You probably have questions if you’ve tested your home for radon and discovered high concentrations of the gas there. Is radon harmful? What do radon mitigation systems consist of? What is the price of installation? Is it possible for me to lower my radon levels without hiring a professional?
When you work with a reputable radon mitigation company, radon remediation may be completed swiftly and will increase your home’s value right away.
What you should know about radon mitigation is provided here.
What is Radon Mitigation?
The process of radon mitigation, sometimes referred to as remediation or abatement lowers or eliminates radon gas levels in a structure. The various radon mitigation methods are described below.
Radon mitigation done right and well achieves two goals:
- By properly releasing the radon gas outside of the building, it lowers its concentration inside your house.
- Before it may enter a building, properly built radon mitigation systems remove the radon gas from beneath the foundation.
What Is a Radon Mitigation System?
The optimum form of radon mitigation system will depend on the style of your home. Houses are typically grouped based on the type of foundation they have. To reduce the radon levels in your home, a contractor may employ one of several techniques. While some methods lower radon levels after it has entered your house, others work to prevent radon from entering in the first place. The EPA generally suggests radon entrance prevention techniques.
A radon system fan and underground pipes can be utilized in many situations to minimize radon. These devices, known as active soil depressurization, don’t require significant home modifications. Before it can enter the house, these devices eliminate radon gas from beneath the concrete floor, a membrane in a crawl space, and the foundation. Other techniques used by radon professionals might also be effective in your house. The ideal system is determined by your home’s design and other elements.
Your contractor may be able to determine the greatest system with the aid of whatever knowledge you may have regarding the building of your home. Following a visual evaluation of your home by your contractor, an appropriate system will be designed. To help create the optimum radon reduction system for your house, the contractor may need to conduct diagnostic tests if this examination is insufficiently informative. The specifics of your home, such as the foundation design and the type of material under your house, as well as the contractor’s experience with homes similar to yours and similar radon test results, will determine whether diagnostic tests are necessary.
One of the four methods of active soil depressurization—sub-slab depressurization, drain tile depressurization, sump hole depressurization, or block wall depressurization—is typically used to lower radon levels in homes with basements or slab-on-grade foundations. The most popular and effective method for eliminating radon is sub-slab-depressurization. In this technology, a suction pipe or pipes enter the crushed rock or dirt underneath the slab through the slab. The pipes could alternatively be buried outside the home, beneath the concrete slab. The radon gas is drawn from underneath the home and released into the open air by a radon vent fan that is attached to the suction pipe.
The mitigation strategy for a crawlspace in your house will depend on the kind of flooring, how accessible it is, and how big the area is. Sub-slab suction is the preferred mitigation method if the crawlspace has a concrete floor. Sub-membrane suction is the ideal mitigation method if the structure has an earthen floor. Sub-membrane depressurization involves covering the floor with a thick plastic sheet that is adhered to the foundation piers, crawlspace walls, and any membrane penetrations. The radon is then extracted from beneath the membrane and vented outside using a radon system fan and pipe system.
Connecting the active soil depressurization system to the current water control system can effectively limit damage to homes that have water control mechanisms like sump pumps, French drains, or an outside loop of underground water-collection pipe.
Mitigation of radon necessitates specialized knowledge. The amount of radon in your home won’t be greatly decreased by do-it-yourself methods. Working with seasoned experts who are qualified and insured and who have the skills necessary to complete the work promptly and to the highest standards is vital since substandard or inexpensive work may fail to reduce radon levels.