A cleaner or a cleaning operative is a type of industrial or
domestic worker
A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...
who cleans homes or commercial premises for
payment. Cleaning operatives may specialise in cleaning particular things or places, such as
window cleaners. Cleaning operatives often work when the people who otherwise occupy the space are not around. They may clean offices at night or houses during the workday.
Types of cleaning operatives
The
cleaning industry is quite big as different types of cleaning are required for different objects and different properties. For example, cleaning an office space requires the services of a commercial cleaner whereas cleaning a house requires a residential cleaner or residential cleaning service. Depending on the task, even these categories can be subdivided into, for example,
end-of-lease cleaning, carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning, window cleaning, car cleaning services etc. Cleaners specialize in a specific cleaning sector or even a specific task in a cleaning sector, and one cannot expect a window cleaner to be able or willing to clean a carpet. Some types of cleaners are mentioned below.
Apartment/house cleaners
These cleaning operatives are quite easy to find due to their large numbers, and they are usually denoted as
maid service providers,
janitors, and domestic cleaning operatives. These type of operatives specialize in
house cleaning services such as
spring cleaning
Spring cleaning is the practice of thoroughly cleaning a house in the springtime. The practice of spring cleaning is especially prevalent in climates with a cold winter. In many cultures, annual cleaning occurs at the end of the year, which may b ...
,
end-of-lease cleaning etc.
Typical cleaning equipment
The following are some items used by cleaning staff:
*
Broom
A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. ...
/
Dustpan
*
Buckets with water/cleaning solution
*
Cleaning agents
*
Floor polisher
*
Garbage bag
* Hand
feather duster and/or
microfiber floor duster
*
Mop and
Mop bucket cart
*
Towels used to wipe desks
*
Vacuum cleaner
*
Wet floor sign
Not always, but depending on the situation, for example during cleaning dusty or dangerous substances or places, building place,
window cleaning at height, busy street or factories items used by cleaning staff can include safety equipment such as:
*
gloves
*
overalls
*
filter mask
*
fitted hardhat
*
visibility clothing
*
protective boots
* height harness
File:Shanghaid02.jpg, Window cleaner climbing out of a scaffold equipped with height harness, fitted hardhat.
File:Cleaning building garage place..jpg, Cleaning building place in mask, overalls and gloves. Preventing exposure to dust.
File:(2020.04.17) Higienização entrada estação da CPTM (49784811813).jpg, Washing and disinfection of the street during the pandemic with overalls, gloves, mask, protective boots. Protection against biohazards.
Working conditions
The 2000 film ''
Bread and Roses'' by British director
Ken Loach depicted the struggle of cleaners in
Los Angeles, California, for better pay and working conditions and for the right to join a
union. In an interview with the
BBC in 2001, Loach stated that thousands of cleaners from around 30 countries have since contacted him with tales similar to the one told in the film.
See also
*
Charwoman
*
Cleaning company
Commercial cleaning companies are contracted to carry out cleaning jobs in a variety of premises.
Cleaning techniques and equipment
Commercial office cleaning companies use a wide variety of cleaning methods, chemicals, and equipment to facil ...
*
Janitor (caretaker, custodian)
*
Maid
A maid, or housemaid or maidservant, is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era domestic service was the second largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids ...
References
{{Authority control
Cleaning and maintenance occupations
Domestic work
Secondary sector of the economy