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Bi-O-Kleen - A Family Affair
Vancouver, WA - Jim Rimer's mission was born out of the rashes, headaches and other illnesses of his clients. The industrial chemical sales representative could not ignore the conclusion drawn: caustic ether, butyls, acids and other chemicals were causing health problems in those who used the cleaning products he sold. He was tired of selling poison. That was almost 15 years ago. Today, Rimer along with his daughter Cindy and son-in law, Barry, are compelling voices in the growing industry of environmentally sound, non-toxic cleaning products. Bi-O-Kleen products are sold in retail outlets throughout the U.S. reaping the family-run company an ever-increasing share of the $33.1 million a year industry.
Cindy came on board 11 years ago to lend marketing and sales expertise to the company's unique product line. Barry, her husband, recently joined as General Manager. Together, the team expects to take Bi-O-Kleen ahead with new, innovative concepts like an all-natural alternative to conventional lubricants, Soy Lube-SL-100. Citra-Soy Solvent is a powerful all-purpose cleaner and natural solvent that combines soy extract and a safe percentage of pure citrus. Soy extract is a powerful cleaner that has been previously only available for industrial use.
Consumers do not need a degree in biochemistry to understand Bi-O-Kleen's ingredient labels. Simple ingredients like soy, natural enzymes, grapefruit seed extract, coconut, botanical extracts, and perlite (natural volcanic perlite) are formulated using leading-edge technologies. The products are powerful enough for industrial use, yet gentle enough for households with asthmatics, chemically sensitive, children and even exotic pets which are known to be ultra-sensitive to chemicals.
He concludes that even much of the supposed “natural” cleaning products on the market are not completely safe. To prove his point, Bi-O-Kleen has hired an independent, third party consultant to evaluate their products and to generate their MSDS (Materials Safety Data Sheet). Most companies generate their MSDS with their own in-house evaluations, never using third party findings. The company's result is a third party audit that is based on standards that forbid any suspected carcinogens and exceed those set by the standard-setting organization, Green Seal.
"There is no Federal agency that regulates cleaning products used in homes in America,” explains Cindy. “My passion is to educate the consumer about the caustics, acids, carcinogens, and corrosives that are in the products that they have right under their kitchen sinks. Consumers have a right to know what damage can be manifested from these chemicals. The situation is out of control - for people and the planet."
The company's sense of urgency drives Jim Rimer to get onto review boards and panels where he is not always popular. For instance, he was recently instrumental in convincing an EPA funded panel, National Green Cleaning Alliance, to blacklist butyl, which is a petroleum-based chemical found in most household cleaning products including many that are labeled “green”. Rimer accomplished this only after he pushed the fact: butyl is a known toxin that enters through the skin then into the bloodstream causing cell damage.
Rimer won't stop promoting his cause or creating his effective product line. As Cindy explains, “My Dad is never satisfied - he is driven to make cleaning products better and safer for all our children's future.”
 Copyright © 2004-2006 Sparky Boy Enterprises. All rights reserved.
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