BY SANDRA GUY

Sheltering-in-place during the coronavirus pandemic may keep you away from potential COVID-19 carriers outdoors, but is the air you’re breathing indoors safe?

While we’re hunkering down at home, we’re also hunkered over the stove; hugging our pets – and their pet dander; washing clothes and ladling out laundry detergent a couple times a day, and assiduously spraying aerosols and all-purpose cleaners.

We may even be sniffing ammonia while we’re on our hands and knees scooping up dust mites, or inhaling wood finisher now that we can finally start those home-improvement projects.

In many cases, we’re assuring ourselves that our indoor air is just fine, even while, in many cases, we’re sharing a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system with neighbors in the same building.

Since the American Lung Association has designated May “Clean Air Month,” it’s time to think about the potential hazards indoors.

How can we make sure we’re staying healthy?

Experts say:

• Get your heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system checked yearly.
• Clean ceiling fans, air vents, and clothes dryer vents and exhaust ducts.
• Test for radon and carbon monoxide levels.
• When you run the air conditioner, take it up a notch with a disposable high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. A HEPA filter can trap pollens, dust mites, pet dander and mold spores.
• Check for water leaks from the roof, in the attic, in the basement or from showers and bathtubs to ensure no mold is growing inside walls or in the floors.
• Buy cleaning products that are fragrance free or that say “low VOC” (volatile organic compounds) or “no VOC.”
• Regularly wash bedding and vacuum rugs and upholstered furniture. You can get a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter, too. Remove carpet from bedrooms, especially if family members suffer from allergies or asthma.
• Use a digital humidity reader, called a hygrometer, to ensure the home humidity level is between 35 and 45 percent. Then decide whether to use a humidifier or a dehumidifier.

Could this translate to making us more sensitive to energy efficiency, too? It’s a possibility, now that people are paying more attention to their use of venting, heating, air conditioning, window insulation and electricity use.

Twelve percent of respondents — and 20 percent of people ages 30-44 — said they are more interested in installing solar panels at their homes than prior to the coronavirus epidemic, according to an April 29 survey by the Electric Power Research Institute.