The Comfort of Clean

Radon Testing: Can You Test Your House Before You Sell It?

20 August 2020

Irma Stewart

If you're selling your home by the end of the year, test it for radon before you do so. Radon is naturally found in soil, rocks, and other natural substances. Because radon is virtually colorless and odorless, it's difficult to detect on your own. You'll need to use special tests to detect radon in your home. Learn more about radon and the types of tests you need for it below.

How Does Radon Get Inside Structures?

Radon is a unique gas that lurks in soil, rocks, and other natural substances. Radon doesn't have any specific shape or structure, which makes it easy for the gas to slip through cracks in your home. Cracks hidden between your floorboards, plumbing pipes, and support beams could allow minute particles of radon into your living quarters.

The air quality inside your home can become unsafe if radon concentrates or becomes trapped in the house. People exposed to large quantities of radon may develop lung cancer over time, including individuals who don't smoke cigarettes or use other substances.

Testing your home for radon now can protect the new occupants from illnesses later.

What Types of Radon Tests Can You Use?

Currently, testing companies use two types of tests: short-term and long-term. Short-term tests provide results in less than a week, while long-term results may take longer to work. Short-term testing can determine whether or not you need to mitigate your home for radon right away or if you have time to wait until later.

If you don't have a lot of time to waste before you sell your house, choose a short-term test. A testing company will send the test results to an inspection lab within a set time period. If a short-term test reveals high levels of concentrated radon in your house, you can have someone mitigate it for you.

If the results of a short-term test reveal low levels of radon in the house, you may want to follow up on the test sometime later. Radon levels can be higher during specific times of the year than it can be during other times. In this case, a radon inspection and testing company may use a long-term test on your home. A company will send the test samples to a lab for further analysis.

Learn more about radon, including how to test and mitigate it, by contacting a radon home testing company online or by phone today.

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Imagine coming home to a house that someone else cleaned for you. The dishes are all washed and put away. The carpets have been vacuumed, the laundry is done, and the stray pet food has been swept up off the floor. This may sound like a dream, but it can be your reality when you hire a professional cleaning service. Cleaning services are everywhere, but some homeowners are hesitate to embrace their services, often due to a lack of familiarity. This website exists to break through that unfamiliarity. Learn more about professional cleaning and what it involves so you can feel comfortable hiring cleaners for your own home.