What does a car cleaner do?
Car Cleaners are Responsible for cleaning and washing vehicles for their exterior and interior. Their duties include greeting customers, soap application, cleaning dirt and spraying rims and tires, spray windows using cleaning agent, wax application, rinsing away soap, car debris removal, vacuuming to suck debris and dirt, applying upholstery cleaner for stains and dirt removal, rear window cleaning, as well as cleaning console and dash using a soft cloth. Other duties include processing payments, managing the cash register, ensuring vehicle valuables remain undisturbed, delivering receipt, directing the client to the car after service, and handling customer complaints.
Car cleaner responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real car cleaner resumes:
- Inspect transit equipment and vehicles for cleanliness and damages to insure compliance with standards and transit regulations.
- Use equipment such as sanders, grinders, automate immersion unit, high pressure spraying units, and vapor units.
- Work in the sanitizing section with the duties of maintaining, cleaning, and prepping full face respirators for re-issue.
- Couple air and electrical connections between locomotives.
- Clean multiple commercial building using industrialize buffers, scrubbers and/or vacuum equipment.
- Disassemble finishing booths and trolleys.
- Clean and pre-soak machines before use.
Car cleaner skills and personality traits
We calculated that 41% of Car Cleaners are proficient in Clean Windows, Vehicle Damage, and Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Listening skills, and Physical strength.
We break down the percentage of Car Cleaners that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Clean Windows, 41%
Empty trash, vacuum floors, clean windows, wipe down elevators, mob floors and clean tables in eating areas.
- Vehicle Damage, 28%
Check for vehicle damage and ensure features of the vehicles are operational.
- Customer Service, 16%
Cleaned assigned facilities, maintained assigned grounds areas and provided customer service to building occupants.
- Clean Vehicle, 11%
Assist with local automobile deliveries Clean vehicles exterior by hand, brush or by operating washing equipment
- Vehicle Exterior, 2%
Washed vehicle exteriors to clean and further detail exotic and otherwise imported automobiles.
- Cleanliness, 1%
Assist with the concentrated effort to maintain cleanliness on all Trains patrons ride on.
Most car cleaners use their skills in "clean windows," "vehicle damage," and "customer service" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential car cleaner responsibilities here:
Customer-service skills. The most essential soft skill for a car cleaner to carry out their responsibilities is customer-service skills. This skill is important for the role because "hand laborers and material movers who work with the public, such as grocery baggers or carwash attendants, must be pleasant and courteous to customers." Additionally, a car cleaner resume shows how their duties depend on customer-service skills: "demonstrated excellent customer service skills efficiently utilized cleaning equipment and solutions protected and preserved car interiors and exteriors"
Listening skills. Many car cleaner duties rely on listening skills. "hand laborers and material movers follow instructions that a supervisor gives them.," so a car cleaner will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways car cleaner responsibilities rely on listening skills: "communicated with patrons to sell and assemble rental equipment. "
Physical strength. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of car cleaners is physical strength. This skill is critical to many everyday car cleaner duties, as "some hand laborers and material movers must be able to lift and carry heavy objects." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "maintained schools physical facilities to ensure cleanliness and safety. "
The three companies that hire the most car cleaners are:
- The Hertz Corporation120 car cleaners jobs
- Enterprise Holdings34 car cleaners jobs
- ABM Industries29 car cleaners jobs
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Compare different car cleaners
Car cleaner vs. Service porter
Typically working in car dealerships, a service porter is in charge of performing a variety of tasks to maintain smooth operations. They maintain vehicles in good condition by conducting regular maintenance checks and repairs, refilling gas tanks, inspecting tires and batteries, and cleaning the interior and exterior of cars. There are also instances where they perform clerical support tasks such as answering calls and correspondence, preparing and processing documents, and monitoring the inventory. Moreover, a service porter may also assist potential buyers and keep them company during test drives.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between car cleaners and service porter. For instance, car cleaner responsibilities require skills such as "clean windows," "vehicle damage," "clean vehicle," and "vehicle exterior." Whereas a service porter is skilled in "customer vehicles," "work ethic," "service drive," and "general cleanup." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Service porters really shine in the real estate industry with an average salary of $28,989. Comparatively, car cleaners tend to make the most money in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $29,610.On average, service porters reach similar levels of education than car cleaners. Service porters are 1.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Car cleaner vs. Detail specialist
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, car cleaner responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "vehicle damage," "cleanliness," "rental cars," and "exterior body." Meanwhile, a detail specialist has duties that require skills in areas such as "customer vehicles," "vacuum carpets," "customer satisfaction," and "exterior windows." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Detail specialists earn similar levels of education than car cleaners in general. They're 1.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Car cleaner vs. Pressure washer
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a car cleaner is likely to be skilled in "vehicle damage," "customer service," "clean vehicle," and "vehicle exterior," while a typical pressure washer is skilled in "pressure wash," "sidewalks," "etc," and "safety procedures."
Most pressure washers achieve a similar degree level compared to car cleaners. For example, they're 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Car cleaner vs. Truck washer
Types of car cleaner
Updated January 8, 2025
