A test is the whole starting point, and it is the cheapest step in the entire subject. A contractor places a measuring device in the lowest level of the house that you actually use, leaves it undisturbed under specific conditions, and returns a reading. Nothing is opened up, nothing is removed, and you are not committed to anything afterward. Most homeowners who test discover they have no further work to do, and the ones who do have work to do now know it instead of wondering about it.
The main choice is between a short-term test and a long-term test. A short-term device answers quickly and is what transactions typically rely on. A long-term device stays in place for months and produces a better picture of an annual average, because indoor levels rise and fall with weather, season, wind and how the house is being operated. Neither is the wrong answer. They simply answer different questions, and it is common to run one and then the other.
Call or send the basics: county, foundation type, whether there is a slab, a crawl space or both, and whether this is for peace of mind or a transaction. We route it to a contractor who covers your area.
Before the device goes in, the house is closed up and kept that way. The contractor will tell you what to leave alone, what to avoid running, and how to live normally without invalidating the reading.
The device is positioned in the right room at the right height, away from disturbances, and is not moved, covered or handled until the test period ends. You stay in the house and carry on as usual.
The result comes back as a measurement you can compare against the current EPA action level and Utah DEQ guidance. From there you either do nothing, test again, or talk about mitigation.
Testing is the inexpensive end of this subject, and the variables are few. Footprint and foundation type matter most, because a larger house, or one with a slab area and a separate crawl space, may need more than one device to represent the building honestly. Device type matters next: an electronic monitor that logs continuously and detects interference is a different tool than a passive device read by a lab. Duration plays in, since a long-term device occupies equipment for months. Finally, a confirming second test, or travel to the far end of the Wasatch Front, can shift a quote. Ask the contractor to itemize before you agree.
You can, and it is a reasonable way to get a first look. Follow the instructions exactly, keep the house closed up, place the device where the directions say, and return it to the lab promptly, because a device that sits in a car for a week is no longer measuring your house. For a real estate transaction, the parties usually want a test performed by a contractor instead.
It can. Levels move with weather, wind, barometric pressure, snow cover and how the house is heated and ventilated, so the same house can read differently in January than in June. That is the argument for a long-term test, which averages those swings out. If you test short-term and the result is near the line, testing again in a different season is a sensible follow-up.
No. You live normally. The requirement is that the house is kept closed up, that windows stay shut, and that the device is left alone where the contractor placed it. Ordinary entry and exit through exterior doors is expected and fine. The one thing to avoid is anything that dramatically changes airflow, such as leaving a window open for the afternoon.
Probably not a safe assumption. Radon originates in the soil under your specific lot, and it enters through the specific openings in your specific foundation. Soil conditions, foundation construction, sealing details and how a house is operated all vary from address to address. Houses that are visually identical and side by side routinely measure differently, so the only reading that describes your home is a test in your home.
When a reading sits at or above the action level the EPA publishes, the standard remedy is sub-slab depressurization: a sealed pipe and a fan that draw soil gas from beneath the slab and vent it above the roofline.
Learn more →A sale runs on its own clock. Radon tests during a transaction carry timing rules and closed-house requirements, and it saves friction to settle early who orders the test and who deals with the result.
Learn more →Fans do not run forever, and the little monitor on the pipe is easy to stop noticing. Service means checking that gauge, confirming the fan still pulls, replacing it at end of life, and re-testing to prove the system still works.
Learn more →During a build, the pipe can be run before the drywall closes the walls. A passive rough-in is far simpler than routing a system through a finished house, and adding a fan later is a small job.
Learn more →County, foundation type, and whether a deadline is involved is enough to start.