WHAT DOES A CLEANER DO?
Published: May 22, 2025 – The Cleaner cleans and maintains floors, carpets, windows, and furniture using both light and heavy cleaning equipment. This position disposes of waste, sanitizes restrooms, and replenishes supplies while monitoring maintenance issues for prompt reporting. The cleaner also performs periodic deep cleaning tasks such as high dusting, polishing, and snow removal at entrances and walkways.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Cleaner
1. Cleaner Roles and Responsibilities
- Cleaning: Cleaning domestic and technical installations or equipment.
- Maintenance: Maintaining domestic water and drainage systems.
- Vehicle Maintenance: Cleaning and day-to-day maintenance of all site vehicles.
- Inventory Management: Ordering materials to maintain cost-effective stock levels.
- General Labouring: General labouring and porterage, including receipt, packing, and dispatch of goods.
- Supervision: Supervision of contracted staff to ensure that work is carried out to agreed standards.
- Record Keeping: Maintaining technical and administrative records and providing information.
- Health and Safety: Safety and Health of self and others who may be affected by work activities.
2. Cleaner Duties and Roles
- Cleaning Standards: Maintain the designated area to an agreed level of cleanliness in line with relevant standards.
- Task Execution: Carry out all daily, weekly, and periodic tasks as directed by the Cleaning Supervisor.
- Health and Safety Compliance: Comply with the requirements of Health and Safety, other relevant legislation, and premises policies.
- Additional Cleaning Duties: Perform miscellaneous cleaning duties as apparent or as instructed by the Cleaning Supervisor.
- Uniform Maintenance: Ensure the uniform is clean and tidy.
- PPE Usage: Wear protective clothing, masks, and gloves (PPE) as issued.
- Safety Signage: Ensure all relevant safety signs (such as Wet Floor Warning Signs) are used correctly and appropriately at all times.
3. Cleaner Responsibilities and Key Tasks
- Waste Removal: Removing recyclables and garbage/waste from multiple locations.
- General Cleaning: Various cleaning duties, including vacuuming, sweeping, dusting, disinfecting, and washing of specific areas.
- Room Maintenance: Cleaning and maintaining patient rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, offices, etc.
- Floor Care: Performing floor care.
- Furniture Handling: Within the scope of authority, moving furniture and other items.
- OR Cleaning: Cleaning, disinfecting, and maintaining Operating Rooms (O.R.) according to O.R. standards.
- Elevator and Stair Cleaning: Cleaning and maintaining elevators and stairs.
- Supply Management: Maintaining supplies and equipment, replenishing supplies in washrooms, receiving and checking cleaning supplies, and cleaning and tidying the utility room.
- Training Attendance: Attending staff meetings, as well as required education and safety training.
- Staff Training: Participating and assisting in the training of new personnel in all required job functions.
- Bed Disinfection: Disinfecting the complete bed unit.
- Support Duties: Performing other duties in support of the Housekeeping function, performing cross-functional and other duties.
4. Cleaner Roles and Details
- Floor Cleaning: Sweep, mop, and wash floors and other surfaces (inside buildings).
- Equipment Operation: Use light and heavy (commercial-type) floor buffers and shampoo machines, including attachments.
- Carpet Cleaning: Vacuum rugs in offices and public areas. Spot clean daily and shampoo rugs.
- Surface Cleaning: Clean and dust furniture, exhibit cases, pictures, chairs, door trim, light fixtures, and all other horizontal surfaces, including periodic high dusting.
- Window Cleaning: Wash windowsills, glass in interior doors, partitions, and specified windows.
- Glass and Wall Cleaning: Wash glass and trim at entrance doors, interior/exterior - wash/spot clean interior walls daily.
- Bathroom Cleaning: Clean bathrooms and restock paper supplies daily.
- Bathroom Procedures: Standard bathroom procedures are to damp wipe glass surfaces, empty waste baskets, service soap and toilet paper dispensers, dust sills, clean tile walls, etc.
- Issue Reporting: Monitors possible defects such as clogged urinals and lights out, and reports to supervisors.
- Trash Removal: Collect building trash daily, placing it in an approved container and placing it in the designated collection area for subsequent removal.
- Liner Replacement: Replace liners in waste baskets and trash containers per specs.
- Snow Removal: Sweep or shovel snow from steps and walkways at building entrances and connecting walkways/sidewalks.
- Periodic Maintenance: Performs periodic work, including high dusting, leather and wood surfaces, polishing, and wall washing.
5. Cleaner Key Accountabilities
- Floor Cleaning: Cleans building floors by sweeping, mopping, scrubbing, or vacuuming them.
- Chemical Handling: Follows procedures for the use of chemical cleaners and power equipment to prevent damage to floors and fixtures.
- High Surface Cleaning: Uses ladders, dusts, and washes furniture, walls, machines, and equipment, cleans ceilings, and dusts and polishes light fixtures.
- Item Relocation: Moves cabinets, boxes, furniture, crates, and equipment to clean areas, either manually or by using hand trucks.
- Stain Removal: Removes stains from such surfaces as rugs, drapes, walls, and floors using chemicals and cleaning solutions.
- Seasonal Outdoor Tasks: Sweeps walks, rakes leaves, cuts grass, removes snow, or performs other incidental seasonal tasks.
- Solution Preparation: Mixes water and detergents or acids in containers to prepare cleaning solutions according to specifications.
- Floor Finishing: Strips, seals, finishes, and polishes floors.
- Carpet Cleaning: Cleans and vacuums carpeted areas, including application of spot cleaning treatment.
- Trash Removal: Gathers and empties trash.
- Food Area Cleaning: Wipes and cleans tabletops, chairs, and equipment in food areas.
- Furniture Care: Cleans and polishes furniture and fixtures.
- Restroom Servicing: Services, cleans, and supplies restrooms.
- Vent and Blind Cleaning: Periodically cleans overhead vents, dusts blinds, and polishes wood furniture.
- Glass Cleaning: Cleans interior partition glass, windows, glass partitions, and mirrors using soapy water or other cleaners, sponges, and squeegees.
- Event Setup: Sets up, arranges, and removes decorations, tables, chairs, ladders, and scaffolding to prepare facilities for events such as banquets and meetings.