Radon Testing in the Triangle

You want your home to be a safe, healthy place where your family can grow and thrive. When you’re buying a home, you want to make sure you’re making the right decision for your wellbeing, making sure to check for mold, having well water tested, and having a thorough home inspection completed. However, many homebuyers and homeowners miss testing for what can be the most dangerous contaminant in the home – radon. If you want to avoid serious health concerns and respiratory damage, schedule a radon test in the Triangle with Rover Home Inspections today.

Understanding the Dangers of Radon in the Home

Deep within the earth, uranium is stored in soil and rock. Over time, this uranium breaks down and forms radon, a radioactive gas.

How Does Radon Enter a Home?

When uranium is in a solid state below the earth, it’s typically posing little to no risk. However, as it breaks down into a gas, it travels upward through voids and minuscule spaces in stone, rock, and dirt. While much of the radon gas seeps upward into the atmosphere, when it hits a slab foundation, the pores in cinder block, or the floor joists over a crawl space, the radon enters a home.

This gas is both colorless and odorless, so it’s impossible to know of its presence without a specific radon test. Over time, radon will build up in the home, hurting the air quality and creating health problems for you and your family.

Health Problems Caused by Radon

Radon gas is carcinogenic, meaning it causes cancer with continued or prolonged exposure. The EPA finds that radon is the cause of around 20,000 lung cancer deaths each year, making it the most prevalent cause of lung cancer for non-smokers. Children are particularly vulnerable to getting sick from radon as are homes built on a crawl space over the soil.

Testing Your Home for Radon Gas

Before you move into a home or every two years in your home, you should have a radon test performed. While there are DIY kits available, they aren’t as accurate as professional testing, plus, at Rover home Inspections, we know where to place radon testing devices where we can get optimal results, looking for low spots where the gas can enter the home. Even better, professional radon testing provides results more quickly (just a few days) without compromising the accuracy of the result.

Understanding Your Radon Test Results

After we get the results back on your radon test, we will walk you through what the results mean. While radon is not considered safe at any level, the EPA does have acceptable limits established. Radon is measured in picoCuries per Liter (pCi/L) and a test of 4 pCi/L or higher would require radon mitigation steps to lower the risk of lung cancer. We would also recommend taking steps to minimize radon gas entering the home if tests show over 2 pCi/L.

Schedule Your Radon Test Today

Make sure your home is safe and healthy for your family. Schedule a radon test in the Triangle today by calling 919-452-3263 filling out easy-to-use contact form. We serve Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Wake Forest, Hillsborough, Roxboro, Henderson and the surrounding areas.