Radon Test High? How to Rid Your Home of Radon
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Every house has what’s called a “unique pressurization signature.” This is the result of the heating, ventilation, plumbing and drainage systems working together. Always test radon levels again after you’ve made any of these changes. Periodically check on the equipment to ensure it is operating correctly. Contact your contractor if there are any issues or malfunctions. Also, fans need replaced about every 5 years, and filters, like for a heat recovery ventilator, may need changed as often as every 6 months.
Speak with several different contractors and ask them to provide you with a bid. Consider the contractor’s level of experience as well as the price they quote you when deciding which person to hire. A fan is used to either continuously blow air into or extract air out from the space below a suspended floor. This can be used when natural under-floor ventilation is inadequate to reduce radon level. When someone breathes in radon gas, it goes into their lungs, exposing them to small amounts of radiation. This may damage the cells in the lining of the lungs and increase a person's risk of lung cancer.
Radon and Your Health
Expert advice from Bob Vila, the most trusted name in home improvement, home remodeling, home repair, and DIY. A persistent cough could be a sign that you have radon poisoning. Available in both short-term and long-term monitoring, the tests are easy to use and require minimal setup. “The test is cheap and reliable—it doesn’t take rocket science,” says Bill Wehrum, an administrator at the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation.
Ask about radon resistant construction techniques if you are buying a new home.It is almost always cheaper and easier to build these features into new homes than to add them later. If you solicit at least three bids, you will have a good idea of the general price range of mitigation services. You may want to choose a contractor located close to your house or go with the lowest price. While you can conduct a radon test on your own, a trained professional may be able to get more accurate results. A professional will also be able to help you interpret the test results and determine whether mitigation is necessary.
What is Radon, and How do I Get Rid of It?
High levels of radon can cause lung cancer, particularly for smokers and ex-smokers. Radon produces tiny radioactive particles in the air we breathe. Radiation from these particles damages our lung tissue, and over a long period may cause lung cancer. It is odorless, colorless, tasteless, and invisible to the human eye. If you have high levels of radon in your home, you won’t notice any immediate adverse effects.
Radon is a colourless, odourless radioactive gas that naturally occurs in the soil due to the breakdown of uranium. It is a leading cause of lung cancer, so it’s important to contact your state radon office to obtain a test kit or find a professional to test the radon levels for you. While using a certified company to both test for and mitigate the radon in your home, there are some simple DIY tips to reduce radon levels that don't require a third party. Radon is a dangerous gas that is present nearly everywhere, and almost any home can have elevated levels.
What are symptoms of radon poisoning?
Contact your state radon officeexternal iconfor more information, or get one or more estimates from qualified contractorsexternal icon. Plastic sheeting seams sealed is placed on top of the gas permeable layer and under the slab to help prevent the soil gas from entering the home. In crawlspaces, the sheeting is placed over the crawlspace floor. This layer is placed beneath the slab or flooring system to allow the soil gas to move freely underneath the house. In many cases, the material used is a 4-inch layer of clean gravel.
Environmental Protection Agency and the building industry with details on how to install radon-resistant techniques in your new home. Fix the home if the radon level is 4 picocuries per liter, or pCi/L, or higher. After installation, your ongoing costs will be relatively minimal. You’ll pay about $6 to $8 per month on your utility bill, and you will need to replace the fan after about 15 years. As with most home repairs, the cost of reducing radon in your home can vary widely, depending on how your home is built and what kind of system you need.
How to Reduce Radon
Because radon comes naturally from the earth, people are always exposed to it. To get rid of radon gas, you can install a radon fan, keep your home well ventilated, and hire a radon abatement contractor to remove the gas. You may also need to seal the cracks in the foundation to prevent the substance from getting in.
Radon is colorless, tasteless and odorless; you'll never know it's there unless you test for it. Present in rocks and soil, the outdoor average radon level is 0.4 pCi/L. If radon gas is released from the rocks and dirt beneath your home, your indoor level can be significantly higher than 0.4 pCi/L. EPA has an action level of 4.0 pCi/L, meaning if your home tests at this level or higher, you should mitigate it quickly. Without the right equipment and techniques, you could actually increase the levels of radon in your home!
According to the EPA, you should test radon levels in your home every 2 years. The recommended radon testing time can vary based on manufacturer. Short-term tests typically take between 2 and 90 days, while long-term tests will be left out for more than 90 days. Consequently, many people are only exposed to trace amounts of radon. However, when it becomes confined indoors, the levels can become hazardous to a person’s health. Install a layer of gas-permeable aggregate, such as four inches of gravel, beneath the slab or flooring system of your home if you don’t have a crawlspace.
When radon rises to the surface of the ground outdoors, it dissipates when it hits the air. Open your windows as often as you can, weather permitting. If it rained the last four days and all the windows were firmly shut, you can assume your level has risen again. Open the windows and even the doors and let the radon reduce itself. Some simple actions such as sealing around loft-hatches, sealing large openings in floors and extra ventilation do not reduce radon levels on their own.
A short-term radon test kit can give you quick information about whether radon gas is present in your home. Depending on the test you choose, you’ll need to leave it out in your house for between 2 and 90 days. After the required amount of time has passed, the test can be sent back to a lab for processing. If the radon levels in your home are at or above 4 pCi/L , contact a radon mitigation company.
A small quiet fan blows fresh air, usually from the roof space, into the building. Find out the yearly average radon level for a property and if it is above or below the Action Level. The Environmental Protection Agency's map of radon zones shows which areas have the greatest potential for elevated indoor radon readings. Homes in places with high radon potential, called Zone 1 areas, should be built with radon-resistant features.
Whenever possible, have several windows open on the lowest level of your home or office, which is closest to the soil and source of the radon. Even a small crack allows fresh air to flow in, lowering the concentration of radon in the air. You can opt to open windows on upper levels as well to allow air to flow throughout the entire space. Guidance on how to reduce radon levels in cellars and basements.
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