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What does an industrial cleaner do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read

Although often seen as insignificant and overlooked, cleaners are a major part of any industry. An industrial cleaner generally ensures that a work environment is conducive for the staff working in the building. They typically clean bathrooms, floors, tiles, carpets, desks, and other specific areas using various cleaning equipment, such as mops and vacuum cleaners. They are also tasked with the prompt removal and disposal of wastebaskets. Cleaning tasks might have to be repeated several times during the day, depending on organizational instructions.

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Industrial cleaner responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real industrial cleaner resumes:

  • Operate a forklift for logistic, to manage and relocate BMW's fixture material.
  • Train new hires, operate various floor scrubbers.
  • Execute commercial building following safety awareness to maintain cleanliness and neatness of working area and premises.
  • Disinfect equipment and supplies, using germicides or steam-operate sterilizers.

Industrial cleaner skills and personality traits

We calculated that 31% of Industrial Cleaners are proficient in Industrial Cleaning, Building Floors, and Safety Procedures. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Mechanical skills, and Physical strength.

We break down the percentage of Industrial Cleaners that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Industrial Cleaning, 31%

    Conducted industrial cleaning working with high pressure cleaning machines up to 25000 psi that removed set up products inside vessels.

  • Building Floors, 11%

    Inspected facility and grounds and picked up trash Cleaned building floors by sweeping, mopping, scrubbing and vacuuming.

  • Safety Procedures, 8%

    Follow safety procedures in order to maintain a safe working environment.

  • Scrubbers, 5%

    Maintained working facilities-Used floor scrubbers to clean assigned areas-Polished floors-Cleaned bathrooms and took out garbage to maintain a clean environment

  • Steel Toe Boots, 5%

    Wear all safety apparel, steel toe boots, rubber aprons, gloves, and face shield.

  • PPE, 4%

    Organized and maintained inventory of cleaning supplies and proper PPE equipment.

"industrial cleaning," "building floors," and "safety procedures" are among the most common skills that industrial cleaners use at work. You can find even more industrial cleaner responsibilities below, including:

Interpersonal skills. One of the key soft skills for an industrial cleaner to have is interpersonal skills. You can see how this relates to what industrial 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, an industrial cleaner resume shows how industrial cleaners use interpersonal skills: "general maintenance of grounds other routine maintenance duties as assigned skills used good communication and interpersonal skills. "

Mechanical skills. Another essential skill to perform industrial cleaner duties is mechanical skills. Industrial cleaners responsibilities require that "janitors and building cleaners need to understand general building operations and should be able to make routine repairs, such as to leaky faucets." Industrial cleaners also use mechanical skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "perform preventative and general maintenance and may assist with minor repairs to building and mechanical operating systems. "

Physical strength. This is an important skill for industrial cleaners to perform their duties. For an example of how industrial 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 an industrial cleaner: "performed routine maintenance to ensure the efficiency of machinery operations, and quality of the physical condition of the building. ".

Time-management skills. A big part of what industrial cleaners do relies on "time-management skills." You can see how essential it is to industrial cleaner responsibilities because "janitors and building cleaners must plan and complete tasks in a timely manner." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical industrial cleaner tasks: "be on time * wear proper work clothes * clean windows"

All industrial cleaner skills

The three companies that hire the most industrial cleaners are:

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Compare different industrial cleaners

Industrial cleaner vs. Floor staff

The duties of floor staff depend on their line of work or industry of employment. In restaurants and similar establishments, floor staff is in charge of performing support tasks for the wait staff. They typically serve food to patrons, clean and set tables, help in processing payments, monitor the supplies, and maintain the cleanliness of different areas. They may also assist customers by escorting them to their tables, answering inquiries, and delivering their bills. Furthermore, should there be any problems, the floor staff must report to the manager right away.

The annual salary of floor staff is $4,820 higher than the average salary of industrial cleaners.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an industrial cleaner are more likely to require skills like "industrial cleaning," "building floors," "safety procedures," and "scrubbers." On the other hand, a job as a floor staff requires skills like "pos," "phone calls," "cleanliness," and "math." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Floor staff tend to reach similar levels of education than industrial cleaners. In fact, floor staff are 0.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Industrial cleaner vs. Floor care specialist

A floor care specialist is in charge of the maintenance of floors in public or private establishments. They typically ensure the cleanliness of floors by sweeping, dry and wet mopping, disinfecting areas, extracting or sanitizing carpets, vacuuming, and scrubbing bathroom floors. They may also participate in installing or refinishing floor tiles, preparing facilities, and re-arranging furniture. Moreover, a floor care specialist must maintain the cleanliness of floors while maintaining an active communication line with co-workers and managers for a smooth and efficient workflow.

Floor care specialist positions earn higher pay than industrial cleaner roles. They earn a $5,799 higher salary than industrial cleaners per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both industrial cleaners and floor care specialists have skills such as "industrial cleaning," "scrubbers," and "commercial cleaning. "

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that industrial cleaner responsibilities requires skills like "building floors," "safety procedures," "steel toe boots," and "ppe." But a floor care specialist might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "patients," "home health," "rehabilitation," and "cleanliness."

On average, floor care specialists earn a higher salary than industrial cleaners. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, floor care specialists earn the most pay in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $34,345. Whereas industrial cleaners have higher pay in the energy industry, with an average salary of $29,976.In general, floor care specialists achieve higher levels of education than industrial cleaners. They're 5.5% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Industrial cleaner 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.

An average day porter eans a higher salary compared to the average salary of industrial cleaners. The difference in salaries amounts to day porters earning a $453 higher average salary than industrial cleaners.Using the responsibilities included on industrial cleaners and day porters resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "industrial cleaning," "building floors," and "scrubbers.rdquo;

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from industrial cleaner resumes include skills like "safety procedures," "steel toe boots," "ppe," and "power washers," whereas a day porter is more likely to list skills in "customer service," "work ethic," "strong work ethic," and "abm. "

Day porters earn the best pay in the utilities industry, where they command an average salary of $28,643. Industrial cleaners earn the highest pay from the energy industry, with an average salary of $29,976.day porters typically earn similar educational levels compared to industrial cleaners. Specifically, they're 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Industrial cleaner 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.

Sanitation workers tend to earn a higher pay than industrial cleaners by an average of $4,792 per year.According to resumes from industrial cleaners and sanitation workers, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "industrial cleaning," "building floors," and "safety procedures. "Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. An industrial cleaner uses "steel toe boots," "power washers," "commercial cleaning," and "clean windows." Sanitation workers are more likely to have duties that require skills in "cleanliness," "pallet jack," "food safety," and "safety standards. "sanitation workers enjoy the best pay in the government industry, with an average salary of $38,278. For comparison, industrial cleaners earn the highest salary in the energy industry.The average resume of sanitation workers showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to industrial cleaners. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 0.9% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.1%.

Types of industrial cleaner

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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