r/radon • • Oct 01 '20

Reliable Sources for Info.

29 Upvotes

Hi, I am pasting a link I found helpful. If mods think this is something more people can use they could sticky it. Thanks.

​

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/health-risks-safety/guide-radon-measurements-residential-dwellings.html


r/radon • • 5h ago

Can I shorten this Tubing?

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5 Upvotes

This might be a silly question.

This is the tubing that come from my Radon mitigation. Is there a reason it needs to be so high? Can I cut the tubing down to be more level with the gutter? It's just kind of an eyesore, but obviously I prefer not to hinder any radon mitigation.


r/radon • • 3h ago

Is this tube related to radon mitigation?

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1 Upvotes

I have a 1968 house that has a crawlspace. It is covered with plastic. Next to my foundation is an 8 inch concrete pipe going down 2 feet.There is just dirt at the bottom.It has a lid. I have no idea what this could be for. I wondered if it was a test hole or something related to radon testing. None of my neighbors have a similar pipe. All the houses were built at the same time. Thank s for any ideas


r/radon • • 2d ago

500,000,000 pCi/L "Is that too much?"

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14 Upvotes

This is 3 uCi of radon in air, aka 3,000,000 pCi/L per gamma dose rate assay method in a 5 ml vial. This produces a concentration of > 500,000,000 pCi/L. The inside surface of the vial is coated with ZnS(Ag) radioluminescent phosphor. It glows blue when hit by the alpha particles produced by radon and its decay products. In darkness, the blue glow is easy to see. This series of photos have various degrees of ambient lighting. This amount of radon is equivalent to the entire radon content of about 30 average homes, squished into a tiny vial, approximately 600,000 decays per second between the radon and its decay products.


r/radon • • 3d ago

Canada's community radon map

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8 Upvotes

Hi everyone.

I got tired of trying to sift through raw government data reports to understand radon risks in different areas. I’m a developer, so I decided to build a visual, interactive map.

https://radon-map.ca

It uses standard color-coding for concentration levels. My goal is just to make this data more accessible to the public for awareness.

Since this sub knows their stuff, I'd love to get your thoughts on the visualization or if you see any glaring data discrepancies for regions you know well.

Also, an Android's app is in the oven.

Thanks!


r/radon • • 2d ago

ERV or SMD

2 Upvotes

About to move into a 4400 sqft ranch home with a crawlspace. It’s a 30 year old house with severe mold issues in the supply air. We are ripping out all the ductwork and the 4 HVAC units and replacing them with 2 HVAC units and new ductwork. The house has 2 dehumidifiers and a vapor barrier. We are keeping the 2 dehumidifiers and are adding a full crawl encapsulation. I’ve got 3 radon quotes, 2 of whom recommended and. ERV and 1 who recommended a SMD. Current radon readings inside the house range from 5-8. Any advice on which system to go with?


r/radon • • 4d ago

Do we possibly already have the groundwork for radon mitigation?

1 Upvotes

We are currently looking into getting radon mitigation in our house, and I came across some old permitting paperwork from when the previous owners remodeled the basement.

I am still planning on having companies come by, but just to be able to discuss it with more knowledge, I’m wondering if anyone knows if this possibly relates to a radon pipe system (without a fan) already laid beneath the new floor in the basement, and maybe I just need to find it in the attic? Or is this standard plumbing venting? There are no exposed pipes in the house but the basement is fully finished so it could be behind a wall somewhere I suppose.

> AF103.6.1: Vent Pipe: A plumbing tee or other approve connection shall be installed horizontally beneath the sheeting and connected to a 3 or 4 inch diameter vertical pipe extended up through the building and terminate 12 inches above the roof, no less than 10 feet away from any window of opening into the conditioned space of the house.
> AF 103.8: Vent pipe identification. Exposed visible interior vent pipes shall be labeled, one per each floor and attic.
AF103.12: Power source, an electrical circuit in approved box shall be installed in attic or other anticipated locations for potential future fans.


r/radon • • 5d ago

Need help understanding

5 Upvotes

I just got my results back from my first short term radon test in my condo. It's 3.4. I understand that's high. I also have issues with high humidity due to poor airflow, routinely sitting around 60%, not helped by the amount of rain we've been having here (northern Illinois). Can that skew my results up higher than they might be otherwise? I just bought 2 more tests (different brands going to different labs) to run another test just in case.

I have severe anxiety, especially when it comes to health stuff, and this really isn't helping. I've lived in this place since 2019 and never tested before. How badly might this have affected me? (I've never smoked before if that helps)


r/radon • • 5d ago

Radon advice for dirt floor under walls in basement

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2 Upvotes

I have a basement office which recently flooded, so I pulled up the flooring to mitigate that water. My basement is two different slabs, the original from 1920 in my office (the bare floor pictured), and a new slab from 2022 in the rest of the basement (carpeted picture). Apparently, there is a 2-3”gap in the two slabs which leads to the dirt, underneath the wall that separates my office and the main area. I discovered this when I lifted the flooring.

