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3 Tips for Keeping Your Home and Family Safe From Radon

Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers across America, killing thousands per year. Learn how to keep your home safe from this silent killer.

3 Tips for Keeping Your Home and Family Safe From Radon

Radon is the natural decay of radium and uranium found in soil. The radon moves upward from the ground through cracks and crawlspaces in the home and can even get into your water supply. The scariest part about radon is that it is odorless, colorless, and tasteless, making it undetectable to the human senses.

Most homes do not come with radon detection tools like they typically do for carbon monoxide poisoning. Therefore, it’s important to know the dangers and learn what you can do to protect yourself. For your peace of mind, here are three tips for keeping your home and family safe from radon.

Inspect Your Foundation

As stated previously, the most common way radon enters the home is through cracks in the foundation. However, it can also enter through the basement and crawlspaces into the house’s atmosphere. You can hire an inspector or seal any visible cracks on your own to mitigate the harmful gas from seeping in. Unfortunately, this usually isn’t enough if you’re in a high-risk area.

Hire Testing Services

You can contact your local health department, and they will give you helpful information to assist you in finding a radon testing service. Typically, this should be done twice throughout the year, as the seasonal weather can increase and decrease the level of radon in your home.

While there are also short-term testing kits you can find at your local hardware store to measure the radon levels yourself, they are not as effective as hiring a professional. They’re okay if you need results quickly, but always follow up with a testing service.

Install a Sub-Slab Depressurization System

Moving isn’t always an option if you find that your home has a serious radon issue. In this case, you should take steps to have a Sub-Slab Depressurization System installed by a professional. First, the professional installs a PVC pipe in the foundation to create an extraction point that they then connect to a fan that generates suction. This suction retrieves the harmful gas and blows it outside of the home.

 While homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover the installation process, most installs cost as little as $800. Indeed, that may seem like too much to some, but when it comes to protecting your and your family’s health from life-threatening cancers, it’s worth the investment.

Hopefully, these three tips for keeping your home and family safe from radon will help you make the right decision for the health and safety of your house. You should never have to feel unsafe in your home. So take proactive steps today and contact your local health department to get you started.

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Last modified: May 19, 2022