For homes or buildings that may have a significant radon presence, this is no small concern. Radon is a harmful element that can have significant health effects on those who are exposed to it — luckily, though, if you’re in this position, there are several solutions available to you.

At Absolute Radon Safety, we offer comprehensive radon mitigation services to help any homeowner remove the harmful levels of radon in their home and keep all occupants safe. Our radon mitigation systems are completely maintenance-free, meaning you won’t even have to think about it once it’s installed in your home — it will simply do the job for you. What are the steps to follow if you’re concerned about the levels of radon in your home, and how can you ensure these high levels are remedied quickly and effectively? Here’s a rundown.

Step 1: Learn Why Radon is Concerning

You can’t identify an issue if you don’t know why it’s a problem, so the first step here is to educate yourself on radon and why you should be concerned about it. The EPA estimates that over 21,000 people die each and every year due to radon, with another 15,000 people being diagnosed with lung cancer. That’s a huge hazard, and it’s one that can be easily managed.

In addition, you might read up on information that may shock you in terms of how common high radon levels are. Depending on your area, it may be something you find in up to 50 percent of the homes. Knowing the risks and reading about how prevalent this problem is, it becomes much more important to address — especially when there are such simple mitigation options like supplying your home with a radon reduction system.

Step 2: Test Your Home For Levels

The next step is to test your home for radon levels, especially if you are in an area where high quantities have been known to exist. This should be done by a professional, though, so it’s best to hire one of our experts to come test your space.

There are various tests that can be run — some are long-term while others will give you quick results right away. The difference between them is that one will give you an initial reading so that you can determine whether your home needs further testing, while the other will provide more in-depth results over a period of time.

In addition, as our team of pros will tell you, the construction of your home will play a significant role in terms of how much radon is coming in. If your home has several cracks, is poorly built, or the ventilation system is insufficient, then you are more likely to have a problem with high levels of this element.

Step 3: Receive and Interpret Your Radon Test Results

For the long-term tests that are sent out to your home, you will need to send them back in so that the second stage of the process can be carried out — this is where our team of experts will use radiation detectors to measure the levels and determine how extensive the problem is. If high levels are found, then it’s time for mitigation (and this is something we’ll get into in just a bit).

What defines “high levels” of radon? Well, radon is measured in picocurries (abbreviated pCi/L) — you may not know exactly what that means, but that’s okay. Generally speaking, if your levels are above 2.7 pCi/L, you have an issue here. At 4 pCi/L it becomes a serious problem, and anything above that requires immediate action due to immediate threats to the health of those in your home.

Step 4: Obtain a Radon Mitigation System Estimate

Now that you’ve confirmed the existence of high radon levels in your home, it’s time to figure out what you need to do to correct the situation. Radon mitigation systems are available, and we offer free estimates.

The very first thing we will want to know is where in your home the levels are highest, so we can determine where we will be installing our system — but don’t worry: This won’t take away from the clean and polished look of your home.

As for the types of systems, our team will walk you through the process and explain each to you in detail so that there are no questions or confusion — you’ll find that these aren’t the cheapest systems around, but they also don’t require much to maintain. Plus, when it comes to your health, investing in radon mitigation is one of the best possible routes you can go, so it’s well worth it.

Step 5: Schedule Radon Mitigation Installation

Despite how complex they can be, you might be surprised how quickly one of our radon mitigation systems can be installed — it’s not long before your family and friends will hardly notice anything has changed. Our team of pros knows exactly what they are doing, so there is little-to-no chance that you’ll have any issues with this process whatsoever. With just a bit of time on the front end to get everything set up, you’ll be on your way to a healthier lifestyle.

From here, while you won’t have to do any maintenance on your system, your installers will instruct you on where to keep an eye out in case your radon ever returns to unsafe levels — unlikely, but it’s always good to be prepared!

If you have a significant amount of radon in your home, it’s time for action — and the best possible solution is going to come from hiring our team of pros. From helping you choose which system works best for your home to providing professional installation, we’ve got everything under control. Contact us today at Absolute Radon Safety to learn more about any of our radon protection solutions.

