What does a cleaner do?
Cleaners ensure that a room, building, or other area is spotless. They clean by mopping floors, dusting cabinets, wiping surfaces, among others. They are in charge of ensuring that all areas are sanitized and always ready for use. They manage the sanitation of the washrooms. They also manage cleaning supplies and update the inventory when needed. They create requests for needed purchases of cleaning materials. They also keep a record of areas with routine cleaning needs to ensure that they will not be missed.
Cleaner responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real cleaner resumes:
- Operate a forklift for logistic, to manage and relocate BMW's fixture material.
- Remove snow from sidewalks, using snow blowers, and/or snow shovels, and spread snow melting chemicals.
- Use of various equipment used for methods of cleaning areas in the school such sweepers and snow blowers.
- Maintain church building and grounds by handling general maintenance including electrical and plumbing and providing custodial services
- Complete weekly order for PPE.
- Clean Toyota after trucks build.
- Follow attendance, punctuality and proper dress rules.
- Perform all custodial tasks with the utmost in safety and dexterity.
- Organize and maintain inventory of cleaning supplies and proper PPE equipment.
- Polish chrome, clean ceilings, walls, baseboards and marble floors.
- Establish knowledge of important industrial safety standards (OSHA, MSHA).
- Work at Toyota cleaning where the cars have gone through and gotten paint.
- Get in and out of a booth while also keeping the cleaning to Honda standards.
- Notify management concerning need for major repairs or additions to lighting, heating and ventilation equipment.
- Used hand and power tools such as floor polishers, ladders, mops and floor strippers.
Cleaner skills and personality traits
We calculated that 8% of Cleaners are proficient in Commercial Cleaning, Building Floors, and Ventilation. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Mechanical skills, and Physical strength.
We break down the percentage of Cleaners that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Commercial Cleaning, 8%
Provide routine and detailed cleaning of interior and exterior of foreclosed homes using commercial cleaning equipment.
- Building Floors, 8%
Gather and empty trash and bins, clean cafeterias, clean building floors by sweeping, mopping, or vacuuming them.
- Ventilation, 8%
Clean residential and commercial ventilation systems across Denver Metro area; offer additional services to customers based on inspection of system
- Cleanliness, 7%
Determined cleanliness of facility by performing dusting and wiping activities.
- Customer Service, 7%
Cleaned assigned facilities, maintained assigned grounds areas and provided customer service to building occupants.
- Work Ethic, 6%
Recognized for outstanding work ethic and performance
"commercial cleaning," "building floors," and "ventilation" are among the most common skills that cleaners use at work. You can find even more cleaner responsibilities below, including:
Interpersonal skills. One of the key soft skills for a cleaner to have is interpersonal skills. You can see how this relates to what cleaners do because "janitors and building cleaners must interact well other cleaners and the people who live or work in the buildings they service." Additionally, a cleaner resume shows how cleaners use interpersonal skills: "encouraged workers to have excellent work ethic and learned interpersonal skills to address conflicts. "
Mechanical skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling cleaner duties is mechanical skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "janitors and building cleaners need to understand general building operations and should be able to make routine repairs, such as to leaky faucets." According to a cleaner resume, here's how cleaners can utilize mechanical skills in their job responsibilities: "report lights out and other mechanical failures sweep, mop, wash and vacuum floors. "
Physical strength. This is an important skill for cleaners to perform their duties. For an example of how cleaner responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "janitors and building cleaners often must lift and move heavy cleaning materials and equipment." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a cleaner: "instilled a strong work ethic and endurance by meeting the physical demands of the job. ".
Time-management skills. cleaner responsibilities often require "time-management skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "janitors and building cleaners must plan and complete tasks in a timely manner." This resume example shows what cleaners do with time-management skills on a typical day: "be on time; clean bathrooms including counters, mirrors, sinks etc. "
The three companies that hire the most cleaners are:
- ABM Industries3,394 cleaners jobs
- Walmart591 cleaners jobs
- Uline338 cleaners jobs
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Compare different cleaners
Cleaner vs. Maid
Maids are individuals who perform domestic chores like ironing, grocery shopping, cleaning, and laundry. Primarily, maids oversee the maintenance of wardrobes, serve meals, and lay out clothes. They can carry out their job independently and adhere to the strict schedules set for them. They maintain the cleaning records as well as the supply inventory in organizations or residences. Maids are expected to be equipped with physical capabilities, along with cleaning, time management, customer service, and organizational skills.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a cleaner are more likely to require skills like "building floors," "ventilation," "cleanliness," and "work ethic." On the other hand, a job as a maid requires skills like "taking care," "laundry room," "bed sheets," and "clean rooms." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Maids really shine in the construction industry with an average salary of $27,826. Comparatively, cleaners tend to make the most money in the education industry with an average salary of $29,514.The education levels that maids earn slightly differ from cleaners. In particular, maids are 0.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a cleaner. Additionally, they're 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Cleaner vs. Custodian/substitute custodian
A custodian is primarily responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of a particular area, including preparing and setting-up equipment for public or private use. Although their duties depend on their area of assignment or industry of employment, those duties often include conducting routine maintenance checks on facilities, performing basic repairs, cleaning floors and windows, replacing fixtures, monitoring supply inventories, and ordering new supplies as necessary.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that cleaner responsibilities requires skills like "commercial cleaning," "customer service," "work ethic," and "window sills." But a custodian/substitute custodian might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "ladders," "hallways," "minor maintenance," and "hand tools."
Custodians/substitute custodians earn a higher average salary than cleaners. But custodians/substitute custodians earn the highest pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $31,734. Additionally, cleaners earn the highest salaries in the education with average pay of $29,514 annually.custodians/substitute custodians earn similar levels of education than cleaners in general. They're 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Cleaner vs. Janitorial maintenance worker
A janitorial maintenance worker is one of the busiest employees in a company. They are responsible for inspecting all the office's rooms and equipment daily. They do the workplace's maintenance, including completing necessary repairs and replacing supplies. They mop the floor, wipe windows and blinds, and disinfect dirty areas. They also ensure that all employees go in and out of the office in a clean and orderly manner.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, cleaners are more likely to have skills like "ventilation," "customer service," "work ethic," and "window sills." But a janitorial maintenance worker is more likely to have skills like "hvac," "osha," "plumbing," and "electrical systems."
Janitorial maintenance workers earn the best pay in the retail industry, where they command an average salary of $28,543. Cleaners earn the highest pay from the education industry, with an average salary of $29,514.When it comes to education, janitorial maintenance workers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to cleaners. In fact, they're 0.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Cleaner vs. Maid housekeeper
Types of cleaner
Updated January 8, 2025
