Top 12 Custodial Worker Skills to Put on Your Resume
In the competitive field of custodial work, standing out takes more than a mop and good intentions. A sharp resume that blends technical know-how, steady soft skills, and a reliable work ethic can tip the scales in your favor for almost any custodial role.
Custodial Worker Skills
- Sanitization Protocols
- Chemical Handling
- Floor Buffing
- Waste Management
- Autoclave Operation
- Pressure Washing
- Carpet Cleaning (Carpet Extractors)
- Inventory Management (QuickBooks)
- Safety Compliance
- Equipment Maintenance
- Space Organization
- Biohazard Disposal
1. Sanitization Protocols
Sanitization protocols are standardized procedures that guide how to clean and disinfect surfaces and spaces to knock down dirt, germs, and pathogens, keeping environments healthy and safe.
Why It's Important
They cut disease transmission, protect staff and occupants, and uphold public health standards. Clean isn’t a vibe—it’s a system.
How to Improve Sanitization Protocols Skills
Sharpening sanitization performance calls for better training, smarter product choices, and consistent execution.
Training: Provide clear instruction on methods, proper dilution, and required contact times for disinfectants.
Effective Sanitizers: Use disinfectants proven against a broad spectrum of pathogens and safe for the surfaces you manage.
Systematic Cleaning Schedule: Build a plan that targets high-touch points frequently and scales with traffic patterns.
Cross-Contamination Prevention: Adopt color-coded microfiber cloths and mops to separate restrooms, kitchens, and common areas.
Quality Assurance: Review outcomes, update SOPs as guidance evolves, and spot-check work with simple audits.
Dial in those elements and the whole building breathes easier.
How to Display Sanitization Protocols Skills on Your Resume
2. Chemical Handling
Chemical handling covers safe use, storage, and disposal of cleaning agents in line with hazard guidance and local rules, protecting people and the environment.
Why It's Important
It prevents injuries, stops exposures, and keeps operations smooth. One mistake can snowball—good habits block that.
How to Improve Chemical Handling Skills
Build disciplined routines and stick to them.
Read and Understand SDS: Know hazards, PPE, first aid, and safe handling for each product you touch.
Wear PPE: Gloves, goggles, and masks or respirators when indicated. No shortcuts.
Proper Storage: Keep chemicals in original containers, separate incompatibles, and store in cool, ventilated areas with clear labels.
Use Correctly: Follow manufacturer dilution and application. Overdosing wastes product and raises risk.
Spill Management: Maintain stocked spill kits, ventilate the area, and follow your spill response plan step by step.
Dispose Properly: Follow local and facility rules for chemical and container disposal—document when required.
Continuous Education: Refresh training regularly; stay current on safer substitutes and updated safety guidance.
Emergency Preparedness: Know the location of eyewash stations and showers, and how to quickly access SDS in an emergency.
Consistency makes safety second nature.
How to Display Chemical Handling Skills on Your Resume
3. Floor Buffing
Floor buffing uses a powered buffer and the right pad to smooth micro-scratches and revive shine on resilient and hard floor surfaces.
Why It's Important
It restores appearance, removes scuffs, and extends finish life, which means safer footing and fewer full-strip cycles.
How to Improve Floor Buffing Skills
Preparation, pad choice, and motion—get those right and it shows.
Preparation: Dust mop or vacuum thoroughly to keep grit from swirling and scratching.
Appropriate Equipment: Match pad hardness to the task—softer for gloss, more aggressive for marks and light restoration. Verify compatibility with finish.
Proper Cleaning Solution: Use cleaner designed for your floor and finish; dilute exactly as directed.
Buffing Technique: Start slow, increase speed as you gain control. Work in overlapping passes, steady and systematic.
Regular Maintenance: Clean and rotate pads often; replace when glazed or thinned.
Safety First: PPE on, cords managed, signs posted, and good ventilation.
When in doubt, the machine manual is your best friend.
How to Display Floor Buffing Skills on Your Resume
4. Waste Management
Waste management means collecting, sorting, transporting, and disposing of or recycling waste from facilities to keep spaces sanitary and compliant.
Why It's Important
Cleaner spaces, fewer hazards, lower costs, better sustainability. Orderly waste streams make everything else easier.
How to Improve Waste Management Skills
Focus on clarity, separation, and measurement.
