Is Your Home At Risk For Radon? Get It Tested Soon
Posted on: 17 August 2023
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If you plan to start a family soon, you may take extra steps to make your home safe and healthy before you do so. You may even have a pest control contractor check your home for mice, roaches, and other pests. Along with pests, a pest control contractor can also test your house and property for radon. Radon is an invisible gas that releases toxins into the home. Learn why it's important to test your home for radon before you start a family below.
How Can Radon Harm Families?
Many types of toxins live in soil, including an invisible and odorless gas called radon. Radon causes cancer of the lungs in adults and children. However, children are at a greater risk for radon-induced lung cancer than adults are.
Radon doesn't always cause immediate health problems in the people it affects. In the majority of cases, the people who become exposed to radon poisoning won't even know they're ill until they experience problems with their health. Children and adults who become ill from radon may experience a number of symptoms over time, including shortness of breath, fatigue, and chest pains. The symptoms may be worse in children than they are in adults.
If you want to protect your future children from radon, ask a pest control contractor to test your home for this toxic gas now.
How Is Your Home Tested For Radon?
You normally find radon in soil that contains uranium. Uranium is a natural metal that forms in the earth's soil and rocks. Many contractors build their clients' homes over or on the soil. Radon can infiltrate your home by creeping past the plumbing pipes, beams, and other structures constructed or placed beneath your floorboards. A contractor will need to test the soil content inside your crawl space or beneath your floorboards.
A contractor will generally use a special test kit to obtain samples of your soil. The test kit comes with a unique substance called activated charcoal. Activated charcoal absorbs or pulls in radon gas. A test lab will examine the charcoal sample to see how much radon it contains. If the sample contains a high level of gas, a pest control contractor will recommend you take steps, to keep the gas from entering your home.
A contractor may also recommend you test your house for radon exposure throughout the year. A contractor will place a special plastic container that detects and absorbs radon inside your home. A contractor will monitor the container for radon as needed.
Contact a local service to learn more about radon tests.