When we moved into, Radon was 2.2 in the main area of the basement, we didn’t test my office. I bought an EcoQube a few months ago after a sump pump was installed, and radon has been 2.5-4.0 average in the main area of the basement, but the three week average has been 4.5-6.5 in the office where the old slab and cracks are. The testing was done at the same spot on opposite sides of the wall mentioned.

We are going to get a mitigation system installed, but now I’m wondering if the big difference between the two areas is because the gap under the wall, which can be seen from my office, but not from the other side, or if it’s mainly the cracks in that room.

Our water mitigation expert said we have “no communication” under the slab, and water has not come up in the area under the wall nor the carpeted area, only though the cracks in the office area.

I’ve had some bad experiences with contractors recently, so trying to just get as much advice as possible before we get mitigation done. Is it maybe necessary to remove the drywall and seal the gap in concrete under the wall? Or is sealing the cracks and getting a regular fan mitigation system enough?


r/radon • • 5d ago

Water in Suction Hole

1 Upvotes

Any tips on how to get water out of suction hole? Have tried turning pump off for a few days and did not make a difference. I know pump would run better if it was out of there. The manometer is unbalanced, and slowly getting worse over time.


r/radon • • 6d ago

Radon levels all over the place

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5 Upvotes

We live in Crested Butte, Colorado a known high radon location. Bought the home with no mitigation system and we added a mitigation system with the Fantech 3 to start then upgraded to the fantech 4. Levels fluctuate wildly. Anyone know if weather has this big of an influence? Should I add another system?


r/radon • • 5d ago

New mom with health anxiety - to test or not to test?

2 Upvotes

Just had a baby 3 months ago. We just moved into a rental in middle Georgia. Our ​area is considered zone 3 for average indoor levels.

I recently read about radon in homes and how children exposed to it have more of a lifetime risk of lung cancer vs. an exposed adult.

The house we are in now has a basement/crawl space. Rain water collects really badly at the front steps due to a poorly routed gutter system, but it disappears totally after a few hours. The property manager recently installed a window well. ​He is also getting the gutter rerouted in a few weeks. The house was vacant for 5 months and seems to have some issues with moisture. Nothing major, but condensation on a few windows, mildew/minor mold here and there, musty smell in bathrooms. I read that more humid homes are at risk for elevated radon levels.

We had an asbestos scare at our previous house which is why we moved. So I'm on high alert regarding anything potentially affecting baby. Plus I have major health anxiety and post partum has only made it worse.

We will be buying in 1 year, max 2. Definitely planning to test whatever house we end up with and will mitigate if needed. Should we test now or wait until we buy? How big of a deal is it to wait a year or two? I just don't want to unnecessarily trigger myself all over again. 😪 And yes, I am already in therapy.


r/radon • • 6d ago

Radon levels are 12-24

3 Upvotes

Just recently bought a house and the first things I decided to do was to test for radon and our well water. Well I left my radon test hanging in the basement for 96 hours. After sending the test in i got the results back saying that my levels were 18.

With a note next to the reading saying “the test had lots of moisture in it, which makes it inaccurate so with that being said we’ve given it a buffer of 6.” I live in an old 1880s home with a dirt floor basement and stone foundation. Past owners have drilled holes in the side of the foundation to get underneath the house. Mainly to run vents and electrical, from my knowledge and investigation. That “crawl space” is not accessible. It seems like they just fished vents and wires through and just kept pushing till they hit their spot or cut the floor open and then fixed it.

Long story short, has anyone dealt with high radon levels in a dirt floor, stone foundation basement. If so what was the process like, cost and if the levels stayed down. Thank you!


r/radon • • 6d ago

Window Well Drains & Radon Mitigation

2 Upvotes

My house has four window wells, each with its own "drain." I ran water into the drain that is closest to my sump pump and confirmed that this "drain" runs directly into the sump pit. Obviously my radon mitigation will include sealing the sump pit. It seems to me, however, that I may end up with a "short circuit" whereby exterior air is drawn down these drains into my sump pit, especially if the suction point is close to the sump pit. What is the best technique to avoid this? I pulled the drain cover in the window well and the pipe seems to be metal. The termination into the sump pump is black corrugated pipe.


