Great Home Improvement Tips

Second to smoking tobacco, radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in the USA. This is alarming considering that radon can be found anywhere in the world. Radon is a radioactive substance that is produced when uranium breaks down. Unfortunately, uranium is a naturally occurring substance that is found in soils. You can live in any part of the world and still be affected with radon. You can purchase an old house or a new house and you’re still equally susceptible to the cancerous effects of radon.

Your home doesn’t even have to have a basement for it to be contaminated with radon. The only way for you to protect yourself and your family from radon health risks is to have your home tested for radon levels. To do this, you should call a contractor who has been approved by the EPA, if you’re living in the United States. You may also use long-term and short-term radon testing kits to test the radon levels in your home yourself.

If your home tested positive in the radon test, then you have to find a way to vent the radon out of your home. When the radon levels are high, you may need to ask a contractor to perform sub-slab depressurization.   Lower concentrations of radon may require simpler methods of ventilation. You may be asked to install ceiling fans, exhaust fans, vents in the basement and other crawl areas, or fans to vent the air from sump holes and drainages. The idea is to allow proper circulation of air in your home so that you and your family won’t have inhale to tiny but cancerous, radioactive particles of radon.

If radon is found in your home’s foundation but not inside your home yet, contractors will advise you to keep the radon from seeping into your home. Preventive measures to avoid radon health risks include sealing cracks on the walls or foundation and using air cleaners/filters.

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