Grease Trap Cleaning & Maintenance in Miami: What Every Restaurant Owner Needs to Know

If you operate a restaurant, commercial kitchen, or food service business in Miami, your grease trap is one of the most important — and most overlooked — components of your plumbing system. Neglecting it can mean fines from Miami-Dade County, a catastrophic kitchen backup during dinner service, or a costly sewer line repair.

At Borkat Plumbing Services, we help Miami food service businesses stay compliant, operational, and free of grease-related plumbing emergencies.

A grease trap (also called a grease interceptor) is a plumbing device installed in the drain line between your kitchen fixtures and the municipal sewer system. Its job is to capture fats, oils, and grease (FOG) before they enter the sewer — where they can solidify, cause blockages, and create serious environmental and infrastructure problems.

Miami-Dade County's Department of Environmental Resources Management (DERM) requires most food service establishments to have a properly functioning grease trap and to maintain it on a regular schedule.

The general rule of thumb is the "25% rule": a grease trap should be cleaned when the combined depth of FOG and solids reaches 25% of the trap's total liquid depth. In practice, this typically means:

• High-volume restaurants: Every 1–4 weeks
• Mid-volume food service: Every 1–3 months
• Low-volume operations: Every 3–6 months

Miami's warm climate accelerates grease breakdown and odor development, so many local operators find they need more frequent service than national averages suggest. Our team will assess your specific volume and recommend a maintenance schedule that keeps you compliant without unnecessary service calls.

Don't wait for a backup to call a plumber. Watch for these warning signs:

• Slow drains in kitchen sinks or floor drains
• Foul sewage odors coming from drains or near the trap
• Grease visible in drain lines or backing up into sinks
• Failed health inspection citing grease trap issues
• Gurgling sounds from kitchen plumbing

Any of these symptoms means your grease trap is overdue for service — and a backup could be imminent.

Borkat Plumbing's grease trap service includes:

1. Pump-out — We remove all accumulated FOG, solids, and wastewater from the trap
2. Scraping and cleaning — The interior walls, baffles, and lid are scraped and cleaned to remove hardened grease
3. Inspection — We check the trap's baffles, inlet/outlet pipes, and overall structural condition
4. Disposal — All waste is disposed of in accordance with Miami-Dade County regulations
5. Documentation — We provide a service record you can present during health inspections

Miami-Dade County takes FOG compliance seriously. Violations can result in:

• Fines from DERM or the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department
• Mandatory corrective action orders
• Temporary closure during health inspections
• Liability for sewer line damage caused by FOG discharge

Borkat Plumbing keeps detailed service records for every grease trap we maintain, giving you documentation to present to inspectors and regulators on demand.

If your commercial kitchen is undergoing renovation, expansion, or if your existing trap is undersized or damaged, Borkat Plumbing handles full grease trap installation and replacement. We size traps correctly for your kitchen's flow rate and ensure installation meets Miami-Dade permitting requirements.

Common situations requiring a new grease trap installation:

• New restaurant buildout or kitchen renovation
• Existing trap is cracked, corroded, or structurally compromised
• Trap is undersized for current kitchen volume
• Change of use requiring upgraded FOG management

Grease trap cleaning is most effective when paired with a broader commercial plumbing maintenance plan. We recommend combining grease trap service with:

• Hydro jetting of kitchen drain lines to remove FOG buildup downstream of the trap
• Camera inspection to identify any grease accumulation in sewer lines
• Backflow testing to ensure your water supply remains uncontaminated

• Licensed & Insured — State Certificate CFC1430105
• 20+ Years serving Miami commercial properties
• Compliance documentation provided after every service
• 24/7 Emergency Service — because kitchen backups don't wait for business hours
• Transparent pricing — no hidden fees

Keep your kitchen running and your business compliant. Call Borkat Plumbing at (305) 244-6023 or visit our contact page to schedule grease trap cleaning or to set up a recurring maintenance plan for your Miami restaurant or food service operation.

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