Radon isn’t safe any time of the year, but wintertime makes living with radon especially hazardous. It might also be the best time to conduct radon testing.
If your home inspection ancillary services include radon testing, it’s time to talk with customers about the fact that testing and mitigation aren’t complicated, they could save a life, and winter makes radon problems easier to find.
Radon Occurs Naturally and Can Accumulate Inside Homes
Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, highly radioactive gas. If it’s in a home, the homeowner probably doesn’t know it. That already sounds scary. Factor in the cancer-causing nature of radon, and it’s no wonder people worry about finding it and getting rid of it.
Radon occurs naturally in the ground. It’s a byproduct of decaying uranium, usually found in soil but also found in water. Because it’s a single-atom gas, it can penetrate almost any ordinary material in the home. Wood, drywall, plastics, paint, and fabrics can’t block it.
The Surgeon General has said that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer. Because it can collect inside homes, it puts every resident in a contaminated house at risk.
The Tighter the Construction the Higher the Risk
Modern homes with tight construction do wonderful things for energy bills. But they can also create an environment that makes it harder to escape. Not only that, cold weather outside and warm temperatures inside can increase the amount of radon that moves into the home. RadoVent says that’s because of a vacuum effect.
Older homes have plenty of problems, but they’re not an inherent radon risk. It’s the location, not the age of the building, that determines whether the gas is present. An old house might be built where there’s little or no radon in the soil. A new house with tight construction might be built where radon concentrations are high.
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Radon mitigation systems are effective and not especially complex.
Winter Makes Radon Worse and Testing Easier
Radon that makes its way through the soil and into a home can eventually escape as long as it’s got a path. That’s easier when the weather is mild and the house isn’t sealed up. In winter when every imaginable air leak is stopped, it is difficult.
Thankfully, winter can also make radon testing more effective. With more gas coming into the home through the vacuum effect and much less going out, testing equipment may have a better chance of picking it up. If you don’t offer radon testing, you could recommend a DIY kit that’s made for homeowner use.
If a buyer or homeowner learns that the house of their dreams has a radon problem, it’s not the end of the line for that property. It’s also not frighteningly expensive to fix. Radon mitigation is probably possible through focused ventilation and fans. That’s often all that there is to it.
Whether it’s radon, asbestos, lead, or any other hazard, there’s an app that lets you keep track of it. Report Form Pro 2 is the latest version of our popular home inspection reporting app and it’s better than ever. Download the app for Android or get it for your iPhone today.