Your testing device should be put in the lowest lived in level of your home such as a basement or an area where people are spending at least 4 hours a day, if your basement is undeveloped and you have no plans to develop it in the near future you can put the testing device on your main floor. Do not place your testing device anywhere where there would be extra ventilation such as kitchens, bathrooms laundry rooms or near open windows etc. Storage areas or areas of your home where no one spends anytime are also ineffective to test. The preferred device location is near an interior wall at a height of 0.8 m to 2 m (3 to 6.5 feet) from the floor in the typical breathing zone, at least 50 cm (20 inches) from the ceiling and 20 cm (8 inches) from other objects so as to allow normal airflow around the detector. Depending on the detector used, this may be accomplished by suspending the detector from the ceiling. Detectors should be placed approximately 40 cm (16 inches) from an interior wall or approximately 50 cm (20 inches) from an exterior wall.
Radon exposure isn’t an instant thing, the duration mixed with the amount of exposure is where the danger lies. The longer you are exposed to high Radon levels the higher the risk of contracting DNA damage induced lung cancer. So even if you’ve lived in a home for many years you won’t have any warning signs or symptoms that will indicate needing to test your home. Its always best to act BEFORE a negative diagnosis to avoid the regret of being able to prevent cancer.
Incorrect! In an effort to make our homes as energy efficient as possible research has actually found the newer homes tend to have higher Radon levels than older ones. This mixed with lower quality building materials available, larger footprints of home foundations makes for the higher Radon levels that have been observed in newer homes.
Radon testing can be conducted in a few different ways depending on how quickly you require the results. The most reliable and recommended way to test your home for Radon is conducting a long-term Radon test, this can be done using an alpha track test kit. These are inexpensive small passive devices that should be left in the lowest lived in level of your home for a minimum of 90 days and up to one year. Once they are sent to the lab for analysis, they provide you with the most accurate long-term average of Radon levels within your home. Some clients prefer getting more immediate results without having to send a test away to a lab which would lead them towards using a digital monitor. Digital monitors can give you immediate results (within 24 hours) as well as build a long-term average. For transactional purposes a 96-hour Radon test can also be conducted using a commercial grade monitor, this is most popular in the real estate industry. The results of this test would then gauge the likelihood of higher than acceptable Radon levels which would allow including Radon mitigation costs into the negotiation pending long term testing within the heating season.
Passive devices don’t use power and generally trap Radon or it’s alpha particles (what Radon gas emits when it breaks down) which are then analyzed at a lab. Passive devices come in a large variety but the most popular method in Canada is the alpha track testers. These come in a kit (should include return shipping and lab analysis) which you put in the lowest lived in level in your home for a minimum of 90 days. These kits are then sent away for analysis and your results are sent to you (usually) within a few weeks. Digital radon monitors have sensors that detect radon by looking for alpha particles in the air. Many people chose to digitally monitor their Radon gas levels due to their ease of use and convenience. No lab fees, no sending away for analysis, no waiting for results. These monitors are also able to be reset and shared with friends and family to ensure everyone’s homes are safe.
Testing your home outside of the heating season is not suggested as it can give you an unrealistically low picture of your home’s Radon levels. Due to thermal stack affect, radon gas tends to enter our homes a lot more rapidly in the winter months. Taking into account the efforts to conserve heat in these months the lack of open windows and low ventilation can end up trapping this gas to some unsafe levels. So, making sure to test your home during the heating season will give you the most accurate picture of your homes average Radon levels.
Of course! Please make sure the device you chose is CNRPP approved and that the source of your test kit includes lab analysis. You’ll also want to ensure that the test hasn’t expired and has been stored properly. There have been many digital monitors sold on Amazon that have been recalled so please check Health Canada listings for more details as they get updated.
Health Canada Recommends testing your home for Radon every 2 years, even post mitigation to ensure the efficacy of your Radon reduction system. If you’ve conducted any large-scale renovations that have disturbed the foundation or built any additions to your home you should conduct new testing as well. This is when the digital monitors are handy as they can be reset and used again.
Once your test kit has been exposed for the minimum of 90 days with at least part of this time being during the ideal testing season of (October-April) in order to include some measurements during colder winter months, you are ready to send you test kit back to the lab.
Our test kits are purchased through Radonova Labs. Your test kit comes with a pre-addressed (Not prepaid) return envelope. Paying for tracking is advisable as the lab recieves many test kits during busy seasons and being able to confirm delivery is ideal.
If you lost your envelope you can place your test kit in a ziploc bag and put it in a normal envelop addressed to:
RadoNova Inc.
1 East 22nd Street, Suite 200
Lombard, IL 60148 USA
Should you require any additional help in this process once your test kit has been shipped please feel free to reach out to at Radonova labs customer service by clicking the button below.