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 representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

  • 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" aren't the only skills we found cleaners list on their resumes. In fact, there's a whole list of cleaner responsibilities that we found, including:

  • Arguably the most important personality trait for a cleaner to have happens to be interpersonal skills. An example from a resume said this about the skill, "janitors and building cleaners should get along well with their supervisors, other cleaners, and the people who live or work in the buildings they clean." Additionally, other resumes have pointed out that cleaners can use interpersonal skills to "encouraged workers to have excellent work ethic and learned interpersonal skills to address conflicts. "
  • Another trait important for fulfilling cleaner duties is mechanical skills. According to a cleaner resume, "janitors and building cleaners should understand general building operations." Here's an example of how cleaners are able to utilize mechanical skills: "report lights out and other mechanical failures sweep, mop, wash and vacuum floors. "
  • Physical strength is also an important skill for cleaners to have. This example of how cleaners use this skill comes from a cleaner resume, "janitors and building cleaners often must lift and move cleaning materials and heavy equipment" Read this excerpt from a resume to understand how vital it is to their everyday roles and responsibilities, "instilled a strong work ethic and endurance by meeting the physical demands of the job. "
  • A cleaner responsibilities sometimes require "time-management skills." The responsibilities that rely on this skills are shown by this resume excerpt: "janitors and building cleaners should be able to plan and complete tasks in a timely manner." This resume example shows how this skill is used by cleaners: "be on time; clean bathrooms including counters, mirrors, sinks etc. "
  • See the full list of cleaner skills.

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    What Maids Do

    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.

    In this section, we take a look at the annual salaries of other professions. Take maid for example. On average, the maids annual salary is $1,675 lower than what cleaners make on average every year.

    Even though cleaners and maids have vast differences in their careers, a few of the skills required to do both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require commercial cleaning, customer service, and window sills in the day-to-day roles.

    These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. A cleaner responsibility is more likely to require skills like "building floors," "ventilation," "cleanliness," and "work ethic." Whereas a maid requires skills like "taking care," "laundry room," "bed sheets," and "clean rooms." Just by understanding these different skills you can see how different these careers are.

    Maids really shine in the construction industry with an average salary of $27,826. Whereas cleaners tend to make the most money in the education industry with an average salary of $29,514.

    The education levels that maids earn is a bit different than that of 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.

    What Are The Duties Of a 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.

    Next up, we have the custodian/substitute custodian profession to look over. This career brings along a higher average salary when compared to a cleaner annual salary. In fact, custodians/substitute custodians salary difference is $2,899 higher than the salary of cleaners per year.

    While the salary may be different for these job positions, there is one similarity and that's a few of the skills needed to perform certain duties. We used info from lots of resumes to find that both cleaners and custodians/substitute custodians are known to have skills such as "building floors," "ventilation," and "cleanliness. "

    While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, several resumes showed us that cleaner responsibilities requires skills like "commercial cleaning," "customer service," "work ethic," and "window sills." But a custodian/substitute custodian might use skills, such as, "ladders," "hallways," "minor maintenance," and "hand tools."

    It's been discovered that custodians/substitute custodians earn higher salaries compared to cleaners, but we wanted to find out where custodians/substitute custodians earned the most pay. The answer? The education industry. The average salary in the industry is $31,734. Additionally, cleaners earn the highest paychecks in the education with an average salary of $29,514.

    On the topic of education, 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.

    How a Janitorial Maintenance Worker Compares

    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 third profession we take a look at is janitorial maintenance worker. On an average scale, these workers bring in lower salaries than cleaners. In fact, they make a $3,377 lower salary per year.

    While looking through the resumes of several cleaners and janitorial maintenance workers we discovered that both professions have similar skills. These similarities include skills such as "commercial cleaning," "building floors," and "cleanliness," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

    As mentioned, these two careers differ between other skills that are required for performing the work exceedingly well. For example, gathering from cleaners resumes, they are more likely to have skills like "ventilation," "customer service," "work ethic," and "window sills." But a janitorial maintenance worker might have skills like "hvac," "osha," "plumbing," and "electrical systems."

    Interestingly enough, janitorial maintenance workers earn the most pay in the retail industry, where they command an average salary of $28,543. As mentioned previously, cleaners highest annual salary comes from the education industry with an average salary of $29,514.

    When it comes to education, janitorial maintenance workers tend to earn similar education levels than 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.

    Description Of a Maid Housekeeper

    The fourth career we look at typically earns higher pay than cleaners. On average, maid housekeepers earn a difference of $232 higher per year.

    According to resumes from both cleaners and maid housekeepers, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "commercial cleaning," "building floors," and "customer service. "

    While some skills are shared by these professions, there are some differences to note. "ventilation," "cleanliness," "work ethic," and "safety procedures" are skills that have shown up on cleaners resumes. Additionally, maid housekeeper uses skills like taking care, fold laundry, kitchen appliances, and guest rooms on their resumes.

    In general, maid housekeepers make a higher salary in the manufacturing industry with an average of $28,828. The highest cleaner annual salary stems from the education industry.

    Maid housekeepers reach similar levels of education when compared to cleaners. The difference is that they're 0.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree less, and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

    What a Cleaner Does FAQs

    How To Promote Your Cleaning Business

    You can promote your cleaning business by running ad campaigns, asking for patient referrals, and connecting with people through social media. Having a social media presence is a great way to promote your cleaning business, and it can be as simple as starting a Facebook page.

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