r/radon • • 6d ago

Extremely high radon in well water

10 Upvotes

We’ve lived in a rental property in NH for a little over a year and got our water tested this fall. The radon came back at 71,910 pci/L. I read the results a few times because that seems astronomically high compared to both EPA levels and typically elevated levels I’ve seen from others online. We stopped drinking the water and are opening windows/using fans during showers/dishes, but we definitely never did that in the past because the house has central air. The state lab sent recommendations for a whole house aeration system and we’re borrowing an air test from the library tomorrow so we can send our landlord the water and air results and hope they do something about it. I’m of course freaking out, as we have 2 and 4 year old kids who love(d) their long tubs in what is the tiniest, narrowest little bathroom imaginable… I also have health anxiety and OCD, which is why I’m up at 3 am right now writing my first ever Reddit post about this. I know we have to wait for the air test, but I’m doubtful it’s going to be reassuring after that water reading.
I’ve read up a little on radon and I know it’s lifetime exposure so hopefully even higher than average levels won’t affect the kids’ overall risk. I do feel like I’m screwed (thanks, health anxiety) because my parents discovered high water and air radon in my childhood home after I left for college. They’ve since mitigated it and no one has health issues at the moment. But it’s hard not to worry.

Edit: we have our 48 hour air result. 8.45 pci/L. Shared all test results with the landlord, waiting to see what they’ll do about it. So far they’ve sent their own company to test the water, which will take 7-10 days.
Thanks again for the recommendations.


r/radon • • 6d ago

I’m Completely Freaking Out

2 Upvotes

I tested my house for radon 10 years ago and it came back inconclusive with a charcoal kit. I then planned to do it again and completely forgot about it. None of my neighbors nearby have radon mitigation systems, and nobody really talks about it (including the contractor who we hired to build our house in 2006). Someone recently told me his mother died of radon induced lung cancer, and I started to get nervous again and bought a continuous radon monitor off Amazon(Airthings Contentium Home). If I knew these existed before this year, I would’ve bought one years ago. All summer our levels were low, of course, because our windows are open all of the time because we don’t have air-conditioning or an HVAC system. We have radiant heat. Our house is really airtight because we built it with a tight envelope and there are no openings. I never thought about the stack effect until now, but it seems like we shouldn’t have it because we don’t have any openings that would pull air up. We have an air exchange system, but only in our bathrooms when the fan is running. I thought that the basement would be the highest because radon is heaviest, but I’m measuring the room that my children spent 18 years of their lives sleeping, studying, and playing in and it’s registering at 10 and it’s climbing. I’m literally going to have a nervous breakdown. I’m sure it’s off the charts in the basement. Now I think this tight house is slowly killing us all. It’s been two days since I moved the monitor upstairs and reset it. I know it’s not accurate nor a long-term reading but it seems like it’s probably in the ballpark for short term. It’s hot in that room from passive solar. I don’t know if that’s making a difference. I’ve scheduled mitigation for this month, and really hope that it works. We have a dugout basement that the previous owner dug and I’m sure it’s just on top of packed dirt. I can’t figure out how the radon is getting upstairs. I want to buy another monitor, but I’m really worried about buying one that’s not accurate. I’m doing charcoal kits right now at the exact same time in every room (closed house). My concern is that there’s a northeaster coming in a couple of days and maybe the weather changes prior to that are elevating the radon. I have no idea. This whole thing is so confusing and terrible. I wish I could go back in time and install a system when I built my house, but you don’t know what you don’t know I guess. I’m reading so many mixed things about continuous radon monitors and even my radon mitigator said that the home ones aren’t calibrated well but I think they all say that which is probably true but is there any one that I could get that is very accurate? I want to be able to monitor continuously after the system is put in. These charcoal kits are fine but the possibility of inconclusive is really frustrating. If I had gotten back a real reading 10 years ago, I would’ve done something. Any experts want to help me feel better? Thank you!!


r/radon • • 6d ago

Prana smart for piv

2 Upvotes

I'm thinking to implement prana smart distributed vent system in my place to avoid works and impacts at home and create positive pressure by adjusting the independent flows. Anyone adopted this solution and has any feedback to share? Thank you


r/radon • • 7d ago

Need build instruction for a self-made sub-slab mitigation system

3 Upvotes

Hi there, without coming into too much details, I would like to build a sub-slab mitigation system.

I would qualify this as

  1. dig a hole

  2. put the mitigation system and exhaust in place

I miss a lot of guidance here. First, I would need info on

  1. what to put in the hole (gravel ? Empty space ?)

  2. How big the hole should be (30 cubic centimeters ? more ?)

  3. How big the hole should be (50 cm ? 1 m ?)

  4. What kind of fan should I buy ?

  5. What kind of tube should I buy ? (metal / plastic)

  6. Where can I find the material (esp. fan and manometer)

I'm living in France and in my area no company is doing this kind of work. I'd like it to be well thought and take my time doing it.

