Cleaner (Janitor) Job Description: Duties, Skills & Pay

Cleaners and janitors keep offices, schools, hospitals, warehouses and stores clean, safe and presentable. The job combines scheduled cleaning routes with responding to spills and requests, usually early mornings, evenings or nights so buildings are ready before people arrive.

Duties vary by employer and shift, so always check the individual posting. Typical responsibilities:

• Sweep, mop, vacuum and buff floors on an assigned route
• Clean and disinfect restrooms and restock supplies (paper, soap, sanitizer)
• Empty trash and recycling and move it to collection points
• Clean glass, desks, break rooms and common areas
• Follow chemical safety labels (SDS) and color-coded cloth/mop systems to prevent cross-contamination
• Report maintenance problems (leaks, broken fixtures, burnt-out lights)
• Lock and unlock assigned areas and follow building security rules
• Keep cleaning logs and complete checklists for inspections

• No formal education required; some employers prefer a high school diploma or equivalent
• Ability to stand and walk for a full shift and lift supplies (commonly 25 to 50 lbs, per posting)
• Reliability and a clean background check for schools, hospitals and secure buildings
• On-the-job training is standard; floor machine or biohazard training is a plus

• Attention to detail that survives a repetitive route
• Time management to finish an assigned area per shift
• Safe handling of cleaning chemicals
• Basic English for safety labels and instructions, plus any languages the employer serves
• Teamwork with facilities and security staff

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median pay of $36,840 a year, $17.71 an hour (May 2025), for janitors and building cleaners, with about 321,800 openings a year expected over the decade - most from replacing workers who leave. Pay runs higher for night shifts, union buildings, hospitals and floor-care specialists.

Adjust every number to your own record before you use these:

• Cleaned and disinfected a 40,000 sq ft office route nightly, passing every monthly quality inspection for 2 years
• Maintained restroom service levels for a building with 600 daily visitors, restocking on a 2-hour cycle
• Operated auto-scrubber and buffer machines with zero safety incidents in 3 years
• Trained 4 new cleaners on chemical safety and route checklists

Browse live cleaning and facilities jobs on Ethic Leaf's job pages by city and shift, and use the free resume templates on our Resume Templates page. No service guarantees a job.

• Is being a cleaner a hard job? It is physical - you are on your feet the whole shift and some lifting is routine - but the work is learnable in weeks and many employers offer steady, predictable hours.
• What should a cleaner put on a resume with no experience? Reliability evidence (attendance records, references), any cleaning done in other jobs (retail closing duties, kitchen cleaning) and willingness to work nights or early mornings.
• Do cleaners need certifications? Usually no; OSHA-aligned chemical safety or bloodborne-pathogen training helps for hospital and school contracts.