Radon Detectors

Radon is a radioactive odorless gas that occurs naturally and lives in the soil. It is a product of decayed uranium. When we heat our homes and the warmth rises to the top of the house then a suction pit can develop in the foundations. This suction allows radon to enter your home. Very low levels of the gas are unlikely to cause harm to most people, particularly if you are a non-smoker. Smokers are at a much higher risk of developing lung cancer if they unknowingly ingest radon. The EPA says that radon is a dangerous gas and can cause lung cancer to develop. It can take twenty five years for the cancer to develop after someone has been exposed to radon. It doesn’t matter whether your house is new or old, radon can be present. The only way you will really know about the radon levels in your home is to have them measured with a radon detector. You can buy a radon testing kit or radon detectors at most hardware stores. The test results should be sent to a laboratory where they will be analyzed. A level of four picocuries (a measurement of radio-activity) per liter or higher is regarded as a high level of radon – you may need a radon gas detector. The national average in homes is 1.3pci/1 – the EPA suggests that anything above 2pci/1 should be reduced if possible.

Invest in a detector, gas radon is dangerous. If your radon levels are higher than this and you want to have them removed, it is an expensive process and could cost around a thousand dollars. You should ask for an extended warranty that your home is now radon free – apart from anything else this is becoming increasingly important when homeowners are selling their property. If you decide to test for radon yourself with a radon gas detector then you need to bear these things in mind. Hiring a professional radon detector is an expensive business. Some firms use digital radon detectors. At the first alert, radon gas detectors can prevent a lot of future worries.

You need to check carefully on firms which tell you that the radon levels in your home are nothing to worry about. Not all contractors are honest and where and in what conditions the test is taken can bring varying results. If for example the test was done in a second floor room with all the windows open then the results could appear dramatically lower than they might in a room where windows were rarely open so there was no crosswind.

It is all too easy to buy a home radon detector, or even an electronic radon gas detector take it in a fully aired room, send off to the laboratory and get results which tell you your home is relatively free of radon – when this may not be the case. People often ask how do radon detectors work the simplest answer is that they measure the levels rising from the soil and entering your home. Any professional radon detector will ell you to follow the testing kit’s instructions to the letter and perhaps you should do it in a part of the house that is well used but not often aired. Electronic radon gas detector monitors and landauerae radon gas detectors are house monitoring systems.