Cleaner

A cleaner, cleanser, cleaner or cleaning operative is a type of industrial or domestic worker who is tasked with cleaning a space. A janitor (US and Canada), also known as a custodian, porter or caretaker, is a person who cleans and might also carry out maintenance and security duties. A similar position, but usually with more managerial duties and not including cleaning, is occupied by building superintendents in the United States and Canada and by site managers in schools in the United Kingdom.

According to the Cambridge English dictionary a "cleaner" is "a person whose job is to clean houses, offices, public places, etc.:";^[1] the Collins dictionary states that: "A cleaner is someone who is employed to clean the rooms and furniture inside a building."^[2]. However, a cleaner does not always have to be employed and perform work for pay, such as in the case of volunteer work or community service. "Cleaner" may also refer to cleaning agents e.g. oven cleaner, or devices used for cleaning, eg. vacuum cleaner.^[2][3]

Cleaning operatives may specialize in cleaning particular things or places, such as window cleaners, housekeepers, janitors, crime scene cleaners and so on.^[4] 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.