Holy Radon Batman

[HawkMachine]

For $20 or so, I highly recommend you all have your homes tested for radon.

After talking with some friends that are trying to sell their home(tested high), and hearing of a local woman getting lung (corrected from breast) cancer from radon, we bought a test kit online.

Well, the results came in this morning.

16.1!

The EPA recommends taking action over 4.0.
The WHO over 2.7.

Even though most of you are miserable people, do yourself and your family a favor and spend the $20 and buy a test.

Gets mailed to you. Put it in your basement for a few days, mail off to the lab. They email you the results.

Could be the best $20 you ever spent.

TIA for any RIP'S and T&P'S.

 

[Kinnick.At.Night]

It was required when I sold my last house. I had to install mitigation as a condition of the sale.

 

[HawkMachine]

It was required when I sold my last house. I had to install mitigation as a condition of the sale.

Do you remember what the results were?

It's a major problem in Iowa and I never hear it talked about.

 

[Kinnick.At.Night]

Do you remember what the results were?

It's a major problem in Iowa and I never hear it talked about.

I can’t give you specifics, but the levels in my old home were high enough that I had to have mitigation installed. It cost around 1200 bucks IIRC.

 

[jamesvanderwulf]

Most building codes in Iowa require at least a passive setup ( which is easy and relatively cheap to set up in new construction, not so much after the fact) an electrical outlet is required within 6 feet of the roof vent so a fan/blower can be added later if so required by testing. When I sold my zero lot line in North Liberty a high test when I went to sell, resulted in me installing the fan myself, which bought the reading down to acceptable levels...

 

[HawkMachine]

I'm hoping to spend $1.5k to fix.

Don't think there are many companies that do this work though.

 

[torbee]

Our last two homes have needed radon mitigation. It's not just older homes, either - our current domicile was built in 2017.

 

[Kelsers]

For $20 or so, I highly recommend you all have your homes tested for radon.

After talking with some friends that are trying to sell their home(tested high), and hearing of a local woman getting breast cancer from radon, we bought a test kit online.

Well, the results came in this morning.

16.1!

The EPA recommends taking action over 4.0.
The WHO over 2.7.

Even though most of you are miserable people, do yourself and your family a favor and spend the $20 and buy a test.

Gets mailed to you. Put it in your basement for a few days, mail off to the lab. They email you the results.

Could be the best $20 you ever spent.

TIA for any RIP'S and T&P'S.

I'm fairly certain you can't tell what caused her breast cancer. Also, the test should be on a floor that's occupied.

 

[fredjr82]

It's a major problem in Iowa and I never hear it talked about.

Really, it was all the buzz about 15 years ago. Now all/most new builds have a Radon mitigation system already built at construction.

I just sold my house about 18 months ago. The market was hot enough, no radon test. I think I had it done back in 2008 when I bought it and the readings were below 4 at the time.

 

[Bonnell20]

The levels were at 9. something when I tested it on a house I was going to buy but I ended up backing out. I was a first time buyer and it definitely got mentioned to me a ton through the process.

 

[HawkMachine]

I'm fairly certain you can't tell what caused her breast cancer.

100% know what caused it? No.

But non smoker. Normal office job.

Tested the house and it was high.

It's what the doctors think.

 

[bunsen82]

My house has a radon system in the basement when we bought it in 2010. When it was tested by the previous owner is sky high, I believe one of the highest ratings in Iowa that they had recorded in the time. I started hearing about it back in early 2000. We are downstairs all the time, glad we have the system.

 

[markfromj]

The levels are pico-curies per deciliter of air (no, I never got laid in high school).

The good news is, for about $2000, you can get a system that drops it way below the recommended max of 4.

 

[HawkMachine]

Here's an illustration.

The highest level they share is a 10.0. Which is similar to smoking 20 cigs a day or having 500 chest xrays a year.

Ours was 16.1.

FML.

 

[naturalbornhawk]

I'm hoping to spend $1.5k to fix.

Don't think there are many companies that do this work though.

Lung cancer? Okay, but breast cancer from Radon? Not likely.

The cost will depend on quite a bit. The contractor of course, but also a lot depends on your basement. Do you have a sump pit / perimeter tile / dirt/concrete floor and how your house is set up.

