Having said that, basements are potentially more prone to radon gas issues, so that's another of the reasons to choose a slab-on-grade instead of a basement. And as almost all homes will have at least some radon present, there is no reason not to take the basic steps in the beginning to avoid a harder problem to solve in the future. They are still good to have, mostly because they can be adapted to include a fan to draw air if radon levels in the home turn out to be high.īackground levels of radon are present everywhere and are usually so low that there is no way to know ahead of breaking ground if a building site will lead to a home with unsafe radon levels. In high radon risk areas, new homes often have ‘passive’ radon mitigation systems installed when they were built (a simple 4 inch pipe from below the slab to the exterior), though they have limited effectiveness as there is rarely enough stack pressure to draw up radon gas from the soil. If you get a high radon reading in the air, the next logical step is to determine the source, so first check your water for radon to see if that is the problem read more here. Click on the image below to see one option we like, or compare and get pricing on Radon Monitoring systems here. If you know or suspect that your home is "at risk" for radon, then consider installing a continuous SMART Radon monitoring system with alarm via a dedicated App - these cost a little more but give added peace of mind and radon gas levels in the home can be tracked. Normal activity like doing laundry with a dryer vented to the exterior and running ventilation equipment is to be expected, so you don’t need to change your normal behavior when testing a home for radon. Testing is better done in winter when windows are closed to get an accurate reading. You usually need to put a radon testing unit on each floor of your house and forget about it for a few months then send it to the lab to learn the results. A radon testing kit is not very expensive and should be available through your municipality, state, or via a reputable radon testing kit brand online. If you just found out you have high radon levels in your home, or you've looked at a radon map that shows your state or region as being at risk of high radon levels, don’t panic there is virtually always a way to fix radon gas levels in a home - I should know, my house was tested to have high radon levels, and after radon mitigation was installed and we re-tested for radon, I now know we can live safely - so radon mitigation works!įirst step, find out if you have a radon gas problem by having the air in your home tested. Below we outline radon mitigation solutions on a case-by-case basis, with different options available for different foundation and basement situations. Many newer homes will have radon barriers and vents but the question remains of how to deal with high levels of radon in existing homes with no mitigation system in place. Radon gas was not high on the radar of builders and home owners over the last few decades, but as it is the second leading cause of lung cancer (after smoking) in the USA & Canada, it is quickly becoming a household term. Radon Gas in Crawlspaces & Basements - why is it a problem?
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