Radon testing


  #1  
Old 11-09-07, 05:35 PM
S
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Baltimore, MD
Posts: 208
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Radon testing

Hello,

Live in Maryland and have not had my house tested for radon yet. Been here two years or so.

Can someone give me some guidance on testing for radon? Lots of information online and from "expert" neighbors but looking for some practical recommendations for testing procedures/products..

Thank you!!
Scott
 
  #2  
Old 11-09-07, 08:34 PM
R
Banned. Rule And/Or Policy Violation
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: USA
Posts: 1,820
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
  #3  
Old 11-26-07, 05:00 PM
D
Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: northern ny
Posts: 19
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
There Is Nothing To It

You just buy the little trap at whatever hardware store you desire. The directions are on the box. You just keep your basement as buttoned up as possible and put the little trap box into a dark corner somewhere with as little ventilation as possible. You mark the date and time and then retrieve it in the alloted time. You write the time and date on the box and return it in the prelabled return mailer. The company reads the amount of radon and compares it to the recommended values you should be exposed to. They e mail you the report in a week or so. If you have any of the various levels they recommend what to do to lower it to acceptable levels. Ask around everyone talks about it while very few bother. Cheap insurance against the second leading cause of lung cancer. It is also a good idea to do the test again every %^%$ years in case a pocket of gas has opened up in the meantime.
 
  #4  
Old 11-26-07, 07:21 PM
airman.1994's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: VA
Posts: 5,491
Upvotes: 0
Received 8 Upvotes on 8 Posts
Wile I agree to put it in a basement you need to live your normal life! Opening windows, opening doors, running the heat, cleaning ETC. You are looking for normal readings so you need to do everything you normally do.
 
  #5  
Old 11-27-07, 06:20 AM
logcabincook's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Rocky Mountain Foothills
Posts: 517
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Some radon mitigation companies will send you a test kit for free in hopes you will use their services if your readings are high. The kit looks pretty cheesy - a cardboard envelope held open with a piece of foam, but it's standard. Ours was something like 0.2 pico curies over the "max" so we were able to get money at closing for a mitigation system. We did without for six years because we didn't use the basement that much, but now that our master BR is going down there, we had a mitigation system put in.
 
  #6  
Old 11-27-07, 08:35 AM
C
Member
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: us
Posts: 364
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
I received a test kit for free from the state EPA (IL) to test for radon. So check your state and local resources for free or discounted offers.
 
  #7  
Old 11-27-07, 12:08 PM
M
Member
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: USA
Posts: 929
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Having worked most of my adult life in the nuclear power world, I know enough about it to say confidently that radon mitigation is a scam second only to asbestos removal.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: