MISSOULA — Sen. Steve Daines was in Missoula on Friday to test and demonstrate how a new mobile sanitizing unit might be used in schools.

Hellgate Middle School played host to the event and students from the school put their backpacks and contents through the Kart Kleen UV disinfecting machines to show how it works.

Kart Kleen is a Missoula-based company. Daines praised the efforts of a Montana company to come up with a Montana solution to the safe school’s dilemma.

“What I like about this is that there are no chemicals involved — it’s not invasive. It’s a very simple, straightforward technology. It’s safe, but more importantly it produces a safe outcome by being able to kill the COVID-19 virus,” Daines said.

Kart Kleen officials said they were developing the machine before the pandemic and think that it could continued to be used in a variety of settings.