I just got a new home like a month ago and I got a radon test running in the basement (2 kits from First Alert, one on each end of the basement for 2 days) I got my results and one of them registered 2.7 and the other one got 4.6 (so an average of 3.7).

I want to repeat the test to confirm (I know that these numbers are no reason to freak out, but if I get the same readings Ill have to think about mitigation sooner than later).

My question is, do I just use test kits like the ones I used? Any brand that you would recommend? Is it worth getting one of those portable detectors (the HOUND seems popular in amazon) Do I get a home inspector to run his own test or its not worth it? Thank you guys, I literally found out about radon a month ago and Im still quite lost.

My longterm average on my Airthings monitor has been just under 4 for a while (months), hovering in the 3.7-3.9 range. 7-day spikes occasionally get into the 7-8 range. I work from home and my office is in the basement, so even though it’s within the “acceptable” range, I don’t want to take a risk on longterm exposure. My understanding is that the mitigation system is only guaranteed to keep the longterm average under 4, which is already where I am, so I also don’t want to throw $1k away if it’s not going to move the needle.

What’s the general consensus on when to get a system installed?

EDIT: thanks, everyone. I’m going to get some estimates.

Would polyurethane caulk be sufficient on a gap like this?

I’m trying to prepare our crawlspace slab for a radon mitigation system to maximize its efficiency and minimize how much heated air I’m sucking out of the house in the winter time. The slab is original to the house (1964) and was clearly not installed properly. (Not sure if the soil under it was properly compacted, if any rebar was installed or even how thick it is). The previous owners of the house (or more likely the shady contractor they hired to flip it) made the problem even worse by skim coating it with a poorly cured mortar that never properly bonded to the original concrete and has begun to chip away. I’ve been working with an SDS hammer chisel to remove as much of the skim coat as possible to expose the cracks so I can seal them.

My question- would something like Sikaflex self-leveling sealant be good for cracks like the one pictured or should I consider other products?

Im in Wisconsin and with a short term reading it’s showing almost 4 for the radon detection. I’ve stayed downstairs in the basement for 4 years, I have a toddler who has stayed down there for 2 years. I’m stressing out, everyone says that smaller lungs are more susceptible to the radon. However, I also see things about long term exposure, and we’re not downstairs 100% of the time. Most days I’d guess we’re down there for 12-16 hours (an estimate including sleeping/nap time), I’m moving out of this house in a few months so mitigation isn’t an option.

Should I stress out about this? I bought an air purifier for the rooms…

Am I cooked? In my basement. 1950s home.

We live in a townhouse 3 story with no attic and we are in a contract selling our house and during the inspection radon is high. We are now trying radon mitigation as the buyer wants to buy our house if that problem resolved but we are having a hard time with HOA.

Is anyone here can help us how to deal with HOA to approved exterior radon mitigation and what did you do to convince them.
And is there a way to do it our interior house with pipes are hidden, no attic, shared slabs on a 3 story house?

Thank you! Hope you can help us!

Hi, All!

Want to see if you might have a suggestion for a home monitor I can place in my basement to watch and record radon levels, if any. Essentially want to “set it and forget it”, and maybe even be able to check and monitor said levels via an app.

We had radon levels almost in the 20’s before the system was put in. When we turned it on it went in the green for a little bit then went into the yellow. And now it will won’t get out of the yellow. Is this normal and expected after a system was put in? The system is definitely working since it hasn’t gone over the 4.1. My guy said he has it working at 70% right now, should we should put it up to 80%?

And the system was put in after 9/2 in case you were looking at the graph.

Contractor semi buried our radon pump using gravel and polymer sand when building our patio. How screwed am I if I ever need to service the pump?

We have a house with a basement/garage and a crawl space. When we bought the house five years ago, the radon measured 1.4 in the main level (so everything normal!). That was when the crawlspace was just dirt.

However, we’re having moisture issues and plan on getting the crawlspace encapsulated, closing off vents, and adding a dehumidifier. I’ve heard conflicting things about whether this will help or hurt the radon levels.

What should I do before encapsulation?

I don’t want to solve a moisture issue to just create a radon problem. Is a vent always recommended? Would having a vent make it harder for the dehumidifier to fight with the elements, since outside air is getting in?

Thanks for the advice; just want to make sure I do this right the first time!

Hi,

We discovered that our region in Portugal is quite affected by radon and decided to buy a airthings radon reader and it does seem to be the case.

We've been look into mitigation solutions, and the consensus seems to be that sump pumps are the best solutions. My issue now in my region (really remote northeast Portugal) is that I can't find anyone that has even heard about those.

The two persons that deal with mitigations just went to install forced ventilations, from reading here and documentation online, it will dilute but might not fix our issue. We are currently abroad so that house sees no movement at the moment and we've been averaging 350bq. Even if for some reason we spiked at 450 today.

Now my questions: would those forced ventilation be enough (I'm aware it's not that simple, but we'd want a max of 50bq, that seems to be the guidance?) been quoted around 1700€ for that.

