We are KLEEN-Machine

Hello everyone!

We are KLEEN-Machine. Makers of FLEXWIPES, your #1 choice in gym equipment wipes.

We’ve got a lot to offer, so we’re getting a blog started to keep our customers up to date on our products, industry, and all other important news pertaining to wipes. Staying connected is important to us! You can look forward to more activity on our Facebook and blog in the coming months.

Here are some things you might want to know about us here at KLEEN-Machine:

We’re located right outside of Philadelphia in Bensalem, PA.

We are wipe enthusiasts. This is all we do. Our passion is delivering you the best possible wipe out there to keep people safe and healthy.

We value our customers. We excel at customer service, and are always available to solve your problems.

So that’s that! Check us out on Facebook or at http://www.kleen-machine.com

Why Choose Wipes Over Spray?

Choosing between wipes and spray bottles to clean your gym can be a tough choice. A couple of things can come into play here, like cost, quality, and usage amounts in your gym. Those are all important, but let me tell you why you might want to choose wipes (particularly FLEXWIPES) as your gym cleaning solution.

Wipes kill it

Wipes are the best for laying down our EPA registered formula on your equipment to REALLY kill all the viruses and other things that lurk on gym equipment. With a spray bottle and towel, all your members are doing are spraying the cleaner on, and wiping it right back up. No. That cleaner needs to sit on the equipment a little longer to actually kill anything it claims to kill. That’s why a wipe is best. It lays down the formula and keeps it on the equipment.

No ‘Over Spray’

’You all know the member, the one that goes a little crazy with the spray bottle. Extra liquid on your screens and equipment can do some damage. A wipe lays down the correct dose of formula without over saturating and ruining your equipment.

It elevates your space

Having some nice stainless-steel dispensers or sleek wall dispensers instead of spray bottles strewn across the gym gives your members a more efficient workout experience, as well as elevates the look and feel of your gym. Your members don’t have to walk across the gym to get a spray bottle and towel, and then walk back to return it. With wipes, they just have to grab a wipe, wipe their equipment down, and toss it in a nearby trashcan.

 

 

In the end, the choice between a spray bottle and wipes is yours. Here at Kleen-Machine, we’re committed to giving you a great price, and your gym members a great experience. Give us a call if you’re looking to make the switch. (215-245-7300)

Talk to you soon!

Member Education

Just as you help to educate your gym members about how to properly use the equipment in your gym, educating them about how to properly dispense and use the cleaning wipes is just as important! We get a decent amount of questions about how to properly dispense Flexwipes, so we’re hoping this helps!

Educating your members about proper wipe usage can help you save money and wipes.

Member education starts with showing members how to properly dispense and the wipes so that you don’t get so many wipes coming out at once. How do you do that? There are a couple different ways you can accomplish this.

1. Hang a sign above your dispensers. The sign could ask that members to use only one wipe per machine, or how to properly pull the wipe at a 45-degree angle. Pulling at a 45-degree angle ensures that you only get one wipe per pull.

2. Maybe you’d like to help educate your members when they first sign up. As a part of your gym tour stop by a wipe dispenser and do a quick demo about how to pull the wipe out and properly dispose of it wherever you might have trashcans.

3.If you have a gym that’s class based, giving your instructors a little education doesn’t hurt. When the instructor knows how to dispense the wipes, they can help out any members who are having trouble with multiple-wipe usage or dispensing.

 

Helping members by teaching them how to pull the wipes out correctly and not go crazy wiping down equipment with multiple wipes will help your roll last longer, which means you could buy a little less often! Once your members and your instructors know how to easily and properly dispense one wipe at a time by pulling at a 45-degree angle, hopefully you’ll start to notice that you’re not burning through wipes as often.

Sydney Elder-Customer Service Specialist

A couple of months ago we welcomed Sydney to our team! She joined us as our customer service specialist, you may have talked to her on the phone or received a helpful email from her. To help you get to know her and to further welcome her to the team, we’re blogging about her.

Sydney was born in Indiana, but has spent most of her life in the greater Philadelphia area. Before she started working here with us in June, Sydney worked for the Montgomery County District Attorney’s office as an administrative assistant.  Sydney studied Psychology and Business at Bryn Athyn College. “I came to Kleen-Machine because I wanted to expand my experience into the business world and use my background in psychology to connect with customers” she said. Connecting with customers is a key part of the customer service job, and Sydney loves being able to solve problems for customers and work with them directly. Whenever you call, she always greets you with a friendly tone and helpful attitude.

Kleen Machine is a unique place to work in the sense that we are a manufacturer as well as a customer facing business, Sydney’s favorite part about our business is that we’re dedicated to our customers’ satisfaction no matter how big or small they are. She fits into our team great in this way, because she’s always willing to do what it takes to make our customers’ days a little easier, whether that’s tracking a package or helping get an urgent last-minute shipment out, she’s here do it. She loves the versatility of the products we sell because they can help prevent sickness and keep everyone healthy.

