Thank You, Cleaning Workers.

Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019, is National Custodian Day. And to celebrate, we’ve made it really easy to show the person who cleans your office, your child’s school or the person wiping down the sink in the airport restroom just how much you appreciate what they do.

Cleaning workers are the invisible heroes who keep our schools, offices and hospitals productive and safe. Download our special thank-you card which you can print, trim and fold into a 5″x7″ note to give to the person or people who clean the places you visit.

Why are cleaning workers so important?

Research regularly shows that clean buildings are not only linked to better health, but also better business outcomes. Absenteeism is lower and test scores are higher in clean schools. Office workers are more productive.

Commercial buildings account for almost half of the 150 million tons of waste generated in the U.S. each year—if janitors weren’t there to remove that waste, can you imagine what our buildings would look like?

Yet despite the importance of their job, cleaning workers receive very little compensation for what they do. They also among the lowest paid workers in the U.S. and experience the third highest rate of injury of all occupations. Because so much of their work is performed in the evening, while we are sleeping or enjoying time with family or friends, many janitors don’t even receive as much as a “thank you” for the difficult and important the work they perform.

In honor of National Custodian Day, let’s take a moment to say thank you. If you see a janitor in the buildings where you work or visit, take a moment to let you know you see them. Let them know how much you appreciate what they do.