Getting Your Commercial Kitchen Ready for the Christmas Rush

For many kitchens, the weeks before Christmas are the busiest of the year. Full bookings, long menus and big parties push everything to its limit, including your drains.

A blocked drain in December costs you covers, reviews and stress. This checklist helps you get your kitchen drainage ready before the rush starts.

Why December is hard on kitchen drains

More covers means more food waste, more washing up and more grease. Rich, fatty food such as roast meats, gravy and pastry adds to the load. Staff are often new or agency, and they may not know what can and can't go down the sink.

Grease traps that coped in a quiet month can fill fast. Once a trap is full, grease passes through into the drains and builds up. See our post on what happens when you pour fat down the sink.

Your pre-Christmas drainage checklist

1. Service your grease trap

Book a clean before the rush. A trap emptied in early November has room for the whole of December. See our guide on how often a restaurant needs grease trap servicing. Our grease trap cleaning and emptying and grease trap servicing cover this.

2. Check any grease recovery units

If you use an automatic unit, make sure it has been serviced and is working. Our grease recovery unit servicing keeps it running.

3. Clean your kitchen drains

Grease coats the inside of pipes long before they block. A deep clean removes the build-up. Our kitchen drainage cleaning and fat and grease removal deal with it.

4. Check floor drains and gullies

Look for slow drains, smells and standing water. Clear any grilles. Note anything that needs a closer look.

5. Train the team

Brief every member of staff, including seasonal and agency staff:

• Scrape plates into the food bin
• Wipe greasy pans with paper before washing
• Never pour fat, oil or grease down any sink
• Use strainers on sinks
• Report slow drains straight away

6. Check your paperwork

Keep your waste transfer notes and service records in one place. They show you are looking after your system. Read about what restaurants get fined for so you stay on the right side of the rules.

7. Check the toilets

Busy weeks bring busy toilets. Put out "bin it, don't flush it" signs and check bins are in place. Read what to do if toilets block during a busy weekend.

8. Save the emergency number

Put our number on the kitchen wall and in your managers' phones. Our 24/7 emergency call-outs run 365 days a year, including bank holidays.

9. Plan around closing days

If you shut over Christmas, book your clean for just before. Don't leave grease sitting in the pipes for days. We can work out of hours, early, late or at weekends.

Think long term

If you do this every year, you may be better off with a regular plan. Our planned restaurant drainage maintenance schedules the visits for you. See why it makes sense in why planned maintenance is cheaper than waiting for a breakdown.

Book before the rush

Slots fill up in November. Call 0203 870 1067, email contactus@icedrainage.co.uk or get a quote today. We start with a free site survey.

Related reading: fat, oil and grease management.