Our Story

Ahead of his time, Jim understood the power of plants. In the 1980s, with still little awareness about the negative health and environmental impacts of toxin-rich cleaners, one man felt that something wasn’t right. A sales executive for a chemical supply company, at the time, Jim Rimer grew disturbed by the harmful side effects he witnessed among customers and colleagues, from skin rashes to respiratory disease and worse. So when his attempts to implement safety and educational trainings on the use of those products led to his firing, he vowed to find non-toxic, effective alternatives, and Biokleen was born.

Cleaning carpets for seed money, Jim spent his nights studying chemistry and botany to formulate what would become Biokleen’s first leading-edge plant-based product, All Purpose Cleaner II. (All Purpose Cleaner I just wasn’t good enough for Jim.) In his Portland, Oregon garage, with only a drum and wooden oar, he designed cleaners powerful enough for the commercial industry he knew. Word caught on about the man who sold truly effective, non-toxic janitorial products, and soon families began requesting smaller bottles for their homes.

Demand for Biokleen products continued to increase over the ensuing decades as the company continued to innovate and expand its offerings across more and more cleaning categories, including with the launch of the groundbreaking Bac-Out® line in 1991. Now more than 30 years after Jim introduced the world to All Purpose Cleaner II, Biokleen is available not only at retailers across the country, but online as well.

To produce EFFECTIVE PLANT- and MINERAL-BASED cleaners with a PASSION for innovation, DEDICATION to performance and a guiding COMMITMENT to our customers and their families, pets and our planet.

At Biokleen, we’ve built our legacy on highly effective cleaning products that don’t use—and don’t need—toxic chemicals. Initially founded to make plant-based, non-caustic cleaners for professional services and janitors, we bring those same powerful formulas to families and homes across America today. As part of that commitment, all Biokleen products are free of phosphates, chlorine, ammonia, alcohol, butyl, glycol ether, brighteners, artificial colors, artificial fragrance. We believe that a house free of toxins is a home full of love.