Table of Contents
How do you test for radon in your home?
You can hire a professional tester or do it yourself with a kit you buy at a hardware store or online. Follow the instructions for leaving the kit in your house for the required number of days. Then mail it to a lab and wait for the results. If radon levels in your home are high, you can take steps to lower them.
How accurate are at home radon tests?
“Short-term radon test kits are not effective in measuring radon gas exposure: Findings show radon tests of less than 90 days are imprecise up to 99 percent of the time.” ScienceDaily.
Where is radon most commonly found?
Radon levels are usually higher in basements, cellars and living spaces in contact with the ground. However, considerable radon concentration can also be found above the ground floor. Radon concentrations vary considerably between adjacent buildings, as well as within a building from day to day and from hour to hour.
What are the first signs of radon poisoning?
A persistent cough could be a sign that you have radon poisoning. Persistent cough. Hoarseness. Wheezing. Shortness of breath. Coughing up blood. Chest pain. Frequent infections like bronchitis and pneumonia. Loss of appetite.
Where is the best place to put a radon test?
Place a radon detector in the breathing zone, 2-6 feet above the floor, and away from drafts, exterior walls, sumps, drains, windows or doors. Radon may enter a building through cracks in the foundation or through sumps or drains and will usually be higher near these entry points.
Do air purifiers eliminate radon?
Yes, air purifiers help with radon gas reduction to some extent. The air purifiers with activated carbon filter technology are highly effective in trapping radon gas.
Which radon test kit is best?
The Best Radon Test Kit – 2022 The Best Radon Test Kit. Airthings Corentium Home Radon Test Kit. First Alert RD1 Radon Gas Test Kit. Health Metric Radon Test Kit. AccuStar Charcoal Radon Gas Test Kit. AirChek 43237-2 Charcoal Radon Test Kit. Kidde 442020 Radon Gas Detection Test Kit.
How do you eliminate radon?
Other radon reduction techniques that can be used in any type of home include: sealing, house or room pressurization, heat recovery ventilation and natural ventilation. Sealing cracks and other openings in the foundation is a basic part of most approaches to radon reduction.
What type of soil is radon found in?
The U.S. Geological Survey explains that radon moves easily and quickly through porous soils, like sand and gravel, and slower through more solid soils, clay being one such example. Moisture has a lot to do with this.
What are 5 facts about radon?
Here are a few facts about radon, and what you can do to help keep your family healthy and safe. Radon is radioactive. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas. Radon causes cancer. No immediate symptoms. You must test for radon. Radon is present indoors and outdoors. Radon can build up in any building.
Does keeping windows open help with radon?
Opening windows improves air circulation and ventilation, helping move radon out of the house and mixing radon-free outside air with indoor air. Make sure all your basement windows are open. Homes tend to have lower air pressure than their surroundings, which draws radon into the basement.
Can radon in your home make you sick?
You won’t have symptoms of radon poisoning right away. Instead, health problems from the exposure, such as lung cancer, show up after many years. Lung cancer may start as a nagging cough, shortness of breath, or wheezing that doesn’t go away.
How quickly can radon affect you?
Radon gas can damage cells in your lungs, which can lead to cancer. Radon is responsible for about 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year in the United States, though it usually takes 5 to 25 years to develop.
How do you skew a radon test?
Rain during the test period can skew test results—sometimes quite dramatically. This is because rain drives radon out of the ground, which results in a high radon level reading.
Does a dehumidifier affect radon testing?
Test devices should not be within three feet of exterior doors. Close any air vents that would force air across the testing device. Turn off all air moving devices during the test. This would include ceiling fans, dehumidifiers, regular fans, HEPA or any other kind of filtering device that moves air.
Can you drink water with radon?
Health Effects Radon can be inhaled from the air or ingested from water. Inhalation of radon increases the chances of lung cancer and this risk is much larger than the risk of stomach cancer from swallowing water with a high radon concentration. Generally, ingested waterborne radon is not a major cause for concern.
Do humidifiers help with radon?
No, buying a dehumidifier will not make radon go away. Radon must be removed by a remediation method like active soil depressurization (ASD), which ironically has been shown to be even more effective at removing humidity from a home than a dehumidifier in the same EPA study.
Does activated charcoal remove radon?
Getting an air purifier with an activated carbon filter will reduce the amount of radon in the room the air purifier is in, but you will need to get several air purifiers to take care of your whole home. Activated Carbon filters are great at absorbing radon.
Does charcoal absorb radon?
As previously mentioned, charcoal is a very active compound. Since it absorbs radon, it can absorb other things as well. Moisture wreaks havoc on charcoal kit test results. If a canister is not properly sealed, humidity can permeate the chamber where the charcoal is housed.
