What does a Janitor do?
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.
Janitor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real janitor resumes:
- Clean private residents entire home, floors, windows, using soapy water and other cleaners, sponges, and squeegees.
- Use of floor extractors machine to strip, scrub, wax, and buff floors.
- Wash windows and mirrors, tables and counter tops using window cleaner and cloths or paper, sponges, squeegees.
- Organize supplies such as broom, mop, sponges, cleaning supplies, etc.
- Used solvent, such as carbon dioxide, rags, brushes, pads, and sponges.
- Dust and vacuums shred rooms and personal cubicle areas.
- Replace electrical fixtures including lights, switches, and ballasts.
- Clean common areas, including hallways, stairwells, and cafeterias and/or break areas.
- Work in plumbing, electrical, cable, and all day to day maintenance and cleaning.
- Operate cleaning equipment including but not limit to vacuums, brooms, floor cleaners and mops.
- Empty trashed and garbage containers.handle all aspects of grounds/landscaping and maintenance including plant care and mowing the lawns
- Clean and disinfect toilets, urinals, sinks, stalls, walls, mirrors, and vents and other areas.
- Maintain the general cleanliness of building premises/adhered to cleaning schedules.
- Utilize sanitary measures to ensure cleanliness of managerial office and restrooms facilities.
- Operate janitorial equipment including: vacuum cleaners, floor scrubbers, carpet cleaners, pressure washers, leaf blowers, etc.
Janitor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Janitors are proficient in Building Floors, Cleanliness, and Patients. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Physical strength, and Time-management skills.
We break down the percentage of Janitors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Building Floors, 12%
Carried Out Tasks (sweeping, Mopping, Scrubbing, Or Vacuuming) To Maintain Cleanliness Of Building Floors And Walls.
- Cleanliness, 12%
Utilized sanitary measures to ensure cleanliness of managerial office and restrooms facilities.
- Patients, 9%
Washed equipment to ensure a safe sanitary environment for upcoming patients.
- Window Sills, 6%
Hand dust and wipe clean/disinfect all furniture, files, fixtures, paneling, window sills and all other horizontal surfaces.
- Commercial Cleaning, 5%
Performed variety of janitorial duties for family owned, locally based commercial cleaning business.
- Customer Service, 5%
Call Center Representative: Provided excellent customer service, and provided and documented customer information concerning various transactions.
Most janitors use their skills in "building floors," "cleanliness," and "patients" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential janitor responsibilities here:
Interpersonal skills. One of the key soft skills for a janitor to have is interpersonal skills. You can see how this relates to what janitors 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 janitor resume shows how janitors use interpersonal skills: "utilized problem solving skills and excellent interpersonal and customer service skills. "
Physical strength. Another essential skill to perform janitor duties is physical strength. Janitors responsibilities require that "janitors and building cleaners often must lift and move heavy cleaning materials and equipment." Janitors also use physical strength in their role according to a real resume snippet: "performed general physical activities, handled and moved objects including office furniture and filing cabinets as requested. "
Time-management skills. This is an important skill for janitors to perform their duties. For an example of how janitor 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 janitor: "coordinated and lead maintenance assignments to complete the tasks in order to execute proper cleanliness and finish on time. ".
Mechanical skills. A big part of what janitors do relies on "mechanical skills." You can see how essential it is to janitor responsibilities because "janitors and building cleaners need to understand general building operations and should be able to make routine repairs, such as to leaky faucets." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical janitor tasks: "possess excellent customer service skills, as well as the ability to find common solutions to basic mechanical problems. "
The three companies that hire the most janitors are:
- Brinker International1,134 janitors jobs
- Compass Group USA550 janitors jobs
- Buffalo Wild Wings520 janitors jobs
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Compare different janitors
Janitor vs. Environmental services aide
An environmental services aide is responsible for supporting the community programs and efforts for nature sustainability and assisting the citizens with their needs and concerns. Environmental services aides are also usually employed in health care centers to help patients and maintain the cleanliness and orderliness of the facilities. They monitor inventories, inspect tools and equipment, and adhere to safety standards and procedures. An environmental services aide must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in coordinating with other community organizations to provide quality services for the people.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, janitor responsibilities require skills like "building floors," "window sills," "work ethic," and "bathroom fixtures." Meanwhile a typical environmental services aide has skills in areas such as "environmental services," "evs," "compassion," and "ladders." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Environmental services aides earn the highest salaries when working in the hospitality industry, with an average yearly salary of $34,789. On the other hand, janitors are paid more in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $30,059.The education levels that environmental services aides earn slightly differ from janitors. In particular, environmental services aides are 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a janitor. Additionally, they're 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Janitor vs. Housekeeping aide
The primary job of a housekeeping aide is to maintain the cleanliness of an assigned area, including hospital rooms, hotel rooms, and corridors. This role will require you to perform various housekeeping chores as requested by the housekeeping manager, such as cleaning the restrooms and kitchens. You will be responsible for keeping the office pantries tidy and ensuring the availability of supplies for beverages such as chocolate and coffee at all times. Other duties include cleaning floors, clearing away garbage, and attending to the needs of guests.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real janitor resumes. While janitor responsibilities can utilize skills like "work ethic," "bathroom fixtures," "office buildings," and "building security," housekeeping aides use skills like "guest rooms," "home health," "rehabilitation," and "newspapers."
Housekeeping aides earn a higher average salary than janitors. But housekeeping aides earn the highest pay in the hospitality industry, with an average salary of $30,153. Additionally, janitors earn the highest salaries in the hospitality with average pay of $30,059 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Housekeeping aides tend to reach similar levels of education than janitors. In fact, they're 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Janitor vs. Floor technician
A floor technician's role is to maintain the cleanliness and sanitation of various areas within an establishment. Their responsibilities include operating cleaning equipment, conducting minimal repairs and inventory checks, arranging furniture and fixtures, organizing supplies, and keeping floors free from obstructions. There are also instances where they must replenish soap or tissue dispensers, use strong chemicals, and even dispose of hazardous waste. Furthermore, a floor technician follows directives from managers or supervisors, reporting to them should there be any issues.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, janitors are more likely to have skills like "window sills," "customer service," "bathroom fixtures," and "office buildings." But a floor technician is more likely to have skills like "extraction," "safety guidelines," "safety precautions," and "floor tech."
Floor technicians make a very good living in the health care industry with an average annual salary of $31,091. On the other hand, janitors are paid the highest salary in the hospitality industry, with average annual pay of $30,059.floor technicians typically earn similar educational levels compared to janitors. Specifically, they're 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Janitor vs. Housekeeper
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.
Types of janitor
Updated January 8, 2025
