Community Chat

[PINKdogWOOD]

RADON

A deadly cancer-causing carcinogenic 

Have you ever had your house checked for radon levels?  If not you certainly need to.  

I live in a house a little over a century old. A friend of mine who spends time here helping me out since my husband died this April 29, bought a radon detector and put it in the basement. He knows this house as well as I do. He FREAKED when he saw the reading.

He no longer will allow me to go down there but 'every 10 days or so' he told me. Susan, you do not need to be down there anymore. He's very afraid for me and my health, his too really as he's spent a lot of time down there too.

Cancer-causing - here's also what else he said to me - I almost cannot even write this...He said there have been three most lovable pets and my dear husband who all died of cancers. Was it because of astronomical radon levels? I do not know but signs are pointing to a huge maybe. Will I be next? Don't know that either - yet. Will my PCP now recommend a cancer check for me? I'll be asking him this when I see him on Tuesday.

We moved into this house in 1985, my husband's Grandparents' home which makes 25 years this year in this house.

I'll be making an appointment with a Radon Mitigation group this week to get someone in here to talk about this problem and get it taken care of.

So I'm just saying a word to the wise folks, take care of yourselves. Treat yourself to a Radon Detector and help yourselves out.

[kaydee50]

Radon was a hot topic when we had our house in northern NJ 30+ years ago.  Haven't heard much about it recently--too many other disasters happening???

[Still Raining]

Worrisome indeed.  First get a professional evaluation to understand more about your site.

A friend had this and the solution is basically an exhaust fan and a pipe higher than your roof.  As I recall it was not that expensive.

Good luck.

[PA Mom-mom]

@PINKdogWOOD  Yes. Here in PA we are quite familiar with radon. Radon detection and mitigation is usually a prerequisite to selling a house. Everyone I know has had it done.

[on the bay]

@PINKdogWOOD,

That's good advice.

Sometimes people don't think or know about it.

We had radon tested on inspection before we bought our just 17 year old townhouse which had a basement. I'm glad we did because it had unnaceptable levels.

So we had a company that deals with radon put something in the basement to divert or get rid of it? Anyway to make it safe to live in.

I think the sellers had to pay for it.

[KittySoftPaws]

Yes I have heard of this as I have a friend who owns a home inspection business in Delaware. It's something they sometimes check for. Not sure if it's routinley checked or must be requested. You can also check State by State, as some states have very little and others a lot. Here in Florida it is not all that common for whatever reason, and luckily we are in a second floor Condo. But I remember when my friend mentioned it and I asked what it was, and I was pretty surprised and shocked, I had never heard about it before. I have no idea how they fix it. Keep us posted and hoping this gets resolved for you. 

[on the bay]

We did have to request that radon testing be included in the inspection.

[SilleeMee]

My State Dept of Public Health gives our residents a radon test kit for free. My house tested negative the last time I checked. Every 2 to 5 years is what the EPA recommends to test for radon. Depends on your situation for how often to test. 

[KittySoftPaws]

@PINKdogWOOD 

Was reading up on this, more importantly:

Hiring a Radon Mitigation Contractor

If you need to reduce radon levels within your home, find an experienced contractor with proper qualifications. As Bill Wehrum, an administrator at the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, states, “Iincrease the level of radon or compromise the air quality in your house.”f you don’t do it right, you might actually 

When selecting a radon mitigation contractor:

• Check their experience and track record
• Find a contractor who received their certification from a recognized radon certification program
• Make sure they’re licensed and insured
• Look for membership in professional organization 

  Common Sources of Radon in Homes

  Radon typically enters homes through:

  • Cavities inside walls
  • Cracks in solid floors and walls
  • Construction joints
  • Gaps around service pipes
  • Gaps in suspended floors
  • The water supply

[on the bay]

This is all such good information.

I didn't realize that it should be tested every 2 years even when you have had radon mitigation installed!