Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. It can accumulate in homes and is the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking, making testing in every home essential for health and safety.

Radon seeps into homes through the lowest level. The home most likely spots are through cracks in foundations, gaps around pipes, sump pumps, or other openings in contact with the ground.

It doesn’t matter if you have a full concrete or dirt floor basement or a very tight crawlspace, radon can affect any homes of any age with any foundation type.

It’s recommended to test your home during any real estate transaction, after major renovations, or every 2-5 years for regular monitoring.

Also, you should test your home if it’s located near an in-progress or newly completed residential neighborhood or any construction site that would require disturbing the earth to build a structure. Any type of digging / blasting can affect the underground movement of air through the soil and drastically change the levels of radon in your home.

The EPA recommends action if radon levels in your home are at or above 4.0 pCi/L (picocuries per liter).

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that countries across the globe set radon reference levels at 2.7 pCi/L.

Studies have shown that for every one (1) pCi/L of daily exposure to radon gas is equivalent to the damage done to your lungs from smoking 2 cigarettes per day.

We use specialized equipment called Continuous Radon Monitors (CRMs) to measure radon levels in the air over a minimum 48-hour period.

At the end of the 48-hour test (or upon pickup of the device) a report will be immediately generated and sent to the client with the results of the test.

The monitors are equipped with motion sensors and observe temperature, humidity and pressure to ensure that they are not tampered with during the inspection.

The monitor will be placed in the lowest level of the home that is considered living space and the building will be under “closed building conditions” - meaning that all doors, windows and fresh air ventilation systems cannot be used during the test. Normal entry and exit from the home is permitted, as is running a central heating / cooling system as it normal would be.

Notification to the current homeowner / tenants will be provided so they understand what is allowed and what is not.

If elevated radon levels are detected, a professional mitigation system can be installed to reduce radon levels to a safe range.

Generally the system is comprised of a hole drilled through the foundation floor, connecting a PVC pipe into the hole, re-sealing the hole, and running the PVC pipe up and outside the home above the roofline or highest window.

The addition of a fan to pull air from underneath the home into the pipe is added to the system to ensure that the radon affected air does not have time to seep through the foundation floor, and that is safely moves through the pipe outside.

Radon testing is not included in a standard home inspection but can be added as an additional service.

Please note the following:

Testing takes a minimum of 48 hours so notifying us of your inspection contingency end date is crucial!

If possible, we will set the radon test in advance of the home inspection (if you are also having one completed) in order to have results to you the same day we are back at the home for the inspection.

If purchasing a home, your contract will have a spot for radon air testing listed, if this is not checked off or included as one of your contingencies we can still perform the test, but it will be for your information only.