Radon MitigationTo protect your health, your family’s health, as well as the health of your pets, you should test your residence for elevated radon levels. If the test results show radon levels of 4.0 pCi/L or higher, you should take action and make every effort to fix your home. The first thing every homeowner needs to understand is that all homes can be fixed. Radon mitigation is simply the process of reducing the concentrated levels of radon gas in the indoor air of a home, school, or any other building.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, homeowners are supposed to make every effort to reduce their home’s indoor levels if they get a test result of 4.0 pCi/L or higher. The good news is that there are reliable and cost-effective techniques that homeowners can use to reduce radon concentration levels in their residences. The EPA further reports that at least one in every fifteen homes across the United States has high indoor radon levels that need to be reduced. As mentioned, the only sure way of detecting elevated radon levels in your home is to test. What are the Benefits of Radon Mitigation? A radon mitigation system is any system that is put in place to help in reducing radon levels in a home or building. The EPA and the Surgeon General have indicated that radon gas is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smoking Americans. The radioactive gas is believed to be responsible for about twenty thousand lung cancer deaths every year across the country. Of course, smoking is the leading cause of lung-cancer deaths, but radon comes second. |
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These statistics show that radon is a serious environmental concern and shouldn’t be ignored whatsoever. Radon mitigation is all about reducing the levels of the radon gas in buildings. It, therefore, follows that this helps reduce the risk of Americans developing lung cancer. Whether it’s in schools, offices, or homes, radon mitigation systems help in maintaining low radon levels throughout the day and night. These systems are effective and can reduce the levels of the gas in homes and schools by up to 99 percent.
Moist soil air often infiltrates the basement of a home thereby increasing the humidity level in this area. You’ll realize that the moist air from the soil comes with radon gas before it accumulates and gets trapped in the basement. Radon mitigation systems help reduce the infiltration of the moisture with radon, thus reducing the humidity level as well.
If you’re considering selling your home, it’s important to have it tested and take action to correct a radon problem if it’s there. You’ll provide the buyer or new occupants with a reduced risk of radon exposure. The EPA recommends hiring a qualified radon mitigation professional to help install a mitigation system. Be sure to use a properly-trained mitigator.
What can I do to Reduce Radon in my Home?
Radon mitigation is not about sealing crevices, cracks, and other openings in your home’s walls and floors. Well, this is just a basic way of reducing radon levels in your home. When you seal the openings and cracks in your home, you’re simply limiting the flow of the radioactive gas and reducing the loss of conditioned air in your residence. These efforts should be used in conjunction with other reliable and cost-effective radon mitigation techniques. Sealing all those openings won’t reduce radon concentration consistently or significantly since you can’t identify all the areas where the gas is entering your home and permanently seal them.
While some radon mitigation techniques focus on lowering radon levels after it has entered a building, others help in preventing the gas from entering the building altogether. According to the EPA, homeowners should consider using techniques that focus on preventing the entry of the gas into their homes.
You can install a simple radon reduction system that has an exhaust fan and underground PVC pipes to help reduce the gas. By doing this, you won’t be required to make any major changes to your residence when installing such a system. The system works by collecting the radon gas from the foundation and below the floor and removing it before it enters the building. Such systems are often referred to as “sub-slab depressurization systems.” Note that you can install a similar system in a house with crawl spaces. The design of your home is one of the factors that determine the right radon mitigation system to be used.
What’s the Cost of Radon Mitigation in an Existing Home?
The factors that influence and determine the cost of making repairs in your home to reduce radon levels include your home’s design and size, the techniques or methods needed, and the prevailing market conditions. However, the average cost of installing a radon mitigation system to lower the gas levels in home ranges between $800 and $1500. Don’t forget that the system depends on electricity which means you’ll have operating costs. The system is cost-effective, however.
What happens After Installing the Radon Mitigation System?
If the system has problems and probably needs servicing, you’ll be able to see an alert on the monitor and find a qualified professional to help fix it. It’s recommended to test your home no sooner than twenty-four hours nor later than a month following the installing and activation of your radon mitigation system. Consider using an independent tester to avoid any conflict of interest.
Once you’ve installed the system, it doesn’t mean the game is over. You should consider retesting your home as recommended or required by your local authority. It’s also important to retest your home whenever your home or building undergoes any significant renovation.
Finally, hiring a qualified professional to help install or repair your radon mitigation system will help you avoid mistakes. A properly designed and installed system will ensure radon gas doesn’t enter your home. Many states across the country provide certifications and licensing to radon contractors.
Contacting your state radon office will provide you with the information you need on qualified radon mitigation contractors. It’s time you protected your health and your family’s health by reducing radon levels in your residence.
Moist soil air often infiltrates the basement of a home thereby increasing the humidity level in this area. You’ll realize that the moist air from the soil comes with radon gas before it accumulates and gets trapped in the basement. Radon mitigation systems help reduce the infiltration of the moisture with radon, thus reducing the humidity level as well.
If you’re considering selling your home, it’s important to have it tested and take action to correct a radon problem if it’s there. You’ll provide the buyer or new occupants with a reduced risk of radon exposure. The EPA recommends hiring a qualified radon mitigation professional to help install a mitigation system. Be sure to use a properly-trained mitigator.
What can I do to Reduce Radon in my Home?
Radon mitigation is not about sealing crevices, cracks, and other openings in your home’s walls and floors. Well, this is just a basic way of reducing radon levels in your home. When you seal the openings and cracks in your home, you’re simply limiting the flow of the radioactive gas and reducing the loss of conditioned air in your residence. These efforts should be used in conjunction with other reliable and cost-effective radon mitigation techniques. Sealing all those openings won’t reduce radon concentration consistently or significantly since you can’t identify all the areas where the gas is entering your home and permanently seal them.
While some radon mitigation techniques focus on lowering radon levels after it has entered a building, others help in preventing the gas from entering the building altogether. According to the EPA, homeowners should consider using techniques that focus on preventing the entry of the gas into their homes.
You can install a simple radon reduction system that has an exhaust fan and underground PVC pipes to help reduce the gas. By doing this, you won’t be required to make any major changes to your residence when installing such a system. The system works by collecting the radon gas from the foundation and below the floor and removing it before it enters the building. Such systems are often referred to as “sub-slab depressurization systems.” Note that you can install a similar system in a house with crawl spaces. The design of your home is one of the factors that determine the right radon mitigation system to be used.
What’s the Cost of Radon Mitigation in an Existing Home?
The factors that influence and determine the cost of making repairs in your home to reduce radon levels include your home’s design and size, the techniques or methods needed, and the prevailing market conditions. However, the average cost of installing a radon mitigation system to lower the gas levels in home ranges between $800 and $1500. Don’t forget that the system depends on electricity which means you’ll have operating costs. The system is cost-effective, however.
What happens After Installing the Radon Mitigation System?
If the system has problems and probably needs servicing, you’ll be able to see an alert on the monitor and find a qualified professional to help fix it. It’s recommended to test your home no sooner than twenty-four hours nor later than a month following the installing and activation of your radon mitigation system. Consider using an independent tester to avoid any conflict of interest.
Once you’ve installed the system, it doesn’t mean the game is over. You should consider retesting your home as recommended or required by your local authority. It’s also important to retest your home whenever your home or building undergoes any significant renovation.
Finally, hiring a qualified professional to help install or repair your radon mitigation system will help you avoid mistakes. A properly designed and installed system will ensure radon gas doesn’t enter your home. Many states across the country provide certifications and licensing to radon contractors.
Contacting your state radon office will provide you with the information you need on qualified radon mitigation contractors. It’s time you protected your health and your family’s health by reducing radon levels in your residence.
