FOG Prevention Checklist for Building Engineers

FOG enters drains as liquid, cools, hardens on pipe walls, and narrows the line until it blocks. This checklist keeps small buildup from becoming a flooded compactor room or a sewage backup into a lower-level unit.

Why FOG is a building problem, not a kitchen problem

In a single-family home, FOG buildup takes years to matter. In a building with dozens or hundreds of kitchens feeding shared stacks and horizontal house lines, it accumulates fast — and the backup always appears at the lowest point: basement units, laundry rooms, compactor rooms. NYC buildings can also face Department of Environmental Protection violations when FOG from a building contributes to sewer problems.

Monthly checklist

Kitchen / commercial tenants (if any)

• Grease trap/interceptor inspected and pumping schedule verified
• Trap cleaning documented (keep the manifest — DEP can ask)
• No visible grease dumping in mop sinks or floor drains

Building drains

• Compactor room floor drain flowing freely, no standing water
• Laundry room drains flowing freely
• Basement house-line cleanouts checked for seepage or odor
• Any drain with recurring slow flow logged and scheduled for jetting

Preventive treatment

• Bio-enzymatic drain treatment dosed on schedule (enzyme/bacterial treatments digest FOG in the line; caustic drain openers just push the blockage further down and damage pipes)
• Automatic dosing pumps (if installed) checked for fluid level and operation

Resident communication

• Move-in packet / seasonal notice reminds residents: no grease down the drain, wipe pans before washing (holiday season = peak FOG month; send the reminder in November)

Quarterly / annual

• Hydro-jet horizontal house lines in buildings with any backup history (jetting scours the pipe wall; snaking only pokes a hole through the blockage)
• Camera-inspect lines that have backed up twice in 12 months — repeat backups usually mean a belly or break, not just FOG
• Review which floors report slow drains; a pattern points to the blockage location

Warning signs that need action this week, not this quarter

• Gurgling from floor drains when upper floors run water
• Sewage odor from any drain (the trap may be dry — pour water in first; if odor persists, the line is the problem)
• Water backing up at the lowest fixture in the building