I have been a custodian for over 23 years. The purpose of this channel is to share some of my knowledge with you. I remember the feeling when I first became a custodian. I was given a set of keys, a radio and a badge. Didn't get any training whatsoever. Being a custodian is not rocket scientist knowledge. There are definitely things that a custodian needs to know. I call it the art of the trade. Tips and tricks that can make the job much easier and enjoyable. Being a commercial cleaner such as a custodian is much different than just cleaning at your home. from waxing floors, to making and following a schedule. Oh and I must add dealing with many issues and people. There is nothing special about me. I'm just your average guy out here doing the daily grind just like you. I'm one of those folks, what you see is what you get. I hope you find my channel useful and knowledgeable.That you will subscribe and hit the bell icon to get notification when new videos are posted.Thanks Mr.Jeff
Jeff i pretty much got started at 59, ran a delivery routes in Missouri And Illinois for a undercar distributor for 28 years . I hope to make this my final stop. Im n the fastest but i steadily work and just kind of hammer away it until its done, I just recently found you on RU-vid and your videos are very informative and helpful, thank you!
Very good advice, with your knowledge, attitude and integrity you would be a great lead, supervisor, etc. I was a supervisor for state agency for over 17 years and retired had some challenging days, but never a bad day. Decided to go back to work part time for a school district. I was totally unprepared for it. No leader ship no professionalism and definitely no safety procedures in place, it’s like you’re thrown on a battlefield and every man for himself. School districts can be challenging if you’re in it to set goals and push forward. I sure hope it’s not that way in all school districts. I hope it’s not.
Thanks a lot for the videos Jeff I am also a custodian at a school I've transferred around over the years and did multiple positions but probably a custodian the most off and on from the early nineties and oh boy look where we are now so like you I don't know if I got 6 to 10 but maybe another 3 to 5:00 anyway and I agree and I'm glad that you're out there putting this information for other people because a videos like this that just let him know that other people have been in the same situation they're in or are and I think it's just a good thing to give people a good perspective and focus so anyway without rambling on on you more too late for that lol thanks again Jeff keep up the good work
I’m a custodian for the nypl and I love it been in this job for 4 years and experience some but still learning/improving keep doing what you doing to helping fellow custodians
You are 100% correct. I have 2 lazy coworkers who could not stay on the grounds a whole shift to save their life. It is irritating but I focus on all the areas the students and educators use daily and this keeps me happy. I do care and do all I can to make sure all have a clean area to learn it. I no longer teach the lazy custodians anything and when they come to me with an issue, I just smile say nothing and walk away. This has made my job very enjoyable.
I been custodian about 7 months, I learned so much over the summer. I learned how to strip and wax floors. I enjoy cleaning. I feel very appreciated and enjoy my new job. Looking forward to the next year.
Hi Jeff!! Love your channel. I'm a Head custodian at a elementary School. I get irritated by the calls for water sprinkled on the halls!! It could be a drop. They could get. But they will call me!!! Really!!! Get it!!! We have center pull dispensers in the halls!!! Get it up!!!! How you deal with staff thinking we're their personal assistants?
The little water droplet calls *are* a bit annoying, especially if they pull you off of something else you're doing that may be more pressing at the time but Mr Jeff made the point, we're in customer service. They pay us to clean things up and as trite as some of those calls can be, they're still our responsibility to deal with. When you get back to the office, you can roll your eyes and shake your head a bit at the silliness of some of the calls but at the end of the day, we're there because people know they can call us for their cleaning needs. When the staff and students see you performing your duties on the little things, they're going to know that when the really big flood happens or someone gets sick etc they're going to be able to count on you to be the best version of your professional self.
Thanks; this was very helpful. My only question is that I don't have a mopping machine to clean after the water stripping. What would you recommend as the best way to rinse the floor after stripping before you apply the wax?
@michaelreynolds1051 that’s what we had years ago. Definitely will work. The one not thing stripper will burn a shop vac up. Need to invest in a squeegee vac. They are designed for floor stripper.
If you're a lead and you have to perform Preventive Maintenance on equipment every month, try to do them as soon as the month begins, even before you get the paperwork. It's helped me stay on top of that part of my job.
Where's the best to work at as far as heavy workload and horrible messes are concerned? Elementary, junior high, highschool, or preschool? Really appreciate the honesty! :)
Not sure why I watch videos of another person doing the same work I do in my free time but you got yourself a new subscriber. Cant wait to hit up your backlog lol
Hey Jeff question since ur a janitor ik some custodians are responsible for like lawn maintenance like mowing and all that do ur school have u do it or do they hire a company
Have you ever had trouble with dips or low spots in floors that makes it difficult to imposible to strip all the wax off with the machine? For example I stripped 4 classrooms, a hall and a cafeteria floor 3 times first with a thin 3M black hi-pro pad to get the buildup off, standard 3M black stripping pad to remove the base layers, then a brown 3M pad to get the rest of it off (much like sanding bondo on a car in a body shop) that was missed especially if the floor was slightly uneven. In the cafeteria and hallway the floors had dips in it and I could tell it was still spotty in areas that are just not coming up even with having stripper soak on it for 20 minutes and scrubbing it with the machine and the different kinds of stripping pads I had on hand. I mixed my stripper 4:1 with warm water so I doubt that’s an issue. Any tips?
Yes I have had those low spots. I have took a piece of pad take my foot and do a scrubbing in low spots. Also you can take a slow buffer and tilt it just a little to onside with minimal pressure to work in those low place during scrubbing. Can be a pain to deal with.
The saint of all flooring is linoleum!, but if some senior citizens walk into the locker room wearing winter studs the whole floor needs to be replaced. lmao
We stripped and waxed our high school commons this year. Took us nearly 2 weeks. When you got the right equipment and good people the job is a cake walk.Been working for our school as a janitor for over 10 years and I still love what I do. Thanks for sharing Jeff?
Ya know, using a microfiber mop applies wax alot nicer. And you are so very correct about walking on stripper,lol it's worse than ice. It will send you for a ride
I have done this for 16 years and still learn everyday on the job or via RU-vid. When people ask me how to do something you have a video on I 100% share it to them. Mr. Jeff is the GOAT!!!
Well I feel the same way that we are always learning. The day we think, we know it all. It time to go to the house and stay. lol the Goat far from it. But thanks for the compliment.
What brand and name of stripper did you use during the 20+ years you worked as a custodian? I used Spartan Emulsifier Plus, Betco Ax-It and Diversey Pro Strip
When I worked the night shift for the Supermarket I am currently employed at I learned how to take care of the floors and was such a satisfying job. I know what you mean about not wanting to do a Chemical Strip unfortunately that is how its still done today with our company only to save time..
Very good advice. I’m always accommodating if somebody walks up to me with a good attitude. I treat people like I want to be treated, and I expect the same in return. I’ve never really understood why in the public school systems The attitude and demeanor towards custodians can be so bad sometimes. We’re all human and we have a role to play and we need to be team members and not work against each other.
Vct s the most common floors we deal with. You can strip and top scrub it. Terrazzo designed to be waxed. But in most case it is. So if it is. It can also be top scrubbed and waxed. LVT a good top scrub clean when needed. No wax on LVT. Also ceramic floor can be top scrubbed. Never wax ceramic or use stripper on ceramic or LVT.
I don’t have any trouble cleaning it out. We have a wax and not bucket. I cleaning it everyday after every use. Trash bags usually leak any way. The wringer gets more buildup than the bucket does.