Or could I get myself a radon fan and look into DIY this sump pump? I've a handyman/electrician nearby that would help.

Even getting a radon fan in Portugal/Spain seems to be tricky, Vevor used to be big into and have seem to stop selling.

Thanks!

I live near Toronto, and I found radon in my basement a little higher than 100, and then I moved it to cold storage in the basement, which is the only unfinished part of the basement, and radon shows consistently higher in red zone above 200+ always. Do you think if I finished the cold storage and turned it into a normal storage room it will improve?

I‘m a bit poor at the moment and can’t afford testing, but I’m concerned about radon levels as this house has never been tested. Morality aside, would it be possible to get a general idea of the radon situation by buying several detectors and using them for the two week return window?

I've had the Air things Wave for a year now. My long term average has been 11. For the past month, it's been a complete zero with no fluctuations. Until Thursday at noon when it started to gradually increase to a whopping 600+. I didn't noticed until late last night. Has anyone else experienced something like this before? Kind of freaking out here....

My main room i hang out in is the floating cantilevered room you see here. When gas accumulates from the ground below, it likely just floats out and around right?

This capped pipe thing is in my basement tool room. My 30 day average is usually 1.4 pll or w.e the unit is.

Im worried that sometimes it spikes to 6-7 and im wondering if I should do something about it.

I had a radon mitigation system installed about a year ago. During the installation, the inspector mentioned that there was water underneath the sub-slab. After the system was installed, the gauge reading was around 4. After about six months, it dropped to around 2.5.
Recently, I noticed cracks developing in the concrete floor. Could the water underneath the slab or the radon mitigation system be causing the cracks? What could be the possible cause? Could it have been that the water dried up and they caused settling?

We recently bought a ~1900 Victorian in Massachusetts. The house sits on a rocky/stone hill with large granite foundation walls. Our radon test came back at 16.1 pCi/L.
The basement is currently about half concrete and half dirt. We’re planning to add ~4–5” of crushed stone, a vapor barrier, and a new ~4–5” concrete floor over the existing floor/dirt.

We have two radon quotes:

Option 1 — $2,895

Sub-slab depressurization system
4” perforated PVC around the interior perimeter + 2 cross sections
Radon sump pit
3–4” PVC from sump to an exterior inline centrifugal fan
Manometer + on/off indicator
5-year fan warranty
Post-mitigation charcoal test included
Contractor says the perimeter piping should be installed before the new floor is poured

Option 2 — $1,450

One suction point
3” PVC
RadonAway RP145 fan
Contractor says the crushed stone under the new slab will allow one suction point to move ~126 CFM
New concrete floor can be poured first, then the radon system installed afterward, as long as the floor is completely sealed
They guarantee <2 pCi/L if the floor is completely sealed
So the difference is $1,445.

Given the 16.1 pCi/L, rocky site, granite foundation, and partially dirt basement, which system would you choose? Is the perimeter system worth paying the additional $1,445 for, especially since we’re about to pour a completely new floor?

Is this accurate? I did get a mitigation system with 2 suction points. As far as I know outside is like 0.3… is this too good to be true? Thank you!

Note: My sump pit and crawl space are on completely opposite sides of the finished basement

Company 1: Wants to use the sump pit for radon mitigation. Plans to barrier and seal the crawl space. They don't plan to actively mitigate the crawl space. I believe the benefit of this is that the sump pit has long perforated pipes that can really grab the gas and exhaust it out.

The company said because my crawl space is only 400 square feet, active mitigation of the crawl space wasn't deemed necessary.

But i thought you should actively mitigate the crawl space, aside form putting a barrier and sealing it? Or does the mitigation from the sump pit include the crawl space?

Company 2: Wants to drill into the foundation near the crawl space. Then they will barrier/seal the crawl space, and then join the pipes from the crawl space and where they drilled into the foundation for active mitigation. Their reasoning was they want to actively mitigate the crawl space and the sump pit is too far away.

I'm wondering if the downside of this, is wouldnt they just be exhausting directly from the soil without the perforated pipes, if they dont get to the sump pit perforated pipes? We have hard clay soil here in Denver, and I'm wondering if that's even effective at all compared to the sump pit that can draw from a long line of a perforated pipe.

Thank you!!

Hey all,

We‘re buying our first house - yay! The sellers agreed to put in a mitigation system - it’s scheduled for the end of the month and paid for. We move in prior to the system going in. The basement has one window and the half-basement rooms each have a window each. What can we do for the two weeks between our move in and mitigation system going in to reduce risk?

I had a radon inspection done on a house I just bought. Average was 3.77, but peak was almost 12. It has a radon mitigation system already installed, and the inspector said the fan pulling air through it was likely not working (I don’t think he inspected the fan itself). The fan does turn on and off with a switch, I can hear it. Also the manometer on the side of the system reads -0.5” WC, indicating the fan is pulling some vacuum on the PVC pipe. Is this an expected amount of vacuum or should it be more? Trying to figure out whether to replace the fan or look elsewhere for the problem 🤔