Recommendations To Help You Test For Radon Inside Your Home

Posted on: 10 September 2020

Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that exists within the soil below your home, which can seep up into your home's interior. However, because you cannot smell, taste, or see it, it can harm your family and is a major cause of lung cancer and you may not even be aware of it. Here are some recommendations to help you test for radon inside your home and to best manage its remediation.

Know What Type of Testing to Complete

There are two main types of testing you can use to check for radon inside your home. A long term and a short term test are the two types regularly used, depending on the amount of time you have and how soon you want to get the results. For example, if you are putting your home on the market or are looking to buy a home, you can use a short term test. This type of test can be completed in as little as 48 hours, however, there are also short term tests that can take up to 90 days. 

When you are completing a short term test over a couple of days, you will want to keep all doors and windows closed and turn off the home's ventilation system to keep the radon levels within the home and to get a good reading of their levels. If, for example, you open the doors and windows during the test, all the radon will be vented to the outside of the home.

A long term radon test is a good way to get a more accurate rating of the radon levels in your home, as it accounts for the levels that may naturally rise and fall over a period of time. This type of test will measure the amount of radon on an average level that occupants inside the home are exposed to on a regular basis. This type of test can be completed over a period of more than 90 days.

Test Regularly

Once you have discovered high levels of radon inside your home, you will need to check the levels on a regular basis. This testing process is an ongoing management of your home to make sure the levels are kept to a healthy level and radon does not put your family at risk.

You should plan to test the radon in your home with a long term test at least every two years. Because the radon within the soil below your home decays and enters your home in irregular patterns, it can increase over a period of time after it has been measured to be below a safe level.

For more information, reach out to a local radon home inspection service.

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