Janitor Joe released two studio albums and four singles on OXO and Amphetamine Reptile before disbanding after Pfaff's death in June 1994.

[1] Janitor Joe became a staple of the Minneapolis sound, characterized by vicious, riff-driven, thickly layered blasts of noise, influenced by the Pacific Northwest's early grunge sound and by the sharper, faster DC Post-hardcore scene, as well as the stop-start distortion of the Butthole Surfers, Shellac and others on the Touch and Go label.

Pfaff and Breuer both contributed songs to Big Metal Birds: "Both operate within easy reach of the line separating punishment and reward: Pfaff's contributions (the surly "Boys in Blue") tend to be slightly more spacious, while Breuer's ("One Eye," for instance) stipulate that drummer Matt Entsminger maintain perpetual motion", wrote David Sprague of TrouserPress magazine.

Her plans to return to Minneapolis and rejoin Janitor Joe permanently were curtailed when, in June 1994, she was found dead of a heroin overdose in her bathtub.

On August 29, 2010, Breuer, Paul Erickson of Hammerhead & Vaz, and Enstminger reformed the group for a one-off performance at Amphetamine Reptile Records' 25th anniversary bash in Minneapolis.