The Importance of Radon Testing for Attached Garages

Have you had your attached garage tested for radon? If not, you could be missing a silent and potentially deadly issue. Many testers and mitigators fail to consider the contribution of radon gas infiltration from attached garages to the indoor environment. Garages, not just crawl spaces and basements, contribute to radon gas infiltration into the home. For this reason, garages should be tested and mitigated. Here’s what you need to know about conducting radon testing in your garage in Aspen, CO.

What is radon?

Radon is a gas that’s produced by decaying uranium. It’s colorless and odorless, so it could be lurking around your home without you even realizing. Almost all soil on earth contains radon, and low levels exist in the air we breathe. There’s a certain amount of radon the human body can tolerate—but if radon gas is trapped in your home, including your attached garage, it can be a major problem.

Radon moves from soil into your home. It can enter your home through concrete, which is porous, but it’s more likely to get in through gaps in the walls and doors. It doesn’t matter how old or new your home is, whether your neighbors have noticed a problem or if you had a clean result a year ago. Radon can seep into your home at any time, and it’s not consistent even within the same neighborhood. That’s why it’s so important to get your home tested for radon.

Unfortunately, if you breathe in radon for an extended period of time, you may develop health problems like lung cancer—even if you’ve never smoked a cigarette in your life. It’s a deadly substance and is virtually impossible to detect without specific radon testing.

Should garages be tested for radon?

The best thing to do is get your Aspen, CO home tested for radon in the least-used livable space in your home—that’s usually basements, crawl spaces and garages. You can do short-term radon tests, which will monitor the air quality over two to seven days.

Long-term tests observe the air quality over a period of 90 days, or three months. This is a good idea to monitor radon levels during different weather events and air quality situations.

Finally, you can get a continuous radon test, which plugs into an outlet and gives you a daily readout of your radon levels. This is a good idea if your home has been prone to high radon levels in the past.

If your home tests positive for radon, there are a few things you can do. Most importantly, because radon moves in through soil and gaps in walls and doors, you should try to block that transfer as much as possible. This can be accomplished by caulking gaps and laying polyurethane sheeting over soil in crawl spaces and other areas.

For garage radon testing in Aspen, CO, call HealthSafe Inspections Inc. today. We can help you determine whether there’s a problem and make recommendations to keep your home safe.

Categorised in: Radon

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