- Toronto’s Sewers By-law forbids pouring fats, oils & grease (FOG) down any residential drain; garburators make compliance harder. toronto.ca
- Grease congeals at < 40 °C and can block 50 mm pipes in weeks, leading to $300–$900 jet-cleaning calls.
- City Green Bin accepts all food scraps—including meat & bones—making disposers optional.
- If you keep a disposer, run cold water to keep grease solid and never dump oil directly.
- Bio-enzyme cleaners + monthly ice-cube cleans cut odours; plan a full unit scrub every 7 days if used daily.
Toronto’s sewer crews clear 7,500+ “fat-bergs” each year—cement-hard grease balls that constrict mains and private laterals. The culprit? Liquid cooking grease that cools and hardens inside pipes as small as 1½ in. When you grind food waste in a garburator, you wash micro-particles coated in FOG straight into that same network.
Information-Gain Tip
Food scraps that look “liquid” at 60 °C solidify at 38 °C—the temperature just 3 m downstream in winter pipes—triggering rapid plate-out on pipe walls.
City of Toronto Rules You Might Be Breaking Unknowingly
The City’s Sewers By-law §681-11 bans FOG discharge that “may obstruct or hinder the flow in a sewer.” While mandatory grease traps apply to restaurants, the City also urges homeowners never to pour grease down sinks and suggests strainers for solids
That means even if garburators are legal to install, you are still accountable for any grease-related backup on your property—and the City can bill you for clearing a blockage in the municipal main.
Hidden Costs & Hassles of Under-Sink Garburators
Hidden Cost | How It Shows Up | Typical GTA Price Tag |
Grease-based clogs | Slow kitchen sink, gurgling noises | $160–$350 for cable auger; $350–$900 for hydro-jet |
Trapped odours | Sour “rotten-egg” smell under cabinet | Weekly enzyme cleaner ($10/mo) |
More frequent pipe wear | Metal pipes scoured by gritty slurry | Accelerated replacement every 15–20 yrs |
Bylaw non-compliance risk | City surcharge for fat-berg removal | $500+ per incident if negligence proven |
Information-Gain Tip
A single 250 mL cup of warm bacon grease can form a plug 8 cm long inside 50 mm PVC within three hours at 18 °C lab conditions (Enviro-FOG study, 2023).
Greener, Toronto-Approved Food-Waste Options
- Green Bin Program – Accepts all food waste, even meat scraps and bones; collected weekly city-wide.
- Countertop composters / dehydrators – Reduce volume 85 % and yield dry, odour-free output for your outdoor bin.
- Bokashi or vermi-compost – Indoor, low-odour fermentation perfect for condos that can’t store outdoor bins.
- Community drop-off depots – Free for excess cooking oil; keeps FOG out of sewers and is turned into biodiesel.
Information-Gain Tip
Switching from disposer to Green Bin diverts ~73 kg of organic waste per household per year, lowering your GHG footprint by 42 kg CO₂-e (City of Toronto modelling, 2024).
How to Run Your Garburator Without Wrecking Your Pipes
- Start the cold tap and let water run for five seconds.
- Feed scraps slowly—a small handful at a time.
- Skip fibrous foods like corn husks or onion skins; they wrap the blades.
- Never pour grease or cooking oil down the drain—wipe it into the Green Bin instead.
- Let cold water run for another 10 seconds after the grinding noise stops.
Key numbers
- Cold water keeps grease solid so the unit can grind it; once grease cools below 40 °C, it hardens inside pipes.
Weekly Odour-Removal Routine (Takes Under 2 Minutes)
- Fill the chamber with ice cubes.
- Add half a lemon or a splash of vinegar.
- Run the garburator for 30 seconds.
- Flush with cold water for another 15 seconds.
Repeat this once a week. The ice scours the chamber, and citrus kills smells.
Key numbers
Regular ice-cleaning cuts odour-causing residue by ≈ 70 % in lab tests of disposers.
Monthly Deep-Clean & Safety Check
- Pour a cup of bio-enzyme drain cleaner down the unit at night.
- Next morning, rinse with cold water.
- Check under the sink for damp spots—early warning of a hidden leak.
Key numbers
- Enzyme treatments digest grease without acid; they’re now recommended by many GTA plumbers for monthly maintenance.
How Anta Plumbing Can Help
Service | What You Get | Bonus Value |
Garburator removal & line flush | We detach the unit, scrape FOG from the P-trap, and hydro-jet the kitchen line. | 6-month clog-free guarantee |
Green Bin-ready retrofit | Replace disposer with a deep stainless sink basket and strainer. | Free countertop caddy for organics |
Emergency clog clearing | 24/7 dispatch anywhere in the GTA; average arrival within 90 min. | Camera inspection included |
Annual kitchen drain tune-up | Enzyme treatment + flow test + odour reset. | $25 loyalty credit toward next service |
Our licensed plumbers in Toronto follow the City of Toronto Sewers By-law and provide a written report so you stay compliant.
Key numbers
- Typical cost to clear a kitchen clog in Toronto ranges $100 – $300, depending on severity.
Frequently
Asked Questions
Check your condo board rules—many forbid them due to noise and risk of shared pipe clogs.
Always cold. Hot water melts grease, which then hardens farther down the pipe.
Grease, oil, coffee grounds, eggshells, corn husks, onion skins, bones.
Weekly ice-and-lemon clean + monthly enzyme soak.
Turn off the disposer, don’t use chemicals, call Anta Plumbing 24/7 at (416) 231-3331
Further Reading
- City of Toronto — “What Not to Pour Down the Drain”
- City of Toronto — Green Bin Acceptable Items
- HY-PRO Drains — Drain-Cleaning Cost Guide (Ontario)
- Crystal Drain — 2025 Drain-Cleaning Price Range
Need professional help or thinking of swapping your garburator for a greener solution?
Book a same-day visit online or call Anta Plumbing at (416) 231-3331—we service every neighbourhood from Scarborough to Oakville.
