Radon gases can cause many problems if you inhale them frequently in significant amounts. Your chance of inhaling Radon increases when it gets into your home and becomes trapped within your building envelope. Long-term exposure to a considerable amount of Radon can cause lung cancer. This is why it’s vital to test radon levels in your home.
The tests can help you identify radon presence in your home and how much is in your home. Later, you can manage indoor radon levels by blocking its path into your house and/or exhausting to the outside.
How do High Radon levels Get In Your House?
Radon gas is present in the air, water, and soil. However, the primary source of radon is the soil. This gas travels from the soil into your house. Although it can enter from the pores in concrete directly, the main entry points are gaps in floors and walls. Any home, in any state, and of any age, can have high radon levels.
It merely depends on how your house responds to the surrounding soil. Your neighbors may have substantially different radon intensity than yours. is the only way to determine whether you are safe from this poisonous gas or not.
Test Your Home for Radon
Test your home and its surrounding area. Try to determine the areas where Radon is present and where you spend 8 to 10 hours per week. There are three types of tests.
- Short Term Tests
Short term tests are easily available at hardware stores, home centers, and online retailers. You can use them to check if further testing is needed. Most are activated charcoal-based tests, and some are electret ion methodology tests. Both these tests measure Radon levels and deliver results for 2 to 7 days. Once you take the test, you will send it to the lab for the results.
The long term tests measure Radon amounts in that area for 90 days to 1 year. Most of these devices track alpha particles to estimate the levels for the future, such as the Radtrak 2 alpha tracker. This is the more accurate way to gauge the annual levels of Radon, which can vary astonishingly from day to day, based on factors, such as gusty winds, drop in air pressure, snow cover, and variable soil moisture, which traps radon gasses. We recently created a special, exclusive package. It’s a . It not only contains everything you need to know about radon, but it also contains the alpha track for testing, as well as the envelope, full set of instructions, datasheet, and shipping label – all for a great price.
- Continuous Tests
Continuous tests are best done as both short term and long term testing. There are electric motors that you can plug into a standard outlet to check average radon levels every day. They are also available online.
Radon Test Devices
Radon test devices track either the radon gas directly or the by-products of Radon’s radioactive decay. Passive and active are the two types of Radon test devices.
Passive devices don’t require electrical power to work, and typically trap Radon in its daughter products for later investigation by a laboratory. These devices include charcoal liquid scintillation detectors, charcoal canisters, alpha track detectors, and electrical ion detectors. Mostly, you can find all the passive devices, except electrical ion detectors, in hardware stores. Electrical ion detectors are only available in laboratories. Moreover, passive devices are less expensive, and you usually require no training to operate the equipment.
On the other hand, active devices can do work only on electrical power. They include continuous monitoring devices such as continuous working level monitors and continuous radon monitors. Active devices track Radon and its daughter products continuously. Generally, they are expensive and require a trained person for operation.
Conclusion
Radon gas is a poisonous gas from which you should keep yourself far away. Measure your home of radon to find out how much radon is in your home. This makes it super easy. The high Radon levels in your home can be deadly for you. As a solution, you can increase ventilation in your home, especially in your basement or below the house slab.
