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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.
What are the symptoms of radon in your home?
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.
How common is radon in homes?
It’s common: About 1 in every 15 homes has what’s considered an elevated radon level. The gas is odorless and invisible, says the EPA, and it causes no immediate symptoms, so the only way to know if your home is affected is by testing your individual residence.
Is radon gas easily detectable?
Because it’s odorless and colorless, it isn’t easily detected by smell or look, making it possible for it to unknowingly rise to dangerous levels. With radon being the leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers, it’s incredibly important to know whether you and your family are being exposed to radon gas.
Is it OK to live in a house with radon?
If you smoke and live in a home with high radon levels, you increase your risk of developing lung cancer. Over time, these radioactive particles increase the risk of lung cancer. It may take years before health problems appear. People who smoke and are exposed to radon are at a greater risk of developing lung cancer.
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.
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.
How much does it cost to fix a radon problem?
How much does a radon mitigation system cost to install? The cost of a radon system depends on a number of factors, including the layout and foundation of your house. The average radon system costs between $800 to $2000 — sometimes less, sometimes more, depending on the house.
Are radon tests accurate?
While any measurement system has an associated variability in precision and accuracy, we expect that radon test devices that are used properly will provide accurate and reliable results.
What time of year is radon highest?
To answer that question, yes, radon levels in a home tend to be higher during the winter. And those higher levels of radon gas can lead to an increased chance of lung cancer. While indoor radon gas levels are generally higher during winter, sometimes the summer can have higher indoor radon levels.
Does opening windows reduce 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.
How can you tell if you have been exposed to radon?
If you think you’ve been exposed Possible symptoms include shortness of breath (difficulty breathing), a new or worsening cough, pain or tightness in the chest, hoarseness, or trouble swallowing. If you smoke and you know you’ve been exposed to high levels of radon, it’s very important to quit smoking.
Can radon affect dogs?
Many pets spend on average 90-95% of their time inside. You may not know that your pet has radon poisoning until they start showing cancer-related symptoms, such as fever, abnormal swellings, coughing and lack of appetite, excessive throwing up, lameness, and breathing difficulties.
Where is radon found in homes?
Radon is a radioactive gas that has been found in homes all over the United States. It comes from the natural breakdown of uranium in soil, rock, and water and gets into the air you breathe. Radon typically moves up through the ground to the air above and into your home through cracks and other holes in the foundation.
Does radon come through concrete?
Radon, soil gasses, and water vapor will easily pass through any openings, cracks, gaps, drains, or thin concrete (rat slabs) in the basement.
What houses are more likely to have radon?
Exposure to radon can be especially high for people who use their basements as a living space. Like basements, homes with slab-on-grade foundations have many openings that allow radon to enter. Homes with crawl spaces (vented and sealed) can also have elevated radon levels.
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.
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.
Can air purifiers remove 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.
Does finishing a basement reduce radon?
Radon Gas Problems in Basements You may want to reduce the radon level to a minimum just to protect your family’s health, particularly, if the children spend lots of time in the finished basement. Before basement remodeling, seal the concrete with RadonSeal™ to reduce radon to a minimum and to keep it that way.
How long does it take to get rid of radon?
Generally speaking, it only takes one to three days to remove the radon from your home, and then it will need to be tested again. If levels are below the recommended threshold of 0.4 pCi/L, a radon mitigation system can be installed to prevent more radon from coming into your home.
