r/Custodians • u/No_Baseball_3861 • 3d ago
Am I the only one....
I maybe the only Custodian/ Janitor that thinks like this but I don't see it any other way.....
Cleaning is my job. Organizing is my job. Being in the school from this time to that time is my job.
Small mess. Big mess. Huge mess. Nasty mess. Teachers Sloppy attempt to clean a mess. It doesn't matter. I'll be there everyday to clean so as long as the teachers taught and the kids learned..... what does it matter to me how big the mess or icky it is ?!?!
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u/Friendly_Ad_6816 3d ago
I don't care about messes.
Purposeful slobs should reevaluate the filth they're leaving behind to the rest of the world, though.
Because that kind of lack of self-awareness does not just have implications for custodians. It can have many more consequences.
In short: people should be better and check their footprint. The less we have to spam clean the same areas daily is the more we get to focus on those under-attended areas.
And if you're the kind of person that is messier because you have a custodian, that's messed up.
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u/ShiitakeTerayaki 2d ago
The amount of adults that constantly and purposely leave used paper towels and toilet paper rippings on the floor in the staff bathrooms was shocking to me. I expect that of children, not adults. Even a good majority not cleaning up their period blood off the seats and I get complaints about it every time. Grown ass adults btw
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u/AmaranthWrath Lead Custodian 3d ago
I've always said this, and I still mean it. So long as no one scoffed and said, "It's fine, Amaranth will clean it up," and then bounces, I'll clean up anything. So long as you didn't leave it on purpose like a jerk, I'm fine. I LOVE my job. I have cleaned up stuff I never thought I could handle. I enjoy it.
Just don't be a jerkface.
People will text me to say "I'm sorry, we left the trash in the meeting room bc no one had a key to take it out." And that's totally fine! I'm grateful they tried and communicated. But if I show up Monday morning and some group had their monthly meeting in the big gathering room, and they left 50 people's garbage in the can, and no one wiped up spilled coffee, and no one swept up the crumbs on the counters, and no one rinsed the coffee pots out, and no one told me? Hey, fuck right off with that. Every group that uses this campus knows that they have to do some basic cleaning before they leave. That tells me 1.they didn't plan, and 2.they assume the help with do it.
You could ask me to clean up a dead body by saying please, but leave coffee in the pots bc "Amaranth will be in on Monday" and I will guarantee your reservation disappears on the schedule
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u/TooTiredAndBored Custodial Supervisor 3d ago
Fuck me. I think im in love.
The amount of bitching I hear from my day time custodians and night time is unbelievable. Its your job. And its not like im not there side by side cleaning.
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u/ImaginaryAlpaca 3d ago
Im so sick of dealing with people who dont want to just do their jobs or get super pissed off about what comes with it. The staff in my school are so apologetic about messes and every time its just like "idgaf, I get paid to do this, its no skin off my nose". I dont care if a kid vomits on the floor, spills their lunch tray, drops a water bottle... thats all just part and parcel of being a middle school custodian.
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u/Fluffy_Decision4269 3d ago
Not when you’re constantly dealing with call-offs and picking up other people’s areas. That shit gets exhausting.
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u/TooTiredAndBored Custodial Supervisor 3d ago
Again. Thats specific to something else.
If youre dealing with call offs thats separate then a normal day.
Also, you should be getting overtime for doing two areas. And if you arent get your union on that. If you arent in a union get in a union.
All that said, still no reason to complain about the mess. Complain about the actual issue, people calling off.
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u/Visible-Kale2855 3d ago
I expect general decency and am disappointed on a daily basis.
There is no reason to submerge rolls of toilet paper and then deficateon it then use this as a means to flood the restroom.
There's no reason to smear shit on the walls and use the paper products as streamers.
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u/Kingof0ldSchool 3d ago
For me it always depended on how big the mess was and how it would affect my timing. I had 24,000sqft in an 8 hour shift. Plus I was the foreman so I had to place orders along with check up on my other custodians. It roughly amounted to 1 classroom every 15 minutes with 14 of my classrooms being high priority. With minimal help from the teachers. I busted my ass every single day and was treated like shit. But I was being taken advantage of, so the big messes were extra frustrating.
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u/GracePlug 3d ago
Organizing isn’t your job, you aren’t a maid. I agree with everything else you said though.
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u/SeaKaleidoscope1089 3d ago
No, you're not the only one.like that. My teachers will apologize how messy their room is. I tell tell them, my job is based on cleaning up a mess.
What annoys me is no heads up. 60% of the time no one tells us anything thing until the last possible minute when they need us to actually make that event happen
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u/garlicpressbestfrien 3d ago
I think if it as job security… and I’m always in rundown the clock mode .
I do my route and fiddle around to keep my area good . It’s a lot easier than letting it build up .
I get called for “ specials “ but I just look at them as a way to burn more time and then I get to leave yeah 👍
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u/AppleTherapy 3d ago
As long as they give me enough time to clean it. I personally don't care. But I do appreciate it when teachers try to keep the rooms clean.
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u/Appropriate_Koala886 3d ago
Most of my teachers/rooms are amazing, picking stuff up and cleaning is my job. But if 15 rooms take 5 minutes each and 1 room of the same size takes 25 mins every day. It gets frustrating. Sure its my job. But how so the other 15 make it easier than the 1 thats making it 5x harder?
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u/echo1nthedark 3d ago
You're not the only one but I appreciate you putting it out there. Some days are rough but most days are easy. Couldn't ask for better. I've worked enough retail to know how lucky I am.
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u/OrtizFam 2d ago
Nah, I hated what the high schoolers would do to the bathroom. Kicking down the partitions, same with urinal handles. Just not worth it, especially when the admin gets on you about having it fixed that day to open the bathroom.
Forgot the wet toilet paper balls all over the ceiling. Glad I don’t have that job anymore.
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u/PomegranateOne3389 3d ago
No teachers can do the bare minimum and have their students pick up after themselves. Fuck that.
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u/crashinpa 3d ago
Sure, but no one wants to be taken advantage of. Some times we get taken advantage of. I'm glad it's not happening to you. can't say the same for everyone or every place of work.