When uranium in American soil decomposes, it creates radon. This is bad news for families when the gas seeps in through the cracks of your basement and floorboards. Too much exposure can lead to lung cancer, and radon is responsible for more than 20,000 lung cancer deaths in the U.S. Annually.
When radon levels in a house are too high, I have seen people reduce them by 90%+ just using the simple steps in this guide. If you do it right, you can avoid exposing yourself to high levels of radon in the process.
1. Get a commercial radon testing kit and see how high your levels are.
2. If the levels are 4x the safe levels in your state or more, stop right there. Google a "radon mitigation professional" in your area and have him come do the work. It's simply not worth the risk if the levels are that high.
3. Ensure that you're getting enough air circulation through all the close and compact areas in your home, such as your basements and crawl spaces.
4. Aerate your home further with vents and fans. Put in ventilation fans in your home anywhere radon levels have accumulated and are particularly high. Open up all your chimney flues and make sure you let stale air waft out of the home by opening and closing doors.
5. Look for ways to generate cross-draft in your home by opening adjacent doors. For example, you may have a second doorway to your backyard through the kitchen. Open that door up and the front door. Put a fan facing out of your home in the direction of the cross-draft to get that stale air out of your home.
6. Seal off the cracks in your walls and floors. These gaps are your entry point for radon gas.
7. Seal off all open plumbing bores and seal your wall seam to the floor. Any area in your home that lacks a complete join is a candidate for sealing.
You want your family to live a long, healthy life, and so do we. Make sure your home is radon-free with these DIY radon mitigation techniques. Remember, if you cannot reduce your radon levels dramatically by yourself, make sure you get a professional. Ignoring radon will NOT make it go away.
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