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Radon test results

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posted 9 months ago

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Hi I need some advice. I just got back a radon home test,and the results said it was 25. And that I needed to get ahold of someone to come out and assess what we needed to do. My question is what can I do for myself first. We have a modular home with a basement. In our basement we have a wood stove. I filled the gag between the two halves of the house. We had negative pressure when it came to the wood stove so I did the insulation. But now I'm wondering did I do the wrong thing? If I pulled the insulation out would that suck up the air through the crack into the attic space out the vents of the attic? I was trying to figure an easy solution verse spending a large amount of money. If I have to do it I will but if I can fix it myself I'd prefer that. Any help?

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posted 9 months ago

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Hi Patricia;
I just searched this and what I found was that your number "should" be 2-4 pci/l if your number is 25 pci/l then you have a problem that needs fixing.
I also discovered that there are short-term tests (2 days) and much more accurate long-term tests (up to a year).
Apparently, the numbers can vary wildly between seasons.

This site has some good information. https://free-radon-test-kits.com/short-long-tests/#:~:text=Short-term%20radon%20detectors%20(2,radon%20concentration%20in%

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posted 9 months ago

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I would retest the number to make sure they are accurate.

If nothing else I would ventilate the basement so all of that cancerous/radon air is flushed out above the roof line. A HRV would allow you to vent the basement air and bring in fresh ouside air without losing too much heat. https://www.supplyhouse.com/Fantech-SH704-SH-Series-Heat-Recovery-Ventilator-w-Fan-Shutdown-Defrost-4-Side-Ports-up-to-1400-Sq-Ft

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posted 9 months ago

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Where's the gap you filled and was that before or after the test?

If the wood stove is consuming air from the basement and sending it out the chimney, I suspect that would act as a radon fan when the stove is running. Maybe when it's not running if it keeps drafting a little bit year round.

The missus got an electronic radon tester and the numbers vary greatly day by day and by how often you open the doors.

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S Bengi

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posted 9 months ago

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I wonder what the setup of basement wood stove looks like.

Hopefully it is a wood furnace with outside combustion intake and outside exhaust, and with a close loop ducting taking supply air from upstairs in the living quarter down directly to the basement wood furnace with a sealed combustion chamber. With a builtin blower that then sends the now warm air back up to the living quarters upstairs with "zero" basement air mixing in, pretty much exactly like what it would look like with a gas/propane furnace.

But if it is an old fashion wood STOVE that is just taking in the "bad radon-filled" basement air directly to heat it and then sending/diffusing the warm "bad radon filled basement air" into the living quarters on the other floors, that probably isn't the best thing.

Is the basement a finished basement that folks use everyday?

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Mike Haasl

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posted 9 months ago

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S Bengi wrote:I wonder what the setup of basement wood stove looks like.

Hopefully it is a wood furnace with outside combustion intake and outside exhaust, and with a close loop ducting taking supply air from upstairs in the living quarter down directly to the basement wood furnace with a sealed combustion chamber. With a builtin blower that then sends the now warm air back up to the living quarters upstairs with "zero" basement air mixing in, pretty much exactly like what it would look like with a gas/propane furnace.

I think this is very unlikely. Outside combustion air is sometimes done on wood stoves but not likely in older situations. Wood burning, forced air furnaces are in fairly limited use in the US.

S Bengi wrote:But if it is an old fashion wood STOVE that is just taking in the "bad radon-filled" basement air directly to heat it and then sending/diffusing the warm "bad radon filled basement air" into the living quarters on the other floors, that probably isn't the best thing.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but I think this is highly unlikely as well. Any old wood stove I'm familiar with sucks air in from around it (radon filled in this case), burns the wood gasses with that air and sends it up the chimney. The heat from the wood stove heats the air around it in the basement which then circulates around the house.

The air in the vicinity is heated up and moves around the house so the radon in that air could be moved around. But if the stove is eating more radon air (down near the ground by the stove inlet) than the amount of radon air it's kicking upstairs, I'd imagine it's a win. I think...

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posted 9 months ago

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@Mike
It sounds like the wood stove is just heating the radon filled air in the basement and then that hot radon filled basement air is just raising and spreading to the rest of the floors/house.

I see some $3,500 wood furnace that has a blower, supply air filter and such that doesn't circulate the radon fill basement air to other floors.

But it seems that the real solution here isjust to vent the basement air to outside with some fans to create a negative pressure.

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Patricia Mahoney

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Thank you all for the great info. I called and someone is coming out to fix the radon problem.

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Patricia Mahoney wrote:Thank you all for the great info. I called and someone is coming out to fix the radon problem.

Let us know what the solution is. I am sure other folks have similar problems and will probably use your solution. Also what made you get a radon test, is it because other in your neighborhood have similar problems or was it because because you feel weak/sick/gut feeling? I am now thinking that maybe I should get a test kit too.

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Patricia Mahoney

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posted 9 months ago

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I originally got the test because my girlfriend down the road said one of her neighbors died and they said it was because of radon. So she got a bunch of tests and gave me one. Hers came back a 7 and ours came back 25! I have a guy coming on Saturday and I'll post again for his results and solutions. Thank you all again.

John F Dean

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posted 9 months ago

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What were the results of the visit?

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Patricia Mahoney

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Hi I just wanted to let everyone know what my radon guy said. We have a sump pump in our basement between that and the access to drain it out are some of the culprits. So he's going to drill a tiny hole on one side of the basement and a bigger hole on the other close to a corner. He is going to attach a pipe and that pipe will lead to the outside to a small fan and another pipe to go up along the side of the drain spout as to make it blend in nicely with the house. He said that hopefully when our house was built they put it on top of stone. But if not and it was built on top of tamped down ground, we will have to drill a bunch of holes in the basement. To suck the radon air out from underneath it. The holes are tiny pin holes, so hopefully bugs don't come up through them. Then after the system is in we will then retest the radon to see if this process worked. Hopefully this was something that can help another going through this issue.

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posted 9 months ago

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It sounds like the plan is to vent the basement air volume continuously with a fan, and also hopefully to vent the soil continously too. The makeup air will ultimately come from the outside which will have a chilling effect on the house overall which will bring up the heating expenditure for the house, but it is worth it for your health.

I am not too sure if I understand why a sump pump or really any pump/fan/electronic would be the reason for high radon level. But I suppose he is saying that a sump pump inplies that ground water readily infiltrate into the basement and if water can do it then so can the radon gas.

It sounds like your basement floor is wood/plywood and not just a dirt/concert floor, is this correct? If so I am sure your radon guy will be venting that too.

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Patricia Mahoney

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The sump pump and the access out are just more ways for radon to come through. I have a concrete floor, that is what he is drilling in to. I hope that it won't cool the basement down too much. He said that it shouldn't

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