Lakemoor carpet specialist goes to White House

Originally Published in the Northwest Herald – See Full Article Here

Business owner among few to treat West Wing carpets

Published: Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016 5:40 a.m. CDT ā€¢ Updated: Monday, Jan. 18, 2016 12:37 a.m. CDT
By STEPHEN Di BENEDETTO – sdibenedetto@shawmedia.com
LAKEMOOR ā€“ Itā€™s not every day a business owner from McHenry County receives an invitation to work inside the room that held President Barack Obama and his national security team during the 2011 raid on Osama bin Ladenā€™s Pakistan compound.

So, David Meintz, a textile cleaner and restoration specialist in Lakemoor, canā€™t blame himself for initially overlooking the email that presented him with such an opportunity on New Yearā€™s Eve.

ā€œHe put it out earlier in the week, and I kind of blew it off because it was New Yearā€™s Eve and we had plans,ā€ Meintz said. ā€œBut then I was like, ā€˜Wait, this is a chance to work in the White House.ā€™ā€

The email Meintz nearly missed was from his mentor Chris Howell, who runs Colorful Carpets and services the Washington, D.C. area.

Howell invited Meintz and three other carpet cleaning and restoration specialists from across the country to the White House to treat carpets in the West Wing and Situation Room on New Yearā€™s Eve.

Meintz, who owns Clean Bee Cleaning and Restoration and the Cleaning Studio in Lakemoor, said he was taught by Howell to use a treatment process called ā€œColorCleanā€ that restores the original coloring of carpets and oriental rugs. The process helped Howell secure the carpet cleaning project in the White House, Meintz said.

He described the experience as surreal, especially since Meintz visited the nationā€™s capitol only one other time for a work function.The Situation Room, a restricted area in the ground level of the West Wing featuring conference rooms for intelligence and emergency services, is where Obama and his national security team watched the successful raid that killed al-Qaedaā€™s top leader in May 2011.

Dating back to the John F. Kennedy administration, presidents and their national security advisers often have used the room to oversee foreign crises and missions.

Meintz strictly cleaned the carpets throughout the Situation Room, as federal agents monitored his every step ā€“ even when it was time for a water break, he recalled. He and the other specialists applied the ColorClean process to carpets in common areas throughout the West Wing and restored the coloring.

The treatment process uses dye that matches a carpetā€™s dominant color and applies it through the cleaning solution during cleaning. It helps diminish the ā€œdinginessā€ in older carpets, Meintz said.

During his visit inside the West Wing, Meintz also made sure to note his surroundings since they had to give up their phones after entering the building. He spotted mail dropboxes with the labels ā€œpresidentā€ and ā€œvice presidentā€ on it and took note of original building features.

ā€œIt was phenomenal. I had a sense of excitement but also felt privileged that I was afforded the opportunity,ā€ Meintz said. ā€œI consider it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.ā€

 

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David Meintz

David Meintz
Owner, Operations Manager

I am the owner of Clean Bee, the husband of Michelle Meintz and proud father to two sets of twins. I am hard working, driven, caring and passionate, I live my life to hopefully inspire others and to lead by example.

Prior to starting Clean Bee, I was an aircraft mechanic for 15 years where I learned the value of structure, attention to detail, having a team you can count on, and knowing that having and following procedures is critical to being successful.

As one of the leaders of Clean Bee, one of my main goals is to provide a valued skill set to our employees, instilling pride in the job performed and making sure that each employee knows they are valued.

I enjoy weight lifting, cross fit and Obstacle course racing, as well as traveling with my wife and family.

 

Michelle Meintz

Michelle Meintz
AKA The Queen Bee

I am the owner of Clean Bee, the wife of David Meintz, proud mom of two sets of twins and a proud pet owner. I am passionate, loving, caring, enthusiastic, have a big heart and love helping others be the best they can be.

I love being a local family-owned and operated company, working alongside my husband David and my mother-in-law Kathleen daily. I am grateful for our phenomenal crew we have. I have enjoyed watching them grow as individuals, create their own families and helping them successfully reaching their dreams.

Some of my favorite things to do are gardening, card crafting, OCR (obstacle course racing) racing with my family and traveling. I amĀ  also the head of our marketing department. I go out making long lasting relationships with clients and business partners.

I am passionate about helping our local community whenever I can. We have also participated in helping with the Damyak raising funds for the KIN (Kids in Need) the last four years, we have helped with collecting diapers for our local diaper bank and helping with other varies community events.

Our mission is to provide the most outstanding service experience ever by treating our team and clients like family, giving them the freedom to do the things they value most.

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