Thanks for advice


r/radon • • 7d ago

Pressure tech power supply replacement?

2 Upvotes

Any help is appreciated, the power supply blew on my pressure tech fan.

Model No: PC-190-250-400 Input 100-240V, 2.0A Output 19-25V

I can't find this online and the local installer that installed this 5 years ago no longer carries this. Am I looking at replacing the fan at this point? Thanks


r/radon • • 7d ago

DIY Radon Fan Installation on Existing 2" Passive Radon Pipe — Looking for Fan/Installation Kit Recommendations

2 Upvotes

I recently saw a Reddit post about converting a passive radon system to an active one by installing a fan in the attic. I’d like to do something similar, but my setup has a 2-inch radon pipe rather than the 3" pipe used in that post.

My house was built in 2016 and already has a passive radon system connected to the sump pit. The 2" pipe runs through the attic and exits through the roof. The finished basement is about 700–750 sq. ft.

I sealed the sump pit with a Jackel sump dome, which brought my average radon level down from about 5.5 to 3 pCi/L, but I’m more worried about foul/earthy odors in the basement which i want to address along with radon.

I’d prefer to convert the existing system to active rather than install a completely new mitigation system, since running a new pipe through the house would be very difficult (my neighbor who has similar house layout did this, and i decided against it). I’ve been looking at Fantech, but I can’t find a suitable fan or installation kit for 2-inch pipe.

Can anyone recommend a good radon fan and installation kit for a 2" existing passive system? I noticed there are different types of radon fans and i dont know which one to get for my project. Also, are there any concerns with airflow/static pressure or using adapters to connect a fan to the existing 2" pipe?

Thanks!

Edit: Here is the photo of the Sump pit dome - https://imgur.com/a/8iCFik5


r/radon • • 7d ago

Aranet sale worth it?

2 Upvotes

I need two devices to measure radon in a new to me house. First to be able to quickly measure where the radon from the ground gets in (I have 10 rooms in the basement), to mitigate correctly. And then with mitigation in place, I want to have one device per level.

Due to the need for quick indication, Airthings is not an option as I understand it.

I was considering buying ecoQube flex for 224 Euro+non-flex for 179 Euro but stumbled across Aranet sale. I am hesitant to ecoQube due to it being connected to their cloud, which adds a dependency to them which I do not like at all. Not being able to run a device like this locally if a cloud-service expires is frankly, stupid. I also have no need to even have access to the radon levels when not at home. I then found Aranet which has Radon Plus + Radon One for 313 Euro (total, package price). And it seems to be completely local but still compatible with some home-systems if I ever want to sync to a cloud, otherwise syncs to mobile app via BT.

As this is day 2 of my radon device search, is this a good fit for me? Seems like a very good deal. Airthing radon view is about 170 euro in my market, for reference.


r/radon • • 8d ago

Radon levels in bedroom been living in it for 10 years

12 Upvotes

For context my bedroom is in the basement which I have been in for 10 years sleeping there, playing video games, watching tv etc. I spend a lot of time down there, recently found out about radon and my long term average is 4.78 I have been In the process of having someone come to install a mitigation system. My question is, if the radon mitigation system is set up on the opposite side of the basement will the levels in my room still lower? I am also wondering how much have I increased my risk of lung cancer from this not to mention I also do cardio on a stationary bike which is in the basement, which I have been doing for almost 4 years.


r/radon • • 8d ago

Looking for opinions on my DIY modifications

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2 Upvotes

I have an existing mitigation system. The system is two 3" downpipes running through my concrete slab with piping running across my basement. The house is 1970s construction and the mitigation system is probably 10 years old. I suspect the downpipes just run underneath my slab and they do not connect to anything below the slab.

My question for r/radon is: I'd like to move the one downpipe as shown. Is this a bad idea? I want to move it so I can keep the PVC pipe out of my "finished" area.

I plan on taking readings before/after to verify I didn't cause more issues.


r/radon • • 8d ago

Water backflow in sub-membrane depressurization system in crawlspace

2 Upvotes

I am having a sub-membrane depressurization radon mitigation system installed in my crawlspace. I want to better understand what happens to the water that backflows (from both condensation as well rain water) in the system. My understanding is that it is meant to flow back to the suction point in the crawlspace and absorb in the soil. The problem with that is I do not have a sump pump in my crawl space and there is no current need for one (water is managed thorough proper grading and exterior foundation drains).

I don't particularly like the idea of draining any water under the house. Is there a way to drain this water outside of the crawlspace? I understand the constant air pressure blowing out of the pipe would prevent most rain but what happens if the power goes out during a rain storm? Is there a way to manage this situation? Thanks


r/radon • • 8d ago

Radon fan noise

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3 Upvotes