What does a building custodian do?
Building custodian responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real building custodian resumes:
- Use of floor scrubbers and carpet machine.s.
- Clean all bathrooms including fixtures, urinals, toilets, washbowls and wall tiles.
- Sweep all floors, scrub interior and exterior surfaces including underside lips of commodes, urinals and wash basins.
- Maintain a positive accountability for cleanliness for a secure government building.
- Perform mechanical repairs and services to plumbing, electrical, mechanical systems and large rotating equipment including refrigeration systems.
- Perform emergencies work requests, schedule and unschedule maintenance program, emergencies and coordinate special projects as directed.
Building custodian skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of Building Custodians are proficient in GRASS, Building Floors, and Ladders. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Physical strength, and Time-management skills.
We break down the percentage of Building Custodians that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- GRASS, 10%
Raked leaves, cut and watered grass.
- Building Floors, 9%
Monitored building security and safety after operating hours Cleaned building floors and restrooms, using chemical cleaners and power equipment
- Ladders, 6%
Set up, arranged and removed decorations, tables, chairs, ladders and scaffolding to prepare facilities for large events.
- Light Fixtures, 6%
Clean light fixtures, windows, walls, furniture and blinds.
- Cleanliness, 6%
Maintained a positive accountability for cleanliness for a secured government building.
- Building Maintenance, 5%
Maintain budget for Building Maintenance.
Most building custodians use their skills in "grass," "building floors," and "ladders" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential building custodian responsibilities here:
Interpersonal skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a building custodian to have is interpersonal skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "janitors and building cleaners must interact well other cleaners and the people who live or work in the buildings they service." Building custodians often use interpersonal skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "general maintenance of grounds other routine maintenance duties as assigned skills used good communication and interpersonal skills. "
Physical strength. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling building custodian duties is physical strength. The role rewards competence in this skill because "janitors and building cleaners often must lift and move heavy cleaning materials and equipment." According to a building custodian resume, here's how building custodians can utilize physical strength in their job responsibilities: "performed routine maintenance to ensure the efficiency of machinery operations, and quality of the physical condition of the building. "
Time-management skills. building custodians are also known for time-management skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to building custodian responsibilities, because "janitors and building cleaners must plan and complete tasks in a timely manner." A building custodian resume example shows how time-management skills is used in the workplace: "clean office buildings, schools and performed landscaping.lead worker for a team of six employees making sure work was don on time"
Mechanical skills. A big part of what building custodians do relies on "mechanical skills." You can see how essential it is to building custodian responsibilities because "janitors and building cleaners need to understand general building operations and should be able to make routine repairs, such as to leaky faucets." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical building custodian tasks: "fixed and repaired minor plumbing, electrical, and mechanical problems. "
The three companies that hire the most building custodians are:
- Hallmark Services Corporation4 building custodians jobs
- City of Pueblo2 building custodians jobs
- Gwinnett County2 building custodians jobs
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Compare different building custodians
Building custodian vs. Porter
A porter is responsible for managing the building's cleanliness and orderliness, together with the cleaning maintenance team. Duties of a porter include ensuring the premises' safety, operating cleaning tools and equipment, and performing basic troubleshooting for defective machines. Other tasks include assisting visitors with their inquiries, leading clients to the appropriate departments, adhering to the highest safety standards and procedures, and answering maintenance calls. A porter must have excellent time-management and multi-tasking skills to ensure daily smooth operations.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a building custodian are more likely to require skills like "ladders," "floor care," "polish furniture," and "clean carpets." On the other hand, a job as a porter requires skills like "excellent guest," "dexterity," "manual dexterity," and "customer service." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Porters really shine in the retail industry with an average salary of $30,781. Comparatively, building custodians tend to make the most money in the government industry with an average salary of $30,959.On average, porters reach similar levels of education than building custodians. Porters are 0.9% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Building custodian vs. Sanitation worker
A sanitation worker is employed to carry out valuable community tasks like garbage collection, hauling, and disposal. Sanitation workers take responsibility for the cleanliness and maintenance of the community. They ride or drive garbage trucks to collect trash from businesses and residents every day. They may work within companies as well following their respective corporate policies. One can become a sanitation worker if they have a college degree, high school degree, or any relevant job experience.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, building custodian responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "grass," "ladders," "light fixtures," and "building maintenance." Meanwhile, a sanitation worker has duties that require skills in areas such as "pallet jack," "food safety," "safety standards," and "production equipment." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, sanitation workers earn a higher salary than building custodians. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, sanitation workers earn the most pay in the government industry with an average salary of $38,278. Whereas building custodians have higher pay in the government industry, with an average salary of $30,959.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Sanitation workers tend to reach similar levels of education than building custodians. In fact, they're 1.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Building custodian vs. Day porter
Day porters are skilled employees who are responsible for conducting daily building maintenance at a facility to ensure it looks neat and presentable to the public. These porters are required to clean all common room areas such as the kitchen, cafeteria, and lobby as well as prepare conference rooms before and after meetings. They must complete minor repairs and place safety hazard signs in the building to warn customers and employees. Day porters must also provide service washrooms while responding to major spills or other cleaning crises.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from building custodian resumes include skills like "grass," "snow removal," "building security," and "floor equipment," whereas a day porter is more likely to list skills in "customer service," "work ethic," "strong work ethic," and "abm. "
Day porters earn the highest salary when working in the utilities industry, where they receive an average salary of $28,643. Comparatively, building custodians have the highest earning potential in the government industry, with an average salary of $30,959.day porters typically earn similar educational levels compared to building custodians. Specifically, they're 1.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Building custodian vs. Carpet technician
Types of building custodian
Updated January 8, 2025
