What does a service cleaner do?

Service cleaner responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real service cleaner resumes:
- Make repairs around the stadium including, plumbing, electrical, HVAC etc.
- Work alongside the head custodian in learning basic HVAC maintenance.
- Sweep or shovels snow from steps and walks at building entrances.
- Help repair furniture, windows, and plumbing fixtures for students living in the residence halls.
- Make rounds of facility to check fire alarms, boilers, HVAC equipment, doors and windows.
- 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
Service cleaner skills and personality traits
We calculated that 49% of Service Cleaners are proficient in Urinals, Window Sills, and Building Floors. They’re also known for soft skills such as Mechanical skills, Physical strength, and Time-management skills.
We break down the percentage of Service Cleaners that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Urinals, 49%
Make sure bathroom toilets and urinals are completely disinfected as required by Cleaning Service Supervisor.
- Window Sills, 8%
Dust, wipe, and polish furniture, ledges, window sills, external surfaces microwave and refrigerator.
- Building Floors, 8%
Clean building floors by sweeping, mopping, scrubbing, carpet cleaning and vacuuming.Gather and empties trash.
- Exam Rooms, 6%
Provide thorough cleaning services in all areas of the medical office including foyer, waiting areas, offices and exam rooms.
- Patient Rooms, 5%
Perform terminal cleaning procedures of patient rooms and prepare for new occupant.
- Public Restrooms, 4%
Sanitized and disinfected all public restrooms.
Common skills that a service cleaner uses to do their job include "urinals," "window sills," and "building floors." You can find details on the most important service cleaner responsibilities below.
Mechanical skills. The most essential soft skill for a service 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 service cleaner resume shows how their duties depend on mechanical skills: "operate under the supervision of the building maintenance manager serviced and repaired mechanical, electrical and steam equipment. "
Physical strength. Another essential skill to perform service cleaner duties is physical strength. Service cleaners responsibilities require that "janitors and building cleaners often must lift and move heavy cleaning materials and equipment." Service cleaners also use physical strength in their role according to a real resume snippet: "repair, maintain physical structures of school, office buildings,use of hand tools and power tools. "
Time-management skills. This is an important skill for service cleaners to perform their duties. For an example of how service cleaner responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "janitors and building cleaners must plan and complete tasks in a timely manner." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a service cleaner: "maintain time deadlines while still providing excellent customer service. ".
The three companies that hire the most service cleaners are:
- Harvard Maintenance51 service cleaners jobs
- Cleveland Clinic16 service cleaners jobs
- RWJBarnabas Health15 service cleaners jobs
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Service 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 service cleaner are more likely to require skills like "urinals," "building floors," "exam rooms," and "patient rooms." 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, service cleaners tend to make the most money in the government industry with an average salary of $28,787.The education levels that maids earn slightly differ from service cleaners. In particular, maids are 1.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a service cleaner. Additionally, they're 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Service cleaner vs. Rooming house keeper
The extent of a rooming house keeper's responsibilities will vary on the organization or industry where one is employed. Most of the time, it is their job to perform various household chores such as cleaning bedrooms and bathrooms, washing dishes, doing the laundry, and even vacuuming particular areas. There are also instances where they must prepare meals, arrange closets, iron and fold pieces of clothing, and discard trash. Furthermore, it is essential to coordinate with other employees at all times and adhere to the directions of employers.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, service cleaner responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "exam rooms," "public restrooms," "bathroom fixtures," and "office buildings." Meanwhile, a rooming house keeper has duties that require skills in areas such as "clean laundry," "polish floors," "guest rooms," and "residents rooms." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Rooming house keepers may earn a higher salary than service cleaners, but rooming house keepers earn the most pay in the telecommunication industry with an average salary of $30,178. On the other hand, service cleaners receive higher pay in the government industry, where they earn an average salary of $28,787.In general, rooming house keepers achieve similar levels of education than service cleaners. They're 0.1% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Service cleaner vs. Custodian worker
Housekeepers are responsible for taking care of their employers' houses. They are usually tasked to do work related to cleaning. Their primary responsibilities include sweeping, vacuuming, and mopping floors, managing recycling, taking out the trash, dusting surfaces, cleaning the bathroom, among others. They are also responsible for doing laundry, folding clothes, and storing clothes in cabinets. They may also be given additional responsibilities such as shopping for groceries, managing and stocking the pantry, cooking, walking pets and watering the plants. Housekeepers should be responsible, trustworthy, and knowledgeable on housework.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, service cleaners are more likely to have skills like "exam rooms," "public restrooms," "bathroom fixtures," and "customer service." But a custodian worker is more likely to have skills like "wax floors," "cleanliness," "scrubbers," and "class rooms."
Custodian workers earn the highest salary when working in the hospitality industry, where they receive an average salary of $30,045. Comparatively, service cleaners have the highest earning potential in the government industry, with an average salary of $28,787.When it comes to education, custodian workers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to service cleaners. In fact, they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Service cleaner vs. Housekeeper
Even though a few skill sets overlap between service cleaners and housekeepers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a service cleaner might have more use for skills like "exam rooms," "bathroom fixtures," "office buildings," and "residential homes." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of housekeepers require skills like "cleanliness," "patients," "guest rooms," and "good judgment. "
The telecommunication industry tends to pay the highest salaries for housekeepers, with average annual pay of $29,665. Comparatively, the highest service cleaner annual salary comes from the government industry.housekeepers reach similar levels of education compared to service cleaners, in general. The difference is that they're 0.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of service cleaner
Updated January 8, 2025











