When Was the Last Time Your Home was Tested for Radon?

It has been a process.
After more than seven months on the market your old home is no longer your concern.
Even though it took seven months, you are happy the this morning when you woke up to three inches of snow you only had your current house to be worried about. It was no fun mowing the yard, raking the leaves, and trimming the shrubs last summer, but if there is a hidden blessing in this ordeal it is that you only had to deal with the summer chores of owning two homes. Thank goodness you were finally able to pass the test administered by the residential radon testing services. Otherwise, you would still be taking care of snow removal in two places!
It is a frustrating series of events to remember, but one of the things that slowed down the sale was not the weather, but a sump pump installation contractor. Just as you were getting close to a closing date, the residential radon testing services report came back and the property was not passed. It was difficult to find a sump pump installation company to complete the work, but the fact that you finally got the job finished enabled you to finally get the sale to close.
Does the Sale of Your House Require Residential Radon Testing Services?
In many parts of the country, residential radon testing services are one of the final steps in the sale of a property. Although these levels are rarely tested for current residents, the sale of homes in many states require the test before property can pass from one person to the next. Known as atomic number 86 on the periodic table of elements, radon is a rare radioactive gas that is one of the noble gases. Among the greatest concern for homes that have high radon levels are that the continued exposure to this dangerous gas may be a contributing factor to some kinds of cancer.
Scientists, for instance, estimate lung cancer deaths could be reduced by as much as 2% to 4% by lowering radon levels in homes exceeding the EPA?s action level. This would be able to avoid as many as 5,000 deaths a year. Further research indicates that the risk of lung cancer increases by 16% for every 100 Bq/m increase in long time average radon concentration.
An interesting, but frightening, observation of the impact of home radon exposure makes the problem easier to understand. Some studies indicate, for example, that a family that lives in a home with radon levels of 4 pCi/l is exposed to approximately 35 times as much radiation as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission would allow if that family was instead standing on the other side of a fence surrounding a radioactive waste site.
High radon levels are not only dangerous, they are also costly. The term that the radon industry uses for the process of eliminating radon levels in a home is mitigation. These mitigation methods can often cost not only money, but time. When, for instance, you are continuing to make monthly payments on a home that you are no longer living in, the costs accumulate every single month.
What Steps Do You Have to Take to Mitigate Too High Radon Levels in Your Home?
Although some home owners have a limited amount of success decreasing their own radon readings, many others require professional mitigation services. The installation of a sump pump, for instance, is often required. Sump pump installation can be expensive, so other home owners who have the luxury of time use other methods.
For instance, mitigation systems that are more passive, and less expensive, are sometimes capable of reducing indoor radon levels by even more than 50%. The addition and utilization of radon ventilation fans, for instance, can even help reduce these dangerous levels even further. The less intensive services may be less expensive, unfortunately, however, they can also take much longer. If you are waiting for the sale of a home to finalize, it is often worth the money to pay for the more expensive service to get sale to reach its conclusion in a more timely manner. In many cases, the mitigation services are less expensive than another mortgage payment.