Radon: What is it? How to Get Rid of It

With over 500 hundred free DIY ideas, tips, how-to's, suggestions, and video tutorials available to help you turn your home improvement plans into finished projects. With more projects being added every month this is the go-to place for Do-It-Yourselfers & professionals alike.

Transcript:

My home office is down here in the basement, the other day I was reading an article about radon and wondering if I might be at risk.

So just what is radon?

Radon is a colorless, odorless gas that's created by the decomposition of radium. Radium is a naturally occurring element found in all rock and soil to one degree or another. So whether or not a home has a radon problem depends upon how much radium is present in the soil that the structure is built upon. Testing is the only way you're going to know whether or not you have a problem.

Where is the highest concentration of radon likely to be?

Homes with finished basements are more susceptible to elevated exposures. So by all means, whenever testing you test the lowest lived in level of the home. So a family room in the basement constitutes that.

There are do it yourself radon testing kits available that are easy to use. Set the unit in place, leave it undisturbed for the prescribed amount of time, then send the device to a testing lab for results.

I've decided to have the tests professionally done. Another online search leads me to Home Spec, a local home inspection company specializing in radon. The next day, Ross Prevett comes by the house and sets up an electronic radon detection and measurement monitor in the finished portion of the basement. Two days later, he returns and downloads the test data. The results show that the amount of radon in my basement is 50 percent higher than the Environmental Protection Agency's action level of 4.0 picocuries per liter. Based on this EPA standard, I'm substantially above the level at which action should be taken to reduce radon concentrations, but just what kind of a health risk does this pose

Based upon extensive exposure there's an increased risk of lung cancer. Radon is thought to be the number one leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers and the second leading cause of lung cancer in the general population, after smoking.

I know I've got elevated radon levels and I also know that that can be a serious health hazard. So I'm going to have to do something about it. I'm going to go online here and look under radon mitigation.

A search revealed several local companies and I decided to contact this one, Connecticut Basement Systems Radon. After an initial consultation, I elected to have them do the work. A few days later, Rafael and Javier arrived to install the system. A Radon mitigation system draws air from beneath the basement slab through a hole bored into the floor. A pipe or duct is inserted into the hole and run outside where an inline fan expels the air and radon gas above the roofline, but how does radon get into the home in the first place?

Radon enters the home via many different entry points, through the ferocity of the concrete itself, through openings in the floor, whether it be through floor cracks, openings in the perimeter, floor drains and sump holes or dirt crawl spaces. Anywhere, where there's any kind of permeability and there's a source underneath the home, radon will find a way in.

Before the actual installation begins, the technicians bore two test holes on opposite sides of the basement floor. They apply suction to one of the holes and use a vacuum meter on the other. This test will verify that air beneath the slab can in fact be evacuated.

With the test complete, a three inch hole is bored through the basement floor. A section of PVC pipe is inserted into the hole and the gap around the pipe is sealed. Three inch PVC is now run across the basement, the joints are cemented and the pipe itself is hung from the joists with J hook pipe hangers. The pipe run is then connected to the vertical section coming up from the floor. Once it's determined where the pipe will exit the basement, a smaller locator hole is poured through the room joist. Then a three inch hole saw bores a hole large enough for the pipe. A section of PVC is inserted through the hole and connected to the pipe run inside.

[lyaoyas]

I would liked to have seen an after installation test performed to see the new Radon levels.

[chavomisterioso]

this video was created 7 years ago and I have used YouTube for over 12 years and TIKTOK just made me aware of Radon today 🥺

[DVDVAMPIRE]

With the exposed vent in that position, how do you deal with rain and what's the impact on the system?

[gudduentertains]

Came here after Michael Scott throws away Radon test kit and had no clue what was this about. This video answered all my queries. Good job 👍

[prestonthomas]

RIP Ron, just found out about this. You had some very informative and well put together videos.

[cmdreffietrinket]

Thanks for this excellent video. I am a UK person moving to US and had never heard of Radon testing before, but the house I’m buying in WI just tested at 4.5 Pikachu’s per Godzilla square foot. It’s all jumbo jumbo to me and the inspector recommended I have a mitigation system installed. Thanks to this video, I now can grasp what it all means! 👍

[deenibeeniable]

5:13 It might be "well above" THAT particular roof line, but there's another one right behind it that goes up another story. How far horizontally does the pipe opening have to be from those windows??

[alsampra]

The real problem is that the mitigating company usually does the testing which is a conflict of interest.

[jacobmarciniec]

Hey Ron! Fantastic video, very informative and well put together -- thank you very much for sharing it! I have to agree with many others, though: a test to show the radon levels after the installation is a must, and I would be curious to hear what you have to say about the concerns of rain water entering the system from that seemingly exposed final section of pipe.

[irmayreyes]

Hi, Ron, I saw your video and found it to be very educational and helpful. My question to you, is it a problem to have the top of the PVC pipe located at the highest point of the roof installed,   facing outward the side instead of upward? In other words use an elbow shape instead of a straight shape? won't the rain falling straight into the pipe be an issue?

[ncooty]

@5:54: That appears to be unprotected Romex outside. Also, it's unclear how that system manages (1) condensation in the exhaust pipe and (2) rain into the pipe.

[TruckTaxiMoveIt]

Excellent video extremely informative just one little suggestion -- do a follow-up test to see if the mitigation actually works and to what extent.

[CyberCafe]

Thank you for the information, God bless you good sir!

[gitsoakville]

The whole exercise is undermined by the failure to perform and demonstrate an 'after' test to determine whether the installation has made any difference to the radon level in that basement. Shame.

[MrsJAZack]

Was this home retested to see if this system works? If so it should have been put into this video.

[ashleymeow]

Great viedo!!! Just bought a home that has a radon mitigation system and I had no idea what it did. Your viedo was very informative I now understand what it's actually for and how it works!! Thank you!

[DeviantDeveloper]

"well above the roof line...." of the ground floor extension, right next to bedroom windows. Hmm...

[akivatalansky]

Thanks for the informative video. We had a radon test done by a home inspector and the radon level was 4.3 pCi. The house had been all closed up for a long time as it was a foreclosure and basically abandoned. The test kit was left inside for 52 hrs.
I'm now looking into a radon meter so we can monitor radon levels over the next few months before we fully move in. Does anyone have a recommendation for a radon meter? They have a few on the internet including one by Airthings being sold on Amazon. Are these devices accurate?
Also, if we put in a fan, will this cause heat loss in the winter? Our house is in a cold climate in Upstate NY.

[howardroark]

Great video. I would have liked to see a radon retest with results...

[natetaylor]

Great !!! What happens when it rain and fills up that pipe ?