Transportation & Logistics
Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment
Also called: Aircraft Cleaner, Automotive Detailer (Auto Detailer), Bus Cleaner, Car Detailer
US median pay
$35,830
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
+3.9%
about average or slower
Openings a year (US)
51,500
419,500 employed
Typical entry education
No formal educational credential
Preparation 2/5 · Some preparation
What this job is
Wash or otherwise clean vehicles, machinery, and other equipment. Use such materials as water, cleaning agents, brushes, cloths, and hoses.
What they do day to day
- Rinse objects and place them on drying racks or use cloth, squeegees, or air compressors to dry surfaces.
- Apply paints, dyes, polishes, reconditioners, waxes, or masking materials to vehicles to preserve, protect, or restore color or condition.
- Clean and polish vehicle windows.
- Drive vehicles to or from workshops or customers' workplaces or homes.
- Scrub, scrape, or spray machine parts, equipment, or vehicles, using scrapers, brushes, clothes, cleaners, disinfectants, insecticides, acid, abrasives, vacuums, or hoses.
- Inspect parts, equipment, or vehicles for cleanliness, damage, and compliance with standards or regulations.
- Mix cleaning solutions, abrasive compositions, or other compounds, according to formulas.
- Maintain inventories of supplies.
- Pre-soak or rinse machine parts, equipment, or vehicles by immersing objects in cleaning solutions or water, manually or using hoists.
- Turn valves or disconnect hoses to eliminate water, cleaning solutions, or vapors from machinery or tanks.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Quality Control Analysis3.0/5
- Operation and Control3.0/5
- Operations Monitoring2.9/5
- Time Management2.8/5
- Service Orientation2.4/5
- Troubleshooting2.2/5
- Systems Analysis2.2/5
- Repairing2.2/5
Knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service3.5/5
- English Language3.3/5
- Transportation3.1/5
- Administration and Management2.9/5
- Public Safety and Security2.9/5
- Production and Processing2.8/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 2 of 5 — Some preparation. Usually a high school diploma; some previous work experience or training helps.
Typical entry education (BLS): No formal educational credential.
Highest education of people in this job:
- High school diploma54%
- Less than high school24%
- Some college20%
Who this job suits
Mostly Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.