Educate: Train teams on recycling rules, hazardous waste identity, and what belongs where. Visual guides help.
Set Up Smart Stations: Label bins clearly for landfill, recyclables, organics, and special streams. Place them where waste happens.
Reduce at the Source: Favor refillables and bulk products; right-size liners; cut single-use where practical.
Hazardous and E-waste: Follow local regulations for chemicals, batteries, bulbs, and electronics; use approved containers and manifests when required.
Ongoing Training: Refresh periodically and update signage as programs evolve.
Track and Improve: Monitor volumes, contamination rates, and pickups. Adjust bin placement and schedules to match reality.
Small tweaks compound into cleaner docks and lower bills.
How to Display Waste Management Skills on Your Resume
5. Autoclave Operation
Autoclave operation uses high-pressure steam to sterilize tools, equipment, and certain waste. It means loading correctly, choosing cycles wisely, and unloading safely once indicators confirm sterilization.
Why It's Important
Steam sterilization crushes microbial risks and keeps high-risk areas safer. No shortcuts allowed.
How to Improve Autoclave Operation Skills
Understand the machine, respect the process.
Know the Controls: Learn the cycle types, temperatures, and hold times; follow your facility’s SOPs.
Load for Flow: Don’t overcrowd. Space items so steam can circulate freely; use approved wraps and trays.
Indicators Matter: Use chemical and, when required, biological indicators to verify successful sterilization.
Routine Maintenance: Inspect gaskets, drains, and filters; descale and service per the manufacturer schedule.
Ongoing Training: Take refresher courses and coordinate with your environmental health and safety team for updates.
Precision here keeps people safe—treat it like lab work.
How to Display Autoclave Operation Skills on Your Resume
6. Pressure Washing
Pressure washing uses high-pressure water to blast away grime, mold, and stains from surfaces like concrete, siding, and equipment.
Why It's Important
It restores surfaces fast, improves curb appeal, and removes slippery buildup that can cause falls.
How to Improve Pressure Washing Skills
Match the method to the material.
Right-Sized Machine: Pick PSI and GPM suited to the task—enough power to clean without chewing the surface.
Nozzle Selection: Wider angles for general cleaning, tighter angles for stubborn spots. Test in an inconspicuous area.
Prep First: Clear debris, shield plants and fixtures, and pre-treat heavy stains when needed.
Safety: Eye and hand protection, controlled footing, and awareness of kickback and overspray.
Technique: Work top to bottom with overlapping passes, keeping the wand moving to avoid etching.
Maintenance: Inspect hoses, tips, oil, and filters; flush detergents out after use to prevent clogs.
Good prep plus gentle control equals clean without collateral damage.
How to Display Pressure Washing Skills on Your Resume
7. Carpet Cleaning (Carpet Extractors)
Carpet extractors inject solution into fibers and then pull soil and moisture back out, lifting what vacuuming leaves behind.
Why It's Important
It removes embedded dirt, allergens, and stains, improves indoor air quality, and extends carpet life. Floors look fresher, and they stay that way longer.
How to Improve Carpet Cleaning (Carpet Extractors) Skills
Success is mostly in the setup and the pace.
Preparation: Vacuum thoroughly first to remove loose soil and prevent muddying.
Solution Choice: Use chemicals approved for your carpet type and the machine; follow dilution guidelines exactly.
Measured Passes: Move slowly to let solution work and the vacuum recover it; overlap slightly to avoid striping.
Spot Treatment: Pre-treat stains and heavy-traffic lanes to boost removal.
Machine Care: Rinse tanks, lines, and nozzles after use; check for leaks and worn seals routinely.
Drying: Accelerate dry time with air movers or HVAC to prevent wicking and mildew.
Patience pays off—rushing leaves residue and re-soiling.
How to Display Carpet Cleaning (Carpet Extractors) Skills on Your Resume
8. Inventory Management (QuickBooks)
Inventory management in QuickBooks tracks quantities, purchase orders, and usage so cleaning supplies and equipment are where you need them, when you need them.
Why It's Important
It prevents stockouts, curbs waste, and clarifies spend—less scrambling, more doing.
How to Improve Inventory Management (QuickBooks) Skills
Accuracy in, accuracy out.
Clean Item Setup: Create items with clear names, categories, units, and starting quantities that match reality.
Timely Updates: Record receipts and usage promptly. Use mobile or batch entries to keep counts current.
Reports and Alerts: Review usage and valuation reports to spot fast movers, dead stock, and seasonality. Set low-stock alerts or reminders.
Cycle Counts: Verify on-hand quantities regularly and adjust discrepancies with notes on cause.
Reorder Logic: Establish par levels and reorder points where supported; otherwise schedule recurring reviews to trigger orders before you run low.
Clarity in the catalog trims costs and saves headaches.
How to Display Inventory Management (QuickBooks) Skills on Your Resume
9. Safety Compliance
Safety compliance means following the health and safety rules that keep custodial work free from preventable injuries and exposures.
Why It's Important
It protects workers and occupants, avoids fines and downtime, and builds trust. Safe work is steady work.
How to Improve Safety Compliance Skills
Make safety visible and habitual.
Targeted Training: Teach task-specific risks, chemical handling, equipment operation, and emergency procedures.
PPE Mastery: Provide the right gear, the right sizes, and the know-how to use and maintain it.
Regular Audits: Walk the space, fix hazards, and close the loop with quick corrections and feedback.
Clear Protocols: Post simple SOPs for storage, labeling, lockout/tagout where applicable, and incident response.
Speak Up Culture: Encourage reporting of near-misses and unsafe conditions without blame—then act on it.
Compliance isn’t a binder. It’s daily behavior.
How to Display Safety Compliance Skills on Your Resume
10. Equipment Maintenance
Equipment maintenance means cleaning, inspecting, and repairing custodial tools and machines so they run efficiently and safely.
Why It's Important
Reliable gear works better, lasts longer, and reduces downtime. Fewer surprises, more productivity.
How to Improve Equipment Maintenance Skills
Simple routines make a big difference.
Routine Checks: Inspect cords, belts, squeegees, pads, tanks, and filters before and after use; log issues.
Follow Manufacturer Guidance: Use the right parts, lubricants, and intervals. Keep manuals handy.
Clean and Store Right: Empty tanks, rinse lines, dry components, and store in ventilated areas off the floor.
Train the Team: Show proper operation and care; assign ownership so tools don’t fall through the cracks.
Report Fast, Repair Fast: Tag out faulty gear and submit maintenance requests immediately to prevent cascading damage.
Care for the tools and they’ll carry the day.
How to Display Equipment Maintenance Skills on Your Resume
11. Space Organization
Space organization is the art of arranging areas so they’re safe, tidy, and easy to maintain. For custodial pros, that means smart storage, clear pathways, and logical setups that speed cleaning.
Why It's Important
Less clutter equals fewer hazards and faster work. And the space simply looks better.
How to Improve Space Organization Skills
Design beats chaos.
Declutter Regularly: Remove unused items and expired products; donate or discard responsibly.
Structured Schedules: Use checklists and cadence-based tasks (daily, weekly, monthly) to keep order from slipping.
Smart Storage: Label shelves and bins, group by task, and keep frequently used items within easy reach.
Safety First: Keep egress clear, store chemicals low and secure, and anchor heavy items.
Refine Over Time: Review layout and flow quarterly; adjust based on what slows the team down.
Everything in its place, and cleaning flies.
How to Display Space Organization Skills on Your Resume
12. Biohazard Disposal
Biohazard disposal covers safe handling and removal of waste that may carry infectious agents—think sharps, red-bag waste, and contaminated materials—under strict protocols.
Why It's Important
It protects staff, patients, and the public from exposure and keeps the facility compliant. Precision matters.
How to Improve Biohazard Disposal Skills
Follow the rules to the letter.
Training: Ensure staff are trained on bloodborne pathogen standards and your facility’s procedures.
Use the Right PPE: Gloves, gowns, eye protection, and masks as the task requires.
Approved Containers: Place sharps in puncture-resistant containers; use labeled, leak-proof bags and tubs for other biohazard waste.
Segregation: Keep biohazard waste separate from regular trash at the point of generation.
Transport and Storage: Secure, labeled, closed containers; limit storage time per policy.
Disposal Methods: Use compliant treatment and disposal (e.g., autoclaving or incineration) per local regulations.
Spill Readiness: Maintain spill kits and clear, rehearsed response steps.
Documentation: Keep accurate records for pickups, volumes, training, and incidents.
Good habits here prevent high-stakes problems.
How to Display Biohazard Disposal Skills on Your Resume
