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LEAWOOD, Kan. — Schools and businesses across the Kansas City metro are stepping up to find high tech ways to combat the spread of COVID-19.

A couple of local companies are making it possible with technology that can also be used in your own home.

A Sarin Energy Solution UVC wand won’t solve math problems on a 3rd grade worksheet, but it will disinfect surfaces. That’s why the Barstow School spent about $30,000 on wands and 63 portable UVC lights for each classroom.

“This has helped considerably,” said Dr. Tom Niermann, head of campus, “At the end of the evening when the custodial crew is done cleaning, they will turn on one of these lights.”

Products come in different shapes and sizes, but they all do the same thing in a matter minutes or seconds.

“This is for larger areas like auditoriums, gymnasiums, cafeterias,” Sarin Energy Marketing Director Robert Gonzalez said.

The tech disinfects large classrooms all the way down to paperwork on the desk.

“It’s pretty much as close as you can get to 100% without saying it,” Gonzalez said.

Another company based in Kansas City takes a different approach to fighting viruses.

At FridgeWize, a laser cuts out the parts, and people put together the “Rapid Air Filtration 2020 Portable System.” CEO Ryan Grobler said it has a 99.4% kill against the coronavirus.

“It’s like having 10 people in your room 24/7 spraying hospital grade disinfectant,” Grobler said.

We’ve all heard the saying, step outside for a breath of fresh air. Grobler said the technology produced in the factory in Pleasant Hill creates fresh air indoors.

The machine pushes out about 4 million ions a second. The ions neutralize pathogens, basically taking out the dirty particles in the air.

“I like to think of it as millions and millions of small particles in the air that are cleaning everything they touch, the hard surfaces, the soft surfaces, the air we breathe and everything around it,” Grobler said.

Pembroke Hill School installed about 30 units of all kinds.

CFO James Miller said it’s helping to keep students and staff healthy, with no sign of COVID clusters on campus.

“When you get people into an inside space, the factor of germ transition is much higher,” Grobler said. “Treating the air quality to remove contaminants, which the ionization system does, has proven to be very effective.”