TROUBLESHOOTING YOUR RADON SYSTEM

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Radon is widespread in homes in the United States – on average, 1 of every 15 homes have radon levels that are higher than the recommended action levels. In Utah, 1 of 3 homes have dangerous levels of Radon.

Soil is porous, so radon moves up from the soil and into the home. Radon gets into buildings because the air pressure inside is usually lower than the pressure in the soil surrounding it. This difference causes the building to act like a vacuum and suck radon in through foundation cracks and other small openings such as gaps around pipes, cavities inside walls and the water supply.

Most radon exposure occurs inside homes, schools and workplaces – places where people and pets spend most of their time. Modern construction is not exempt from radon risks, as new insulation strategies often trap radon gas more effectively in new homes than older homes. Radon exposure can happen in any type of building, whether it has a basement, a crawl space, or is built on a slab. Testing is the only way to know your property’s radon levels.

Radon gas does not have color, taste, or smell, and therefore is not detectable by human senses alone. However, indoor radon can be controlled and managed with proven, cost-effective techniques. There are simple steps you can take to control the amount of radon in your home.

The first step would be testing for radon. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) Surgeon GeneralAmerican Lung AssociationAmerican Medical Association, and National Safety Council recommend testing all homes for radon. Testing is the only way to determine radon levels because each house is different. You cannot predict radon levels based on state, local, and neighborhood radon measurements. Even if your neighbor’s home has acceptable levels of radon, it does not mean your house would show the same results. After test completion, you will know whether further steps are necessary.

If you need professional radon testing, you can contact us. We provide free, nonbinding price estimates. We can consult you on the best solution for your home

According to US EPA: “Any radon exposure has some risk of causing lung cancer. The lower the radon level in your home, the lower your family’s risk of lung cancer.” However, there are standard radon levels that can make it easier to calculate your exposure risk.

We measure the concentration of radon in the air in units of picocuries per liter (pCi/L). A pCi is a measure of the rate of radioactive decay of radon. US EPA recommends taking action if your test results show radon levels of 4.0 pCi/L or higher. At this level, there will be approximately 12,672 radioactive disintegrations in one liter of air during a 24-hour period. You should consider taking further actions if the levels are between 2.0 and 4.0 pCi/L. The levels 2.0 pCi/L and under are considered safe without further actions but you still need to test your home every two years.

No, radon constantly enters into your home or business and will need to be mitigated (once tested high) to stop radon gas from entering.

Any radon exposure has some risk of causing lung cancer. The lower the radon level in your home, the lower your family’s risk of lung cancer. The amount of radon in the air is measured in picocuries (pCi/L). The EPA recommends fixing your home if the results show radon levels of 4 pCi/L or higher. With today’s technology, radon levels in most homes can be reduced to 2 pCi/L or below. The American Lung Cancer and EPA also recommends fixing if the level is between 2 and 4 pCi/L.

Very low levels, less than 2% of the total home radon levels.

This is difficult to answer. The number one risk of health from radon poisoning is lung cancer. This can lead to other health conditions.

Yes, the question isn’t is there radon, the question is how much. New or old, the only way to find out radon levels is to test.

Radon Be Gone has the best warranty in the industry. Guaranteed to reduce radon levels to 2.7 pCi/L or below in most buildings. Lifetime transferable warranty on system. Five-year manufacturer warranty of fans. Five year no leak warranty on roof jacks.

  • At installation, if a stronger fan is needed than estimated for, there is no upcharge, and included in the performance guarantee. FREE
  • We include custom paint on exterior systems, we math the downspout color. FREE
  • Run the system in the interior whenever possible, no upcharge. FREE
  • Transferable Lifetime Warranty. FREE

A mitigation system usually involves creating a vacuum beneath the basement slab greater than the vacuum pressure of the home. Thus reversing the air pressure differences and moving ground soil gases into the radon system rather than into the home. Typically, a pit is created in the basement slab, by aggregate (some dirt, rocks, etc.) being removed to create a void, (pit). Then a PVC pipe is installed into the pit and then ran either up through the attic and roof or to the exterior of the home.

A fan is sized to accommodate the soil compaction and square footage of the house footprint in the basement to effectively move air from under the basement floor; from one side of basement to the other, allowing air (and radon) to be sucked up and outside – not allowing radon to enter the home.

Internal piping from the slab routed up through the home and through the attic or an aesthetically matching pipe is then used to vent the radon gas on the exterior of the home and safely discharges above the roofs eave where it naturally dissipates into the atmosphere.

Radon is dangerous at high levels when trapped indoors in bedrooms, family rooms, etc. With a system in place, the radon dissipates into the outside air where levels are significantly lower and pose no risk (radon is no longer confined in closed areas).

TROUBLESHOOTING

Step One: Check your U-Tube

The U-tube manometer measures fan operation and has a small tube that runs off of the top and into the pipe itself. This is how it takes it’s readings. If the tube falls out for any reason the manometer will read as if the fan were not running. Reinsert or replace tubing into the hole in the PVC pipe if missing.

Step Two: Check your Breaker

State regulations require that the circuit breaker that the radon fan is running on is properly labeled. If the fan is not working, check the breaker to see if the breaker has tripped. Reset the breaker.  At times, you may need to flip the breaker off and back on if not tripped.

Step Three: Check Other Power Source location

If the fan is located in the attic, it’s powered by an outlet within 6ft of the fan. Make sure that it did not accidentally get unplugged. If the fan is located outside, there is a water-tight electrical box with an on/off switch located near the fan. Sometimes these switches can be accidentally flipped off. Make sure that your switch is in the “on” position.

Step Four: Check the Weather

When the system has been exposed to sub-zero temperatures for several days, the exhaust may freeze and stop working as a result. This is actually supposed to happen in this situation. There is a sensor in the fan that senses when the fan is about to overheat, and it shuts itself off. You may still be able to hear the fan running despite the U-tube being at zero.

If this is what happened, the best thing you could do is . . . nothing. The fan will restart and clear on its own, usually once the temperatures are consistently in the 20os again. Turning the fan off will actually make it take longer for the system to thaw.

By all means open your sump pit to make repairs to the pump. Most sump covers are only caulked in place around the outside and are split for easy removal. Re-caulk sump cover after repairs have been made with silicone caulk.

It is common in the winter for the plastic in the crawl to get air pockets, it is not a bubble of radon. Placing weight on the plastic will help prevent this.

Pipe slop is off or pipe in smaller sizes tend to gurgle at the elbows (Contact our office for repair).

Repair: Adjust pitch of the pipe, increase the size of the pipe, or add another suction point to allow for drainage.

Contact our office, we need to re-evaluate your system.