Everyone who will be living in a given home should be conscious of radon levels and mitigation if these levels are too high, but one group that may have a bit of a tougher time here is renters. Radon tests and inspections are often carried out by homeowners themselves and aren’t generally part of typical rental lease agreements — but it’s still very important that renters know the radon content in the home they’re moving into, as many homes in Colorado have levels of radon that are far higher than is safe for human health.

At Absolute Radon Safety, we’re happy to offer a wide variety of radon testing and radon mitigation services, including to clients who are renting and want an idea of their home’s radon levels. What steps should you be taking if you want a radon test in a rental, and what do important bodies like the EPA say about the approach you should take here? Let’s go over this plus some important info on what qualifies as too high a radon level in a rented property.

EPA Radon Checklist

The EPA, or Environmental Protection Agency, maintains a comprehensive list of areas you should be considering with regard to radon if you’re a renter of any home or property. Here are some of the most important items on this list:

• Find out whether your building has been tested for radon in the recent past
• If the building has not been tested, send a letter to the owner advising him or her of the dangers of radon, and provide a link to an EPA training program that educates on these dangers.
• Get your landlord’s permission for any radon testing you do, as results might not be permissible down the line otherwise.
• If results are even slightly elevated, get your landlord’s permission and hire a qualified contractor to make all repairs necessary to lower radon levels.
• If your building is getting its water from a well, be aware that any nearby land may also have high radon levels. Be sure to use a test kit for locations near the well as well as at the source itself to rule out significant higher than normal concentrations of this colorless, odorless gas.

Responsibility for Radon Mitigation

In nearly every case where radon levels in your rented property are too high, it will be the responsibility of the landlord or property manager to fix the issue by hiring a qualified contractor to conduct mitigation. The EPA maintains that radon levels can be lowered in around 90% of cases if the right mitigation techniques are employed, and this is something you should be asking your landlord about immediately if such issues arise.

If you’re already under lease with a landlord or rental company, you can use the terms of this lease to extract permission for mitigation as long as you aren’t breaching any part of the agreement. And even in situations where a landlord is not required to mitigate due to your lease, he or she might be willing to partner with you on have radon levels checked and fixed if they’re deemed to be too high.

What’s Too Much Radon?

If you’re performing an at-home radon test, the general threshold indicating too high a radon quantity is 4.0 pCi/L. This level of radon poses lung cancer risks at the same level as someone who smokes eight cigarettes every single day, or the equivalent of 200 chest X-rays every single year.

If your home test results come in at 4.0 pCi/L or above, you should immediately talk with your landlord about having mitigation performed by a qualified contractor. If this isn’t possible and your lease is up for renewal soon, it might be time to consider moving into a home that has lower radon levels, as the elevated risk posed at these levels can be quite dangerous. And if you haven’t yet signed a lease, plus the landlord doesn’t signal a willingness to mitigate before you do so, you should look elsewhere for a rental property.

Value of Professional Radon Testing

While at-home radon tests may do well enough for certain basic testing needs, those who want a truer idea of radon levels in their rental should consider using a professional service to conduct testing. Some reasons why this is so can include the following:

• Landlord cooperation: Some landlords try to hide behind inconclusive tests or other confusing information to avoid paying for radon mitigation. If you have test results from a professional, that kind of evasion is much harder to pull off.
• Confirmation: A professional service can easily tell you if your building has radon issues, which some at-home testers may have problems doing accurately.
• Testing protocol: Professionals are going to use EPA protocol for testing pools and spas, ensuring standardized results. If there’s any question about the efficacy of your testing, this is a surefire way to remove that doubt.
• Professional testing companies can also tell you whether your levels are elevated beyond safe standards, and take action on your behalf if they are. As most rental contracts include a provision for potential radon mitigation, it’s important that you let professionals do their job and simply deliver the results rather than trying to get involved in testing protocol yourself.

For more on radon testing in rental properties and why it’s so important, or to learn about any of our radon testing or radon mitigation solutions, speak to the staff at Absolute Radon Safety today.