What does a professional cleaner do?
Professional cleaner responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real professional cleaner resumes:
- Supervise and train maids in their cleaning duties to ensure company standards of cleanliness are achieved.
- Assist in cleaning restroom facilities including cleaning toilets, urinals, sinks, and mopping floors.
- Execute commercial building following safety awareness to maintain cleanliness and neatness of working area and premises.
- Sweep mop sanitize and disinfect surfaces dust buff floors clean restrooms basements clean out stoves and refrigerators etc
Professional cleaner skills and personality traits
We calculated that 25% of Professional Cleaners are proficient in Building Floors, Clean Bathrooms, and Clean Windows. They’re also known for soft skills such as Mechanical skills, Physical strength, and Time-management skills.
We break down the percentage of Professional Cleaners that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Building Floors, 25%
Clean building floors by sweeping, mopping, scrubbing, or vacuuming.
- Clean Bathrooms, 16%
Clean floors, clean bathroom and took out trash
- Clean Windows, 13%
Clean windows, glass partitions and mirrors.
- Office Buildings, 9%
Maintain cleanliness in office buildings: Mopping, sweeping, cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming floors, dusting and trash removal.
- Light Fixtures, 6%
Cleaned all light fixtures, ceiling fans, moldings, and doors.
- Commercial Cleaning, 4%
Conducted general residential and commercial cleaning duties, working on a team environment and achieving goals within limited time allocations.
Most professional cleaners use their skills in "building floors," "clean bathrooms," and "clean windows" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential professional cleaner responsibilities here:
Mechanical skills. The most essential soft skill for a professional cleaner to carry out their responsibilities is mechanical skills. This skill is important for the role because "janitors and building cleaners need to understand general building operations and should be able to make routine repairs, such as to leaky faucets." Additionally, a professional cleaner resume shows how their duties depend on mechanical skills: "stripped and waxed floors; vacuum and shampoo carpets; and dusted assigned areas using manual or mechanical equipment. "
Physical strength. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling professional cleaner 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 professional cleaner resume, here's how professional cleaners can utilize physical strength in their job responsibilities: "repair, maintain physical structures of school, office buildings,use of hand tools and power tools. "
Time-management skills. professional cleaners are also known for time-management skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to professional cleaner responsibilities, because "janitors and building cleaners must plan and complete tasks in a timely manner." A professional cleaner resume example shows how time-management skills is used in the workplace: "clean houses interacting with clients solving problems quickly working as a team to meet our deadline"
The three companies that hire the most professional cleaners are:
- McLemore Building Maintenance
12 professional cleaners jobs
- MaidPro10 professional cleaners jobs
- Maid Right5 professional cleaners jobs
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Compare different professional cleaners
Professional 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.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between professional cleaners and maid. For instance, professional cleaner responsibilities require skills such as "building floors," "wax floors," "squeegees," and "soapy water." Whereas a maid is skilled in "taking care," "laundry room," "customer service," and "bed sheets." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Maids really shine in the construction industry with an average salary of $27,826. Comparatively, professional cleaners tend to make the most money in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $28,190.On average, maids reach similar levels of education than professional cleaners. Maids are 0.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Professional cleaner vs. Janitor
Janitors are primarily responsible for maintaining the sanitation and cleanliness of the workspace. They are in charge of sweeping and mopping floors, wiping surfaces, and ensuring that the area they are assigned to is properly sanitized. They manage the inventory of supplies and ensure that they would never run out of cleaning supplies by properly tracking the usage of each material. Some skilled janitors are also responsible for doing minor repairs to different office equipment and fixtures. They also help in company event setups and cleanups, as well as in liaising tasks that the office might need.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, professional cleaner responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "customers homes," "clients homes," "commercial buildings," and "routine inspections." Meanwhile, a janitor has duties that require skills in areas such as "cleanliness," "patients," "customer service," and "work ethic." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Janitors earn a higher average salary than professional cleaners. But janitors earn the highest pay in the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $30,059. Additionally, professional cleaners earn the highest salaries in the manufacturing with average pay of $28,190 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Janitors tend to reach similar levels of education than professional cleaners. In fact, they're 0.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Professional 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.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a professional cleaner is likely to be skilled in "customers homes," "clients homes," "polish floors," and "routine inspections," while a typical day porter is skilled in "customer service," "work ethic," "strong work ethic," and "abm."
Day porters make a very good living in the utilities industry with an average annual salary of $28,643. On the other hand, professional cleaners are paid the highest salary in the manufacturing industry, with average annual pay of $28,190.Most day porters achieve a similar degree level compared to professional cleaners. For example, they're 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Professional cleaner vs. Cleaning and maintenance worker
Types of professional cleaner
Updated January 8, 2025
