Should You Get a Radon Test? Radon Testing for Home Inspections

In this video I answer your pressing question: is radon testing really necessary during your home inspection? It depends on the type of home you're buying and where you're buying it. Please like and subscribe for helpful tips on real estate and other home related subjects.
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Hi, I’m John Schultz, owner of JDS Home Inspection Services in Denver, Colorado. When purchasing a home, your home inspector or real estate agent may ask if you would like to have a radon test performed. It may seem like one more thing to worry about, but I’m here to tell you that radon is a serious concern in Colorado. About 40 years ago, it was discovered that radon exposure is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. Radon is a radioactive gas produced from the breakdown of plutonium and uranium deep underground. This gas permeates through the ground and gets trapped in crawl spaces and basements where homeowners get exposed to it. Colorado is one of many states with high levels of radon due to the granite in the Rocky Mountains. Nationwide, one in fifteen homes test high for radon, but in Colorado that number jumps to one in three. Colorado is part of what is called “Uranium Alley.” In fact, all of the plutonium used in the Manhattan Project was mined in Colorado. There isn’t a single county in Colorado that doesn’t record high levels of radon. Now, how dangerous is it? Radon is a lot like smoking cigarettes, its effects are cumulative. Since you spend most of your time at home, it’s good to know what you and your family might be exposed to. Radon is colorless, odorless, and otherwise undetectable without a test. Most radon testing machines used for home inspections record for 48 hours straight and supply you with an average of those readings. This is needed, as radon levels fluctuate throughout the day. Readings are affected by temperature, humidity, ground saturation, barometric pressure, and lots of other factors. If your home tests above 4.0 picocuries per liter, the Environmental Protection Agency recommends installing a radon mitigation system. This is less complicated than it sounds. A radon mitigation system is basically a tube that runs from below the foundation to a fan that pulls radon from below the surface before it has a chance to enter the living space. This air is deposited above the eaves of the roof, completely bypassing the house. The cost of installing a radon mitigation system depends on the layout of the house, crawl space, and basement so calling a radon mitigation contractor is necessary. Once installed, check the meter every once in a while. The meter shows whether a vacuum is being maintained, which is important for the radon mitigation system to function. The meter should always be offset. If the two sides are even, that means the radon mitigation system is no longer functioning properly and it’s time to call the installer. If your home tests below 4.0 picocuries per liter, your exposure is below the EPA recommended action level. In this case, you should be fine without a mitigation system, but it’s a good idea to run a radon test every two years to make sure this doesn’t change. I personally recommend having a radon test performed with your home inspection even with an installed mitigation system just to be sure the unit is still working. Radon is such an issue nationwide that February was designated National Radon Awareness Month, so if you haven’t had a test run lately or at all, please contact your home inspector as possible. Thanks for listening and be sure to check out our other videos for helpful tips on other home-related subjects.

[@n310ea]

Is radon gas found in apartment complexes?

[@dajur1]

Good info. A question though, since the test takes 2 days to complete, how do you schedule coming back to pick it up? Or do you do a 2-3 hour radon test while you complete the inspection?

[@bestpricehomeinspection]

That is a great question Dan. No, the test requires at least a 48 hour period. A 2-3 hour test wouldn't tell you much, as it takes the home 4 hours just to reach static equilibrium. Which is why a CRM Radon test supplies two numbers, the 48 hour average, and the EPA average. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends disregarding the first four hours of the test from the reported average to allow the home to reach static equilibrium.
Radon levels tend to fluctuate throughout the day, so a 48 hour test will show you a snapshot of those fluctuations over time.
Home inspectors will do their best to drop off the test machine during the inspection, letting the client know that they will receive their results after 48 hours. If time permits there is also the possibility of dropping the Radon machine two days before the inspection, so that pick up happens just before the inspection takes place.
Occasionally time, availability and scheduling does not permit dropping the machine during the inspection which means we have to bother the current homeowner three times. (Drop off, Inspection and Pickup). This is rare as most inspectors have multiple machines to prevent this, but it just depends.
Real estate agents (both Buyers agents and Seller agents) are well aware of this, and are usually willing to accommodate the drop off and pick up windows for the Radon machines. They realize that Radon expose is a health and safety concern and want to do the best for their clients.
Either way, 48 hours is the bare minimum for a real estate transaction.
If you are a homeowner planning on staying put and worried about your exposure, it is recommended to actually have a 90 day test performed. The 48 hour timeframe is for real estate transactions, as nobody will wait 90 days to close on a house. But if you're worried about your exposure levels, a 90 day test will give you a much better idea of actual exposure under regular living conditions. This test can take into account the seasons, weather and living conditions of the occupants in the home. It's a more approximate number, but on the flip side, its really only suggested if your 48 hour test comes in close to 4.0, like 3.5 or 3.8 (If you're at +5.0 don't waste the time, just mitigate)
The 48 hour test is the first step, which is why it is considered standard for real estate transactions.

[@dajur1]

@@bestpricehomeinspection Thanks for the info. I was just trying to see how I would go about adding a Radon service into my home inspection business. It might work out, but I drive a long ways sometimes, so I'll have to do a poll of my Realtors to see if this is something that they would be interested in.