Industrial cleaning process occupations: salary in the UK
About £24,625 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +5.9% on last year
£2,443 a month About £2,052 a month after tax 9 thousand full-time jobs
Gross pay before tax, including bonuses, commission and overtime. Not included: benefits in kind such as a company car. About the data
Pay range
The dark part is the middle half of full-time employees (25% to 75%); the light bar runs from 10% to 90%. ONS doesn't publish the highest or lowest salary, and x means a figure wasn't published.
Pay by year
The median went from £21,319 in 2021 to £29,313 in 2026 (+37%); for all full-time employees in the UK it changed by +31% over the same years.
Figures by year
| P10 | P25 | Median | P75 | P90 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | £16,625 | £18,839 | £21,319 | £24,263 | x |
| 2022 | x | £18,924 | £21,738 | x | x |
| 2023 | x | £20,581 | £23,869 | £28,434 | x |
| 2024 | x | £22,991 | £25,593 | £30,310 | x |
| 2025 | £22,959 | £25,354 | £27,670 | £32,512 | x |
| 2026 | x | £26,051 | £29,313 | x | x |
ONS figures for each year, not adjusted for inflation. Years before 2021 used a different occupation classification, so they can't be compared. Earlier years are ONS's revised figures; the latest is provisional.
Half of full-time employees in this occupation earn less than £29,313 a year and half earn more. That is 28% less than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
Ranked by median, it is number 311 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £2,052 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £2,055 in Scotland.
The median for men is £29,481 and for women £26,737, a gap of 9% in men's favour. This compares full-time salaries only and doesn't account for seniority or hours.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | x | x |
| 20th | £25,256 | £2,105 |
| 25th (P25) | £26,051 | £2,171 |
| 30th | £27,057 | £2,255 |
| 40th | £28,277 | £2,356 |
| Median (50th) | £29,313 | £2,443 |
| 60th | £30,012 | £2,501 |
| 70th | x | x |
| 75th (P75) | x | x |
| 80th | x | x |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | £29,481 | £30,832 | x |
| Women | £26,737 | £27,243 | x |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £24,625 | £2,052 |
| Scotland | £24,664 | £2,055 |
After Income Tax and National Insurance for 2026 to 2027, with the standard tax code and no pension or student loan. Work out your own take-home pay · Take-home pay on £29,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 103 job titles to SOC 9131 Industrial cleaning process occupations. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Air conditioner
- Bag cleaner
- Barrel cleaner
- Barrel washer
- Basket washer
- Bogie cleaner
- Boiler cleaner
- Boiler house cleaner
- Boiler tube cleaner
- Book cleaner
- Boot cleaner
- Bottle cleaner
- Bottle rinser
- Bottle washer
- Box cleaner
- Box washer
- Brass cleaner
- Buddle cleaner
- Bulb washer
- Card cleaner
- Carding engine cleaner
- Carriage washer
- Cask cleaner
- Cask washer
- Cleaner
- Cleaner and greaser
- Cleaner-engineer
- Cleaner-stoker
- Cleaning machinist
- Confined space operative
- Crane cleaner
- Cycle cleaner
- Decomposer cleaner
- Drainman
- Drum cleaner
- Drum washer
- Dry man
- Dust destructor foreman
- Emptier
- Engine cleaner
- Equipment cleaner
- Factory cleaner
- Fireman
- Fluffer
- Frame cleaner
- Gulley cleaner
- Gulley man
- Heald cleaner
- Heddle cleaner
- High pressure water jetter
- Hydraulic cleaner
- Hygiene cleaner
- Hygiene operative
- Hygiene operator
- Hygiene worker
- Hygienist
- Incinerator operator
- Industrial cleaner
- Jar washer
- Jet cleaner
Show all 103 titles
- Jet man
- Jetting machinist
- Keg washer
- Key cleaner
- Laboratory cleaner
- Labourer
- Lamp cleaner
- Lens cleaner
- Line cleaner
- Loco cleaner
- Locomotive cleaner
- Machine cleaner
- Machine cleansing operative
- Machinery cleaner
- Magnetic tape cleaner
- Maintenance cleaner
- Mould cleaner
- Night hygienist
- Pipe cleaner
- Pit cleaner
- Plant cleaner
- Pot washer
- Power house cleaner
- Printer's cleaner
- Refuse destructor man
- Road and yard cleaner
- Road cleaner
- Roofman
- Sack cleaner
- Scrap cleaner
- Sheet cleaner
- Silver cleaner
- Steam cleaner
- Still cleaner
- Tank cleaner
- Tin cleaner
- Train cleaner
- Tray cleaner
- Tube cleaner
- Vat cleaner
- Ware cleaner
- Washing machinist
- Works cleaner
Similar occupations
All jobs in Elementary occupations
Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2026 provisional, Table 14.7a (full-time employees, gross annual pay, UK, tax year ending 5 April 2026). Provisional figures may be revised.