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
A payment is the voluntary tender of money or its equivalent or of things of value by one party (such as a person or company) to another in exchange for goods, or services provided by them, or to fulfill a legal obligation. The party making the ...
. Cleaning operatives may specialise in cleaning particular things or places, such as
window cleaner
Window cleaning, or window washing, is the exterior cleaning of architectural glass used for structural, lighting, or decorative purposes. It can be done manually, using a variety of tools for cleaning and access. Technology is also employed an ...
s. 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:
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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
A dustpan, the small version of which is also known as a "hearth brush and shovel” (from its use of cleaning the fireplace hearth), is a cleaning utensil. The dustpan is commonly used in combination with a broom or long brush. The small dustpan ...
*
Bucket
A bucket is typically a watertight, vertical cylinder or truncated cone or square, with an open top and a flat bottom, attached to a semicircular carrying handle called the ''bail''.
A bucket is usually an open-top container. In contrast, a p ...
s with water/cleaning solution
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Cleaning agent
Cleaning agents or hard-surface cleaners are substances (usually liquids, powders, sprays, or granules) used to remove dirt, including dust, stains, bad smells, and clutter on surfaces. Purposes of cleaning agents include health, beauty, removi ...
s
*
Floor polisher
*
Garbage bag
* Hand
feather duster
A feather duster is a cleaning tool that is typically made from a wooden dowel handle onto which ostrich feathers are wound with a wire. The feathers are most often long. Some dusters have a retractable casing instead of a dowel handle and the ...
and/or
microfiber
Microfiber (or microfibre) is synthetic fiber finer than one denier or decitex/thread, having a diameter of less than ten micrometers. A strand of silk is about one denier and about a fifth of the diameter of a human hair.
The most common t ...
floor duster
*
Mop and
Mop bucket cart
*
Towel
A towel is a piece of absorbent cloth or paper used for drying or wiping a surface. Towels draw moisture through direct contact.
In households, several types of towels are used, such as hand towels, bath towels, and kitchen towels.
Paper tow ...
s used to wipe desks
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Vacuum cleaner
A vacuum cleaner, also known simply as a vacuum or a hoover, is a device that causes suction in order to remove dirt from floors, upholstery, draperies, and other surfaces. It is generally electrically driven.
The dirt is collected by either a ...
*
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:
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gloves
A glove is a garment covering the hand. Gloves usually have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb.
If there is an opening but no (or a short) covering sheath for each finger they are called fingerless gloves. Fingerless gl ...
*
overalls
Overalls, also called bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers".
Overalls we ...
*
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
"Bread and Roses" is a political slogan as well as the name of an associated poem and song. It originated from a speech given by American women's suffrage activist Helen M. Todd, Helen Todd; a line in that speech about "bread for all, and roses ...
'' by British director
Ken Loach
Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty (''Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessne ...
depicted the struggle of cleaners in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...
, 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
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Charwoman
A charwoman (also chargirl, charlady or char) is an old-fashioned occupational term, referring to a paid part-time worker who comes into a house or other building to clean it for a few hours of a day or week, as opposed to a maid, who usually ...
*
Cleaning company
*
Janitor
A janitor (American English, Scottish English), also known as a custodian, porter, cleanser, cleaner or caretaker, is a person who cleans and maintains buildings. In some cases, they will also carry out maintenance and security duties. A simi ...
(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