Debunking radon myths

Two different houses, miles apart, had the same problem this week - a radon mitigation system had been installed and the house still had high levels of radon. In one house, the radon mitigation system wasn't functioning. In the other, the mitigation system, installed the week before my inspection, hadn't been installed properly. So, radon myth #1 that is, as TV's "Mythbusters" would say, "busted" is that if a house has a radon mitigation system installed, there's no need to do a radon test. As this week showed, that's wrong.

In the first house, my client didn't schedule a radon test because of the mitigation system. During my inspection, a quick check of the system showed that it wasn't working. A radon mitigation system features a fluid-filled u-shaped tube that can be checked easily and visually to see if the unit is working. The fluid should be higher on one side of the tube than it is on the other side. In this case, the fluid levels were even. That means that no suction was present to remove the radioactive radon gas from under the house and disperse it harmlessly into the air. So, the high levels of radon that originally led to the installation of the mitigation system were again present in the home.

In the second house, my client said that he wanted a radon test done even though the mitigation system had just been installed. Without being overly dramatic, that move may have saved the lives of his family. The house had a basement under part of it and a small crawl space under the rest of it. The new mitigation system was installed to remove radon from only the basement side of the house. The radon present in the soil of the crawl space side of the house was enough to affect the entire structure. My clients would have lived in their new home confident that they were safe from radon because they had a brand new mitigation system. Tragically, they would have been wrong.

So, together with my blog post from 2/1/14, let's debunk some radon myths:

• Myth #1 - You don't need to do a radon test in a house that has a mitigation system. Wrong. It's better to know for certain that the system is functioning properly than it is to risk your health and the health of your family.
• Myths #2, #3, and #4 - Houses with walk-out basements, houses built on concrete slabs, and houses with crawl spaces don't need to be tested for radon. Wrong. What matters is whether the ground underneath the house has high levels of radon. The type of foundation doesn't make any difference at all.

Since it's the second leading cause of lung cancer, and the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers, radon is a very serious problem. Don't rely on things you might have heard from someone else. Don't take chances with your family's health. Schedule a radon test along with your Kansas City home inspection.

Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.