In the jobs thread, Claire thought that, because I’m a janitor, I might have some sage advice to give folks. Now, my job is a bit atypical, since I work at a university, but I’ll try to make all of these apply more-or-less universally.

1. Make sure your toilet flushes completely. I wanted to say “flush the [redacted] toilet,” but that’s not really enough. There are several reasons why a toilet might not get flushed, intentionally or otherwise, but the end result is gross regardless.Sometimes the automatic flusher doesn’t do its job. In that case, there’s almost always a button you can press that will take care of it. Sometimes you pull the handle, but it doesn’t fully work; in these cases you can generally futz with it and get it to work. It might require holding the handle until the job is done, or you might need to pull up instead of down.Some folks are raised with the idea of, “If it’s yellow, let it mellow.” That’s all fine and dandy in your house, where it’s just you and maybe a small group, with a toilet with at least a gallon of water. Doesn’t work so well in a building with dozens of folks, nor with urinals. Add several hours of festering, and only the strongest of air fresheners will be able to cover up the smell even slightly.

   Sometimes you think you leave too big of a mess, and are concerned about flooding. Usually this isn’t a problem, as modern commercial toilets are rather powerful for that very reason, even if they don’t use very much water. However, there might still be a problem; most of the time, a toilet won’t overflow on just one flush. Don’t re-flush until the water is back down to its normal level (which might take some time). And if you don’t want to personally tell someone of the problem, at least leave an “out of order” note on the door, and a note to whoever is in charge of that stuff that the toilet is clogged (you don’t have to say it’s you that did it).

2. If there is something that could be read on or near your desk, it very well might be. Notes, books, emails, memos, documents, whatever — if it’s out, it’s free game. Custodial work can be pretty boring. Even an office memo could stave off the boredom for a time. If there’s anything that you don’t want read, make sure it’s secured.
3. Bobby pins are Satan’s tools. Anything that has a low surface-area-to-mass ratio is difficult for vacuums to pick up. Also, anything that can get hooked in a carpet will. This makes staples, metal shavings and chips, and small sticks (like pine needles) hard to deal with, and will interrupt your janitor’s vacuuming. However, bobby pins are the worst. They are not only hard to deal with in the first place, but they are also hard to see. However, they are light enough to eventually get sucked up, where they will almost always get stuck in the piping somewhere and clog the vacuum. Smaller sewing needles have a similar problem, though they are meant to be easy to see, unlike most bobby pins.
4. Put waste in the proper place. Trash goes in trash cans. Recycle stuff goes in the proper recycle can. Feminine hygiene products go in the little bags. Toilet paper goes in the toilet. Not around them. Not behind them. IN them (especially that last one).
5. Don’t put trash in cans without bags. Trash cans are a pain to clean, and can smell even after. Trash bags, on the other hand, are easy to take care of. Same goes with broken bags, or bags not properly placed.
6. Secure your valuables. Not just talking about theft, though janitors can come from … less honorable populations. It’s just that janitors can become complacent, as people do. And it’s been my observation that they can be less observant or thoughtful than you might like. In the routine, they might not catch that the important document you need to scan in before tomorrow’s meeting — but you just weren’t able to do today — isn’t just another piece of garbage, especially if it fell off your desk. You don’t want to be this guy.
7. Report anything unusual. Like I said, custodians can get into a complacent routine. They might not catch something that falls outside that. If you notice something that isn’t right — might be something minor, like your trash not being taken out like it should, or something more major, like a leak or a big clog — you should report it to whoever takes care of that stuff. Makes it much more likely that the problem will be fixed.
8. If you have a nice chair, it will be sat in. If you have an unusually nice chair, the janitor will probably want to check it out. They might bring their crew to also try it. They might even take a break in that chair.
9. Be courteous. A worker doesn’t become your servant just because they are picking up your messes. They are free people, and they are free to do things you might not like. And many janitors didn’t get the job by making the best decisions in life. Just sayin’.
10. Don’t puke in trash cans and not take care of it yourself. It’s just gross. Add in that it will probably be a while before anyone comes to take care of the trash, and it’s even more gross. There are some things that come with the territory of cleaning up people’s messes — but that shouldn’t be one of them.