such as St. Margaret's Hospital (about 5.1 miles west), cook for long hours, so deep cleans and grease trap work are planned around patients’ meals.
Questions to ask before you book
- Whether a written report and photos are included
- Whether the work can be done while the site is closed
- How areas they cannot reach will be recorded
- Whether VAT is included
What grease trap cleaning looks like in Shelley
The Food Standards Agency lists about 5 pubs, bars and clubs as registered food businesses in and around Shelley, up to about a mile and a half out. Any of them serving food has a kitchen that collects grease out of sight and drains that need protecting. In Shelley, food businesses are inspected by environmental health officers from Epping Forest council. The state of floors, drains and hard-to-reach corners all feeds into the inspection. A cleaning log that includes deep cleans and grease trap visits shows the work is planned.
Hill Hall, about 4.8 miles south-west, is one of the historic houses around Shelley; event kitchens at places like that work in bursts, so a deep clean after a busy season helps. Half-term is a good time for school kitchens, at schools like Ongar Primary School for instance, to have the grease trap emptied and the kitchen deep cleaned.
Shelley is about 7 miles south-east of Harlow, in Essex. Whether your site is in the middle of Shelley or further out, grease trap cleaning is available to all kinds of commercial premises, from a single unit to a large public building. Shelley is one of 644 towns, villages and districts in Essex where we work for commercial clients. Our Chelmsford page covers sites nearby (11 miles or so).
We work across CM5 for grease trap cleaning and the roads nearby. If you need grease trap cleaning at premises on St Peter's Avenue, Bewlay Close and Queensway or a nearby road, our technicians can take on the work. Nearby, we also carry out grease trap cleaning in Chipping Ongar (1 mile south), Greensted (1 mile south-west), High Ongar (1 mile south-east), Bobbingworth (1 mile north-west) and Greensted Green (2 miles west). Larger places within reach include Chelmsford (11 miles east), Basildon (14 miles south-east), Harlow (7 miles north-west), Brentwood (7 miles south-east), Billericay (10 miles south-east) and Loughton (9 miles south-west).
Local landmarks in Shelley
Around Shelley, our work takes us to kitchens and buildings near The Ongar Academy and The Cock Tavern and the streets around them. Well-known places in the area include Willingale Doe (4 miles north-east) and St. Margaret's Hospital (5.1 miles west). Not far away are Gernon Bushes.
When it’s something else
Not every problem is solved by grease trap cleaning, and we’d rather say so up front. It will not put right:
- A unit that can’t cope with the kitchen’s output
- Grease deep in the drains, which needs jetting by a drainage contractor
- Plumbing leaks around the sink
If you’re not sure, just give us a ring on 0345 646 2711 or send us an email and we’ll give you a straight answer before booking.
What the work covers
- Under-sink grease traps
- Kitchen waste pipes
- Pot wash sinks
- Inline grease traps
- School and care home kitchens
- Restaurants and takeaways