 

[HawkMachine]

Lung cancer? Okay, but breast cancer from Radon? Not likely.

Ok I just asked the wife. My bad.

She has lung cancer.

I'll update my OP.

Thanks

 

[torbee]

Ok I just asked the wife. My bad.

She has lung cancer.

I'll update my OP.

Thanks

I hope your wife recovers and has many more years with your family.

Good luck!

 

[SF HAWKEYE]

A colleague of mine died of cancer in West Des Moines. Never smoked, worked in his basement office. Radon was in the 20's when they tested it after he was diagnosed. It started in his leg, and he thought it was from jogging, it just didn't go away, by the time they did the testing it had spread up his body. Apparently there were a bunch of apple orchards around here which causes it. We were at 19 when we bought our house. had the mitigation installed.

 

[HawkMachine]

I hope your wife recovers and has many more years with your family.

Good luck!

NOOOOOOOO not my wife.

A lady we know in town.

 

[HROT]

The levels were at 9. something when I tested it on a house I was going to buy but I ended up backing out. I was a first time buyer and it definitely got mentioned to me a ton through the process.

Pretty common to have seller put in mitigation. We did that with our new build.

Iowa has reportedly the highest radon levels in the US. I’m sure there’s no causation to being in the top cancer rates as well

 

[HawkMachine]

Iowa has reportedly the highest radon levels in the US.

Yep.

This morning I was telling everyone in my office to buy a test kit.

We then pulled up the news online to see about the shooting and saw an article posted saying it's radon awareness month or something and that Iowa is #1.

 

[DropitlikeitsHawk]

For $20 or so, I highly recommend you all have your homes tested for radon.

After talking with some friends that are trying to sell their home(tested high), and hearing of a local woman getting lung (corrected from breast) cancer from radon, we bought a test kit online.

Well, the results came in this morning.

16.1!

The EPA recommends taking action over 4.0.
The WHO over 2.7.

Even though most of you are miserable people, do yourself and your family a favor and spend the $20 and buy a test.

Gets mailed to you. Put it in your basement for a few days, mail off to the lab. They email you the results.

Could be the best $20 you ever spent.

TIA for any RIP'S and T&P'S.

Who. Is. That?

 

[naturalbornhawk]

Ok I just asked the wife. My bad.

She has lung cancer.

I'll update my OP.

Thanks

Your best case scenario is if you have a concrete floor basement and perimeter tile you can tap into. Don't tap into your sump pit if you can help it. Go to the side opposite your sump pit. If your contractor insists to tap into the sump pit, you'll want to make sure and continue to make sure it's well sealed or else your system will not work.

 

[torbee]

NOOOOOOOO not my wife.

A lady we know in town.

Well good luck to that lady too! And here's hoping your wife stays healthy (and enjoys handing out H and BJs for many, many more years)

 

[HawkMachine]

Who. Is. That?

Trina Michaels is what the link says. lol

 

[Pinehawk]

Only a handful of jurisdictions in Iowa require radon mitigation built in up front. Radon is a big problem in Iowa.
If you, or your loved ones, spend any significant amount of time in your basement you should really have it tested. If it is above 4.0, mitigation usually only costs $800-$1500, which is among the cheaper significant home improvements you can do.

 

[HawkMachine]

Your best case scenario is if you have a concrete floor basement and perimeter tile you can tap into. Don't tap into your sump pit if you can help it. Go to the side opposite your sump pit. If your contractor insists to tap into the sump pit, you'll want to make sure and continue to make sure it's well sealed or else your system will not work.

Yes, basement floor is concrete.

Don't know what a sump pit is. But if it involves a sump pump, we don't have one of those. Basement stays dry.

Basement walls are concrete blocks. I'm assuming that doesn't help things.

 

[torbee]

Trina Michaels is what the link says. lol

Not a big fan of the egregiously obvious fake cans (seriously, nothing in nature is that round 🤣) but I am here for the thiccness.

 

[DropitlikeitsHawk]

Trina Michaels is what the link says. lol

You sir are a fine man.

 

[HawkMachine]

Not a big fan of the egregiously obvious fake cans (seriously, nothing in nature is that round 🤣) but I am here for the thiccness.

Oh I'd slap those puppies around.

 

[HawkMachine]

Additional information I found while researching radon: