Cleaners and domestics
Cleaners and domestics clean interiors of private houses, shops, hotels, schools, offices and other buildings.
- Employees (UK)
- 411k
- Median annual pay
- £11,852
- Exposure score ?
- 0.2/10 Minimal 0.3/10 Minimal strict reading, with tools is 0.3/10 with-tools reading, strict is 0.2/10
- Wage exposure
- £97m £146m
Higher exposure than 15% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.
What this score means.
Most of this role's work is still hard for AI: physical presence, practised skill, judgement in context and direct care, the things that do not turn into text.
If you are in this role
Nothing here is under pressure today, but the frontier moves. Learn enough to direct AI at the paperwork around the job. People in hands-on roles who can do that become unusually useful inside their organisations.
Most of this role's work is still hard for AI: physical presence, practised skill, judgement in context and direct care, the things that do not turn into text.
If you are in this role
Nothing here is under pressure today, but the frontier moves. Learn enough to direct AI at the paperwork around the job. People in hands-on roles who can do that become unusually useful inside their organisations.
Where the work usually starts.
This role's strict reading is low because its top tasks are judgement, not drafting. The three highest-stakes tasks below are still usually where the work starts. Switch to With tools to see what AI plus the right context can take on.
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Service, clean, or supply restrooms.
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Gather and empty trash.
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Clean building floors by sweeping, mopping, scrubbing, or vacuuming.
For this role the labels do not surface obvious candidates, so the work would start with the highest-stakes tasks below and find the AI angle in conversation.
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Service, clean, or supply restrooms.
-
Gather and empty trash.
-
Clean building floors by sweeping, mopping, scrubbing, or vacuuming.
Every role has three or four places like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days.
Every task in the role.
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can do unaided and what still needs a person. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central each task is.
Tasks via O*NET "Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners" (37-2011.00).
What AI can already do
0 of 21 tasks, unaided
No tasks here are labelled as something an LLM can do unaided. Switch to 'With tools' above to see what changes when AI is paired with the right context.
What still needs a person
21 of 21 tasks
Service, clean, or supply restrooms.
Gather and empty trash.
Clean building floors by sweeping, mopping, scrubbing, or vacuuming.
Monitor building security and safety by performing tasks such as locking doors after operating hours or checking electrical appliance use to ensure that hazards are not created.
Notify managers concerning the need for major repairs or additions to building operating systems.
Follow procedures for the use of chemical cleaners and power equipment to prevent damage to floors and fixtures.
Mix water and detergents or acids in containers to prepare cleaning solutions, according to specifications.
Clean windows, glass partitions, or mirrors, using soapy water or other cleaners, sponges, or squeegees.
Requisition supplies or equipment needed for cleaning and maintenance duties.
Dust furniture, walls, machines, or equipment.
Strip, seal, finish, and polish floors.
Remove snow from sidewalks, driveways, or parking areas, using snowplows, snow blowers, or snow shovels, or spread snow-melting chemicals.
Make adjustments or minor repairs to heating, cooling, ventilating, plumbing, or electrical systems.
Clean and polish furniture and fixtures.
Drive vans, industrial trucks, or other vehicles required to travel to, or to perform, cleaning work.
Move heavy furniture, equipment, or supplies, either manually or with hand trucks.
Spray insecticides or fumigants to prevent insect or rodent infestation.
Set up, arrange, or remove decorations, tables, chairs, ladders, or scaffolding to prepare facilities for events, such as banquets or meetings.
Clean chimneys, flues, and connecting pipes, using power or hand tools.
Mow or trim lawns or shrubbery, using mowers or hand or power trimmers, and clear debris from grounds.
Steam-clean or shampoo carpets.
Tasks via O*NET "Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners" (37-2011.00).
What AI can already do
0 of 21 tasks, with tools
Even with tools, no tasks here are labelled as something AI can do today. The work is judgment, presence, or context-heavy enough that the academic labelling sees no leverage.
What still needs a person
21 of 21 tasks
Service, clean, or supply restrooms.
Gather and empty trash.
Clean building floors by sweeping, mopping, scrubbing, or vacuuming.
Monitor building security and safety by performing tasks such as locking doors after operating hours or checking electrical appliance use to ensure that hazards are not created.
Notify managers concerning the need for major repairs or additions to building operating systems.
Follow procedures for the use of chemical cleaners and power equipment to prevent damage to floors and fixtures.
Mix water and detergents or acids in containers to prepare cleaning solutions, according to specifications.
Clean windows, glass partitions, or mirrors, using soapy water or other cleaners, sponges, or squeegees.
Requisition supplies or equipment needed for cleaning and maintenance duties.
Dust furniture, walls, machines, or equipment.
Strip, seal, finish, and polish floors.
Remove snow from sidewalks, driveways, or parking areas, using snowplows, snow blowers, or snow shovels, or spread snow-melting chemicals.
Make adjustments or minor repairs to heating, cooling, ventilating, plumbing, or electrical systems.
Clean and polish furniture and fixtures.
Drive vans, industrial trucks, or other vehicles required to travel to, or to perform, cleaning work.
Move heavy furniture, equipment, or supplies, either manually or with hand trucks.
Spray insecticides or fumigants to prevent insect or rodent infestation.
Set up, arrange, or remove decorations, tables, chairs, ladders, or scaffolding to prepare facilities for events, such as banquets or meetings.
Clean chimneys, flues, and connecting pipes, using power or hand tools.
Mow or trim lawns or shrubbery, using mowers or hand or power trimmers, and clear debris from grounds.
Steam-clean or shampoo carpets.
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Related occupations.
Other roles in Elementary occupations, and roles close by exposure.
What it means for your sector.
This role's score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 task labels, weighted by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 through ISCO-08 (the ONS coding index) and US SOC 2010 (the BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional, which covers employees only.
Back to the mapMethodologySources (PDF)Built 29 April 2026
Pictures
- "Census pantograph and 1930s keypunches" by U.S. Census Bureau employees, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Shepard Barclay, St. Louis lawyer, in his office" by Missouri Historical Society via DPLA, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Accountant's Office LCCN2016824374" by National Photo Company Collection, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Employment service in Oulu in the spring 1931" by Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons