Drain maintenance in care homes: are you managing the risk?
Blocked drains and persistent odours are a compliance risk in any care home kitchen — and most sites don't experience a sudden crisis. They operate in a persistent low-level state: slow drains, recurring odours, gradual build-up, while that same build-up continues downstream into the public sewer network they're legally responsible for.
The Legal Picture
The Environmental Protection Act 1990 and sewer misuse provisions under the Water Industry Act 1991 (and equivalent sewerage legislation in Scotland, enforced by Scottish Water) make it an offence to discharge substances that can damage or obstruct the public sewer network, including fats, oils and grease (FOG).
Food hygiene legislation – including the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 and the Food Hygiene (Scotland) Regulations 2006 – requires care homes to maintain premises, waste systems and drainage in a clean and hygienic condition, particularly where they may affect food safety.
In practice, care home operators are responsible for:
- Preventing FOG entering drains and sewers
- Avoiding blockages or damage to pipework
- Ensuring drainage systems do not pose a hygiene risk
These are ongoing duties, requiring routine maintenance and effective controls – not action taken only in response to incidents.
The Solution: Prevention is the right strategy
PlatinumEco Probiotic Drain Cleaner & Maintainer works differently from chemical alternatives. Rather than clearing a blockage temporarily, it digests the fats, grease, proteins and organic matter that cause the problem at source. Naturally occurring bacterial spores and enzymes continue working after application — drains stay cleaner, remain free-flowing, and are free from malodours that chemical cleaners only mask.
It's not just the kitchen either. Bathrooms, laundry and sluice rooms accumulate biofilm, soap scum and organic residue. Higher occupancy accelerates build-up. Slow drainage or persistent odours anywhere in the building can become a hygiene concern or an inspection finding. Prevention is the right strategy.
Plant-derived and fully biodegradable, it supports your environmental commitments as well as your compliance obligations — with no harmful residues entering the drainage system. Documented within your HACCP and cleaning plans, it provides an audit-ready approach you can evidence at inspection.
- Contains naturally occurring bacterial spores, enzymes and plant-derived surfactants
- Digests fats, grease, proteins, starches and other organic residues
- Rapidly clears drains and keeps traps and drains open and free-flowing
- Destroys the source of malodours — not just the smell
- Supports compliance with Water Industry Act 1991, Environmental Protection Act 1990, and Food Safety & Hygiene Regulations
- Beneficial to septic tank systems
- Biodegradable; plant-derived surfactants
- Packaged in a recyclable 10 litre bottle made with 30% PCR content
- Suitable for both manual and automatic dosing systems
Dosing Guide
- Manual Dosing:
- Drains, small bore pipes, sinks - Initial Dose: 500ml
- Drains, small bore pipes, sinks - Maintenance Dose: 50ml per day
- Grease traps - Initial Dose: 1000ml
- Grease traps - Maintenance Dose: 150ml per day
- Automatic Dosing:
- Grease traps (size <50 litre) - Initial Dose: 1000ml
- Grease traps (size <50 litre) - Maintenance Dose: 3ml per litre of trap volume
- Grease traps (size >50 litre) - Initial Dose: 1500ml
- Grease traps (size >50 litre) - Maintenance Dose: 2ml per litre of trap volume
- Pipe run length (<15 metres) - Initial Dose: 500ml
- Pipe run length (<15 metres) - Maintenance Dose: 50ml
- Pipe run length (>15 metres) - Initial Dose: 500ml
- Pipe run length (>15 metres) - Maintenance Dose: 150ml
Instructions for Use
- Use 2 hours after the end of the working day, after liquid flow from the drain system is over.
- Manual Dosing: Pour directly into drains, small bore pipes and sinks (outlets and overflows).
For grease traps pour into the nearest access point up-stream from trap, followed by 1 litre water.
- Automatic Dosing: Calculate daily dose according to volume of grease trap or length of pipe run.