Cincinnati Radon FAQs | Costs, Testing & Mitigation

Question 1

What exactly is radon?

Accepted Answer

It is a radioactive gas thrown off as uranium in soil and rock decays, and it is present in trace amounts almost everywhere. You cannot see, smell, or taste it. It reaches the inside of a house through cracks in the foundation, open sump pits, gaps where utilities enter, and the hollow cores of block walls.

Question 2

How dangerous is it really?

Accepted Answer

The EPA names long-term radon exposure the leading cause of lung cancer among people who never smoked, and advises acting at 4.0 pCi/L or above. The risk is a function of how high the level is and how many years you live with it, which is precisely why a measurement, rather than a guess about your neighborhood, is the thing that settles it.

Question 3

How long will the install take?

Accepted Answer

A typical single-family house is done in one visit of four to eight hours. Bigger homes, more than one foundation type, or a crawlspace that needs sealing can push into a second day. Whichever applies to you is written into the quote before anyone starts.

Question 4

What does a radon mitigation system cost?

Accepted Answer

Published ranges put most residential systems between roughly $800 and $2,500, a band the EPA's Consumer's Guide and most companies advertising locally both land in. Those are other people's figures rather than a price list of ours. What decides your own number is how many suction points the readings call for, what the foundation is built from, and how far pipe has to travel, which is why we quote in writing after a visit. Our radon mitigation cost page breaks the ranges down by method and covers what a suspiciously low quote has usually left out.

Question 5

Do I have to test again afterward?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and it is not a formality. A confirming test is the only thing that establishes the system actually brought the level down rather than merely making noise. It is included with every installation we do, and the documentation is yours to keep or hand to a buyer later.

Question 6

Will it run up my electric bill?

Accepted Answer

Barely. The fan draws roughly what a light bulb does and runs without stopping, which for most households lands at a few dollars a month. Sealing the obvious openings and sizing the fan correctly also keep the loss of heated or cooled air down to very little.

Question 7

How loud is the fan?

Accepted Answer

Mounted outside or up in an attic and sized correctly, it is close to inaudible from inside the house. What people usually notice is a faint rush of air if they stand near the pipe. Fans get matched to the system they are serving rather than picked off the shelf in the largest size available, partly because an oversized one is the main reason anyone ends up unhappy with the noise.

Question 8

Could it be coming from my well water?

Accepted Answer

It can, although soil gas is far and away the dominant route in this part of the country. The case where water is worth investigating is a private well combined with indoor readings that stay stubbornly high after a system is in and working properly. At that point testing the water rules it in or out.

Question 9

Does having a system hurt resale?

Accepted Answer

Our experience runs the other way. An undocumented house is an open question a buyer has to price in; a house with a system and a low confirming test on file has already answered it. Most buyers read it the way they read a newer roof, which is as a job somebody else has already paid for.

Question 10

How many years does a fan last?

Accepted Answer

Manufacturers rate them for several years of running without pause and plenty exceed that comfortably. Glance at the gauge now and then, since a fan that has stopped is not always obvious from indoors, and retest every couple of years or any time a fan gets replaced.

Ten questions, answered without the sales pitch

Starting from scratch

Cost, and how long it takes

Testing, before and after

Living with the system afterward

Find out where your home actually stands