On a more personal note, her love of animals runs deep, and she enjoys visiting her grandparent’s farm where she gets to hang out with horses, goats, chickens, cats and their dog, Jasper. She likes to keep herself busy outside of work hours by reading all kinds of books as well as serving up ice cream part time at a local Dairy Queen. Her favorite food is steak fajitas, who doesn’t love some good Mexican food?

Sydney is a great addition to our team here at Kleen-Machine and we hope this helped you get to know our team a little better!

A Step-by-Step Guide to Loading Your Flexwipes into Our Stainless-Steel Stand

Let’s imagine that you’re new to Flexwipes, so you buy some of our wonderful wipes, and of course you need somewhere to dispense them, so you throw in one of our fairly priced stainless-steel stands. Or maybe you’ve been using our wipes for a while and are switching from wall mounted dispensers to our stainless-steel stand option.

Here’s the catch, when it all comes in the mail you’re going to need to know how to load it in properly, don’t worry it’s easy!

 

Step 1: Unpack your stand.

You’ll notice when you unpack your new stand that there is a white bucket in the top, don’t keep it there! The white bucket should be transferred to the bottom to be your trashcan. Take the bucket out, unlatch the back of your stand, and stick it in the bottom to catch all the used wipes.

 

Step 2: Unpack a roll of your wipes.

This is easy. Take out a roll of your fresh Flexwipes, but keep them in the plastic. Open the lid of your stand and pop the wrapped wipes in the top. Now grab a pair of scissors. Only cut the top of the bag open, this way the rest of the bag holds the fluid and keeps the wipes at the right saturation.

Step 3: Start the roll.

Pull one wipe from the middle to get your roll started. Feed the start of your roll through the rubber top of the lid, and then place the lid back on the stand.

Step 4: Enjoy your new sleek stand.

Place your new stand wherever you like, stand back, and admire.

 

 

P.S. The best way to get your wipes to dispense from our stand is to pull at an angle, not straight up.

Which Type of Wiper are You?

We all have different habits when we go to the gym. We have our favorite machines, routines, and ways of doing things. Chances are when you work out, you’re working out with a whole lot of different types of people with different ideas of how the gym should be. When it comes to cleanliness, there are a couple different types out there…so which one are you?

 

The Before and After Type:

If you’re the before and after type, you’re wiping down the machines you use at the gym every chance you get. About to hop on a bike? You wipe that baby down. And when you’re done you clean the bike off too. You like to stay in tip top shape, and that includes your health. You take no chances as to whether or not the person before you decided to wipe the equipment down. You probably love Flexwipes since they’re easy to use and start killing all the nasty bugs on contact, and we don’t blame you. Keep being your amazing, clean self.

 

The After Type:

You wonder why anyone would wipe down equipment before they use it, you’re just going to get it sweaty anyway. Plus, you trust that the person before you also wiped the equipment down when they were done, that’s standard right? That’s why you choose to always wipe down the equipment you use after you’ve used it. You’re considerate, you know that nobody wants to sit down on a weight machine in a pool of your sweat.

 

The Before Only Type:

If you only wipe down the equipment you use before you use it, you trust that others will do the same. The before wiper counts on the fact that the person after them will know to wipe down the machine before they use it, because they didn’t wipe it down after they sweated all over it. The before only type pairs well with a ‘Before and After’ type, but is not compatible with the ‘After’ type,

 

The Person who Doesn’t:

I have nothing to say to you. Please buy yourself some Flexwipes and clean up after yourself.

Salesman Spotlight: Bill Braile

This month we’re doing a salesman spotlight on our salesman, Bill Braile.

Bill’s parents are from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was born in Brooklyn, NY, and grew up in Northern New Jersey (watch out when that New York accents comes out). In his free time, Bill loves to spend time with his fiancé and three daughters. Bill is filled with dad jokes and love for his family, including his dog, a Boxer named Louie. When the weather is good, Bill can be found riding his Triumph motorcycle through city streets and rural spaces with his friends.

Bill is an upbeat salesman who travels throughout the eastern states spreading the Flexwipes word. He’s been in sales for quite a while now, since 1993 to be exact. Bill has a passion for problem solving, which is what led him to sales in the first place. Improving a customer’s condition is the way he likes to view sales. Bill feels his success is a byproduct of fixing a problem for a customer.

Not only is he a problem solver, but he’s very customer service focused. Here at Kleen-Machine, we like to make sure our customers are well taken care of, and Bill embodies that as a salesman. When asked his favorite part about work for Kleen-Machine, Bill said “ I love working for a company that strives to innovate.  I love a company whose culture is to empower employees to participate and contribute to our success. Kleen-Machine is one of those companies.”

