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Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment
Wash or otherwise clean vehicles, machinery, and other equipment. Use such materials as water, cleaning agents, brushes, cloths, and hoses.
Also Known As:
Aircraft Cleaner
Automotive Detailer (Auto Detailer)
Bus Cleaner
Car Detailer
Car Washer
Cleaner
Detail Technician (Detail Tech)
Detailer
Reconditioner
Sanitation Truck Cleaner
Wages
Annual wages for Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment in United States
Job Outlook
Average
New job opportunities are likely in the future
United States
2033 Projected Employment
420,600
4% Change From 2023
Explore Hand Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Pre-soak or rinse machine parts, equipment, or vehicles by immersing objects in cleaning solutions or water, manually or using hoists.
- Apply paints, dyes, polishes, reconditioners, waxes, or masking materials to vehicles to preserve, protect, or restore color or condition.
- Mix cleaning solutions, abrasive compositions, or other compounds, according to formulas.
- Lubricate machinery, vehicles, or equipment or perform minor repairs or adjustments, using hand tools.
- Disassemble and reassemble machines or equipment or remove and reattach vehicle parts or trim, using hand tools.
- Turn valves or disconnect hoses to eliminate water, cleaning solutions, or vapors from machinery or tanks.
- Drive vehicles to or from workshops or customers' workplaces or homes.
- Pre-soak or rinse machine parts, equipment, or vehicles by immersing objects in cleaning solutions or water, manually or using hoists.
- Fit boot spoilers, side skirts, or mud flaps to cars.
- Turn valves or handles on equipment to regulate pressure or flow of water, air, steam, or abrasives from sprayer nozzles.
- Clean and polish vehicle windows.
- Maintain inventories of supplies.
- Monitor operation of cleaning machines and stop machines or notify supervisors when malfunctions occur.
- Transport materials, equipment, or supplies to or from work areas, using carts or hoists.
- Scrub, scrape, or spray machine parts, equipment, or vehicles, using scrapers, brushes, clothes, cleaners, disinfectants, insecticides, acid, abrasives, vacuums, or hoses.
- Clean the plastic work inside cars, using paintbrushes.
- Sweep, shovel, or vacuum loose debris or salvageable scrap into containers and remove containers from work areas.
- Sweep, shovel, or vacuum loose debris or salvageable scrap into containers and remove containers from work areas.
- Rinse objects and place them on drying racks or use cloth, squeegees, or air compressors to dry surfaces.
- Inspect parts, equipment, or vehicles for cleanliness, damage, and compliance with standards or regulations.
- Sweep, shovel, or vacuum loose debris or salvageable scrap into containers and remove containers from work areas.
- Connect hoses or lines to pumps or other equipment.
- Scrub, scrape, or spray machine parts, equipment, or vehicles, using scrapers, brushes, clothes, cleaners, disinfectants, insecticides, acid, abrasives, vacuums, or hoses.
- Press buttons to activate cleaning equipment or machines.
- Monitor operation of cleaning machines and stop machines or notify supervisors when malfunctions occur.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")