Radon Testing Recommendations For A Safe Household
Radon may be one of the last concerns on your mind as you go through your busy life full of responsibilities. However, radon is a real concern even though you cannot measure it with any of your five senses. Here are some recommendations to help you take care of radon testing in your home.
Complete Your Own Test
Whenever you are concerned about radon being present inside your house, you should take the time to complete a radon test. You can find several different types of radon testing systems that you can place inside your home at your own convenience to get a thorough analysis of the presence of radon in your home and at what levels it is present. Because radon is naturally occurring in the environment and comes up from the soil, it normally dissipates when it hits the air outside. However, if it comes up through your home foundation and gets into cracks from the soil and rock below, it will collect in your home's air and reach higher, and dangerous levels. It is at this point that you can become negatively affected from the radon, which can put you at risk of lung cancer.
Order an at-home radon test online or purchase one at a home improvement or garden store. These at-home tests are usually short term tests, taking several days to collect and measure surrounding radon levels, so you can complete one during the week. Once you have placed the test inside your home for the required amount of time, you will need to send it in to the testing lab for its results.
Be sure you place the test following the test's guidelines. The test will usually recommend you place it in an area where it won't be disturbed during the testing period and in a place that does not get air drafts. The test should sit up off the ground on the lowest level in your home that you use regularly. For example, you don't want to place the test in a crawlspace or in an unfinished room. Place it in a ground floor room or basement living space for the required hours. Be sure to also close the windows several hours before and during the test.
Hire Professional Radon Services
In the event that you are selling your home or buying a new home, you will want to arrange a professional radon test. This type of testing service is going to provide accurate results that will be needed to complete a legal transaction when parties are investing quite a bit of money in the purchase of a home. So, when you are expecting an upcoming real estate sale, contact a local radon testing service to complete a short term or long-term test. The short term test usually takes several days or weeks, and a long-term test will be more prolonged and gather data over a period of months up to a year.
For more information on testing your home for radon, talk to a residential radon testing company in your area.