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Old 01-21-2020, 05:15 PM
 
11,610 posts, read 10,377,373 times
Reputation: 7217

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I learned several things from this story last night on WEWS:

1) That radon tests should take place every couple years; haven't done one in well over a decade.

2) That tests should be conducted both in the winter and summer as soil conditions around the house can change and affect the level of radon in the basement.

The WEWS story said radon tests can be purchased at home supply stores for $40.

<<According to the EPA, nearly one in every 15 homes in the United States has an elevated radon level, which technically is above 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) -- a unit of measure for radioactivity -- or higher. A safe level is 2 pCi/L or below.

The Ohio Department of Health estimates that half of Ohio homes have radon levels above the EPA's recommended action level.>>

https://www.cleveland.com/insideout/...t_of_your.html

This website suggests that 19 percent of homes tested in Cuyahoga County have actionable levels of radon.

Cuyahoga County Radon Page

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/...s/indoor-radon

http://geosurvey.ohiodnr.gov/geologi...s/indoor-radon

Ohio Radon Information Systems Web Site
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Old 01-26-2020, 08:47 AM
 
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
254 posts, read 305,873 times
Reputation: 289
Thanks for the info. I'm buying a house in Cleveland and recently had a test done showing an average over 48 hours of 1.7. I like the idea of testing regularly and at different times of year. I paid an inspection company $130 to perform the test; I'm sure a self-administered test would be much more affordable.
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Old 01-26-2020, 10:17 AM
 
11,610 posts, read 10,377,373 times
Reputation: 7217
Quote:
Originally Posted by mbowes80 View Post
Thanks for the info. I'm buying a house in Cleveland and recently had a test done showing an average over 48 hours of 1.7. I like the idea of testing regularly and at different times of year. I paid an inspection company $130 to perform the test; I'm sure a self-administered test would be much more affordable.
Was the 1.7 in the basement? If so, have you considered testing upper floors in the winter when the house is enclosed?

What's your feeling about 1.7, which is very low?

Several years ago, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History built a passive house on its campus.

https://www.cleveland.com/architectu...of_natura.html

Because the passive home was airtight, it had an “energy recovery ventilator," which essentially turned over the house's interior air using heat exchangers to warm or cool, depending upon season, the outdoor air coming into the house.

I've often wondered if a highly efficient passive house heat exchanger couldn't be used in a regular house to improve air quality when the house has been closed for many weeks, such as in winter.

I don't know if improved ventilation ever is a part of standard radon mitigation systems.

https://sosradon.org/mitigation
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Old 01-27-2020, 08:53 PM
 
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
254 posts, read 305,873 times
Reputation: 289
Yep, it was in the basement. I felt comfortable with that reading based on what I've read, but I take your point that it might be a good idea to test periodically and test in other areas of the home. I'm glad to hear that kits are affordable.

The passive house is cool, as is the fact that they moved it.

I do sometimes wonder if making homes more airtight and energy efficient could have the unintended effect of worsening air quality. The home I'm buying is well over 100 years old, so I don't think that's something I need to worry about. =) (Utility bills, on the other hand ...)
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Old 02-01-2020, 12:23 PM
 
Location: Asheville, NC
27 posts, read 17,487 times
Reputation: 71
While I believe radon is dangerous and all of those things are likely true, and we do, in fact, have a radon fan / remediation system in our own house, I try not to get too freaked out over it and remember there are people who pay to go sit in radon mines... google 'Therapeutic use of Radon in the united states', you'll see a report from the National Institute of Health that reflects on the complexities of radon, radon testing, etc.
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Old 02-03-2020, 01:59 PM
on3
 
493 posts, read 378,457 times
Reputation: 633
1.7 is fine. I’m at 3.6 in my basement. Breathing in that cancer causing air like there is no tomorrow. If people really valued others lives, they wouldn’t charge you $1200 to mitigate the radon. Money money money.....
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Old 02-09-2020, 01:04 PM
 
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
254 posts, read 305,873 times
Reputation: 289
Quote:
Originally Posted by on3 View Post
1.7 is fine. I’m at 3.6 in my basement. Breathing in that cancer causing air like there is no tomorrow. If people really valued others lives, they wouldn’t charge you $1200 to mitigate the radon. Money money money.....
That's unfortunate. There isn't any public funding available to help with this sort of remediation effort? It seems like there should be.
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Old 02-09-2020, 11:07 PM
 
Location: Shaker Heights, OH
5,280 posts, read 5,215,534 times
Reputation: 4328
I remember when I was a teenager my family sold the house we had built just a few years earlier (this was in Plain Township outside of Canton). When the young couple that bought the house demanded we get a radon test first, they inspector came in and set up the testing machine...when he came back it measured over 6. We were forced to install some kind of ventilation system that cost an arm and a leg but worked. Thankfully we only lived in that house for about 3 years.
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Old 02-10-2020, 09:22 AM
 
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
16,506 posts, read 19,596,780 times
Reputation: 13236
Quote:
Originally Posted by on3 View Post
1.7 is fine. I’m at 3.6 in my basement. Breathing in that cancer causing air like there is no tomorrow. If people really valued others lives, they wouldn’t charge you $1200 to mitigate the radon. Money money money.....
$500 in materials. They have to put a couple holes in your home, possible run electric for the motor, going to take several hours of work. So you think because companies want... no NEED... to make a profit and pay the employees, they should just do this at cost for you?

I bet our health care system really annoys you...
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