How to Lower Radon Levels in Your Home: Tips From HVAC Pros
Of the average 21,000 lung cancer deaths each year, over 10% of them occur in non-smokers. People who have never smoked are getting lung cancer for various reasons, but radon is the most prevalent. Radon exists in nature, so it’s hard to avoid, but there are ways to lower the levels if it is present in your home.
Radon causes lung cancer deaths in approximately 2,900 non-smokers every year. It’s an odorless, colorless radioactive gas that’s present in the ground and seeps into homes through basements and gaps or cracks in a crawlspace. It occurs naturally when radium, thorium, and uranium found in rocks and soil break down over time. It’s believed that around 6 million homes have dangerous radon levels of 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) of air or higher.
The risk of developing lung cancer from long-term exposure to radon ranges from 1% for someone who has never smoked to 5% for current smokers. Any risk is too much, especially when radon remediation removes radon from your home. The HVAC professionals at Air Blue have tips to help you reduce radon levels in your home.
Testing May Not Cost You Anything Beyond Return Postage
Before anything else, find out if you have radon in your home and how high the levels are. Chicago residents can purchase a radon test kit from the American Lung Association. Cook County residents living outside of Chicago can request a free test kit from Cook County Public Health.
The results from this test help you better understand if you have a problem. Currently, it’s recommended that you take immediate action if you have a score of 4 pCi/L or higher. If your home is between 2 and 4 pCi/L, you may want to take steps to lower the levels. It’s hard to get them below 2 Ci/L normally as radon is present in the outside air.
Another thing to keep in mind is that levels do fluctuate. You might have low levels one year and high levels five years later. They even change seasonally. It’s recommended that you have radon levels tested every two years. That’s why it’s sometimes better to look into systems that reduce radon levels in the home to have a more permanent solution.
Steps to Take If Radon Is Present
What if tests show you have radon? What’s important is that you address the results and work with experts in radon mitigation and proper airflow within your home. Radon isn’t something you should ignore.
With radon levels below 4 pCi/L, improving ventilation and sealing cracks is important. Look for gaps and cracks in your basement walls and floors, seal gaps around doors and windows, check the outdoor foundation for any potential cracks or gaps, and take care of those. If you have a sump pump, make sure that the discharge pipes are sealed, that it has a tight-fitting lid, and that the seals around your sump bucket and basement floor aren’t cracked or leaking.
There’s a common belief that a finished basement doesn’t have radon. That’s not necessarily true. If there are cracks allowing radon gas into the basement floor or walls, a finished basement won’t protect against that. Even the tiniest of cracks between the walls and slab of a foundation can let radon leak in, and that gas can permeate through cracks in wallboard or flooring. Only a radon mitigation system will effectively reduce levels.
If you have high radon levels of 4 pCi/L or higher, talk to an HVAC professional about a radon mitigation system. The system draws radon gas from below your home and vents it to a higher point in the air above your home.
There are a few types of radon mitigation systems.
Air Suction Pit: A fan draws radon from the soil through a pit dug into the basement floor.
Drain-Field Depressurization: Using existing drain tiles, a radon mitigation system is set up to draw the radon from the drain tile to the outside, and sump baskets are covered to prevent any leaks.
Sub-Slab Depressurization – Radon is pulled from the area below the slab and is vented outside the home.
With any of these systems, a radon fan is placed in an area like a garage, attic, or outside the home to ensure radon doesn’t travel back into the home.
Only a licensed HVAC professional with experience in radon mitigation should be used when you have high levels of radon. Proof of the installation is important when you go to sell your home.
How Does Air Conditioning Play Into Radon Mitigation?
No filter is going to capture all of the radon as it’s a gas. Filters can capture small particles of dust and pollen that radon clings to, which helps a little. What’s more important is that central AC requires your home to be properly pressurized to avoid the loss of cold air. That’s more important when it comes to keeping radon from entering your home.
A Heat or Energy Recovery Ventilation system (HRV or ERV) captures the heat or cooling from indoor or outdoor air as it brings the air inside the home or takes stale indoor air and brings it outside. This ensures fresh air flow and also lowers humidity levels, which helps reduce mold and mildew. It also helps ease the work your home’s AC or heating system has to do, which lowers energy consumption.
When you have fresh air circulating in your home constantly, it can help lower radon counts. You’ll also appreciate the clean, fresh air, especially if you work from home or have pets and kids spending a lot of time at home. Ask your professional AC installer about continuous ventilation to see if it would work with your system.
If it’s time to replace your AC system, talk to Air Blue about central AC systems that provide continuous ventilation to protect against radon. With financing options and tax incentives on a new AC, there’s never been a better time to install a new system. Reach Air Blue online using the blue text button or give us a call and we’ll arrange a time to discuss your options.
