Glossary
Janitor Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential janitor terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key janitor vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in janitor training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Auto scrubber
- Floor scrubbing machine.
- Burnish
- Polish floor finish.
- Color coding
- Separate cloths by area.
- Disinfectant
- Kills germs.
- Dwell time
- Time a disinfectant must stay wet.
- High-touch surface
- Frequently touched area.
- Liners
- Trash bags.
- Microfiber
- Cloth that traps dirt.
- Neutral cleaner
- Gentle floor cleaner.
- Restroom check
- Scheduled restroom cleaning.
- SDS
- Safety data sheet.
- Spill kit
- Cleanup supplies.
- Strip
- Remove floor finish.
- Top-down cleaning
- Clean high to low.
- Wet floor sign
- Slip warning.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Janitor practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Janitor training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.