We do quite a bit of traveling for trade shows across the country to promote our fantastic Flexwipes. Bill has always welcomed travel as part of the job, and enjoys meeting people from all over the place. Though time away from his family can be a drag, he enjoys the new connections, and finding delicious restaurants to try in each new city.

When it comes to selling Flexwipes, Bill loves the fact that our wipes are safe and effective. His competitive nature drives him to give our customers the best pricing possible. If you’re one of Bills customers, he’s your wipes guy, and he’s proud of that!

2017 Reflection-2018 Goals

As 2017 came to a close about two weeks ago, we take January to reflect on the past year. We saw so much growth, met so many fantastic people, and have spread the Flexwipes word across the country! We had a great 2017, and we expect 2018 to be even better.

As we look forward to 2018, we want to keep serving our awesome customers with the best customer service and products out there.

Here are some things we’re looking forward to in 2018:

Trade shows!

We’ll be at various trade shows across the USA showcasing our products and making connections. We’ll be in Illinois, California, and a couple other states; we hope to see you around!

Giveaways!

We’ve done a couple small giveaways here and there on our Instagram, we’ll keep it up, and maybe we’ll add in a couple more ways to win Flexwipes gear, free wipes, and more!

Growth!

We’re going to keep showing our product to as many people as possible. We love saving business owners money, and giving them a product that will keep their members healthy and happy.

Thanks for being part of the Flexwipes family in 2017! And if you weren’t in 2017, we hope you’ll join us this year.

Kleen-Machine Takes Chicago

Hey everyone!

Last week the Flexwipes team was in Chicago at the Club Industry Show. We had so much fun getting to know the city and building new connections with people in the gym industry.

Here’s a round up of what we learned/were reminded of while we were in Chicago!

1.People are impressed with our pricing

We’re consistently a leader in price and that hasn’t changed! We give you the best product for the best price.

2. Sometimes people need a reminder about disinfectants and how important they are in the gym…

Explaining why Flexwipes are perfect for gym equipment and the health of a gym goer never gets old. If you need a reminder too read THIS.

3. People like free things

Nothing wrong with that! This trade show marked the first time that we had a giveaway at our table. Everyone loved our sweet Flexwipes gym towels. How could you not?

4. Deep dish pizza

Sauce, cheese, and thick crust. Need I say more?

5. Listen to the customer

We’re not just selling Flexwipes. We’re listening to our future customers needs and tailoring our service and pricing accordingly.

6. The beautiful Chicago skyline

Have you been to Chicago? Have you seen that skyline? Impressive!

7. There’s still time to wander even during a trade show

This goes two ways. Trade shows are super interesting. There are so many products and people out there to be discovered, and it’s always fun to see what’s new in the industry. There’s also time in the evening to get to know the city you’re in for a short time. There’s food to try and places to be explored. I was able to find Cloud Gate (or as many call it, the Bean) in Millennium Park and it was amazing!

 

Overall we had a fantastic time in the Windy City, and we’ll be back for more!

FDA Vs. EPA-What’s the Difference Anyway?

Do you know the difference between an FDA approved wipe and an EPA approved wipe?

Let’s talk.

First of all, FDA = Food and Drug Administration, EPA = Environmental Protection Agency

 

When it comes to wipes of all kinds there can be a lot of confusion here. Plain and simple an EPA registered wipe and an FDA registered wipe are going to give you two totally different claims and functions.

If a wipe is certified by the FDA that means it is for sanitizing your skin. Because technically speaking, it’s an over the counter drug. It can only sanitize your hands (or wherever you’re wiping it). So don’t reach for a hand-sanitizing wipe next time you want to clean something (that’s not your skin) off real quick. It probably won’t do much. You’re probably thinking, ‘if it sanitizes hands it must sanitize hard surfaces too, right? Because it has disinfectant on it?’

Not really, first of all the ingredients used to clean hands and hard surfaces like a counter or gym equipment are different. Hard surface disinfectants aren’t harmful to your skin, but I wouldn’t go rubbing your hands with it all day to clean them off, that’s not what it’s made for.

The most important thing is the CLAIM. If a wipe is certified by the FDA to clean your hands then it can’t also claim to clean hard surfaces. The same goes for an EPA registration for hard surfaces, it can’t also claim to kill anything on the skin.

So then what’s up with EPA registration? EPA registration is just for hard surface disinfectants and things that will not go on or in your body. They’re not meant for that purpose, that means they can’t claim to kill anything on your hands if you’re, say, wiping down equipment at the gym. The wipe can only claim to disinfect that hard surface. ALSO if your equipment wipe is not EPA certified, then guess what? It’s not a disinfectant. It’s just a cleaner. You can’t make claims about disinfectant without a certification.

 

All cleared up? I hope so! Extra questions about disinfectants? See here.

Now get out there and share your new knowledge with the world. When they ask of course, don’t just go around explaining the FDA and EPA to people who don’t care.